Archived When someone burns to death, what exactly kills them? (AskScience)
submitted ago by TAThatBoomerang
Posted by: TAThatBoomerang
Posting time: 4.6 years ago on
Last edit time: 4.6 years ago on
Archived on: 2/12/2017 1:51:00 AM
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Archived When someone burns to death, what exactly kills them? (AskScience)
submitted ago by TAThatBoomerang
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[–] Memorexem 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
Yeah, burning is just bad all around.
How quickly you're going to pass out is probably dependant on some factors too. The guys on liveleak do it like the monks, and just pour gas on themselves while sitting, or were they all running around screaming? If you've got that adrenaline going, and manage to take a solid breath before the air heats up...? Meh. Until it reaches your airway, you'll be just burnt. You could run a long way, until the fire catches up with you.
I bet you could try, really try, to stay conscious (but 99% of us in just severe shock and witless) for awhile when you're catching fire, but once you're actually covered and burning... Yeah, I'm gonna say you've got like 30s. Maybe a bit more if you manage to catch a lungful before you're crispy. But at complete immolation... Wouldn't it kinda be better to just check out?
Edit - I just wanna clarify the difference between conscious and awake. You can be a vegetable and be awake. Consciousness is being aware of and responding to stuff around you. If you're just on fire and running amok in shock, I'd say you very much could be awake yet not conscious.
[–] 5176075? ago (edited ago)
The buddhists tends to stay still, the muslims scream.. at least on Liveleak.
I'm sure that for complete immolation your religion doesn't matter, and for anything else as long as you get a minute away from the flames it's "just" a 3rd degree burn.
having seen enough hedgehogs burn during the midsummer festivals I'm pretty sure that no matter what the cause, we all pass out in half a minute or so during complete immolation. It's the partial burning I'm afraid of ;)
Having said that, it's been my experience that pain tends to be kind of "logarithmic". Once you get above a certain level it's just pure "pain" that makes you scream in agony, but be it a 10 times or million times stronger doesn't really matter.
[–] Memorexem ago
I was just using the Buddhist monks as good comparisons, cause they all just sit there as they do it. Cause that's their thing. Others generally don't. Cause, uh, that's arguably better.
'Just 3rd degree burns' Hehe. They have fourth degree burns. It's when you see bone, everywhere. Let that sink in for a second.
Anyway. Yeah. Logarithmic pain. You hear the most unexpected shit here, sometimes. I tend to agree, but... There's levels of pain you can imagine, and levels you just can't. Unless you've been there. And you probably went into shock and had it suppressed, which wouldn't be a bad thing. I certainly haven't. Closest I've been was almost cutting a finger off when I was younger. Only reason I didn't was cause I hit bone, lol.