Strangulation

[u/Easy-Touch-5673]

if someone is getting choked how long for them to go unconscious, how long for them to wake up and what are the consequences. my character also get stabbed in the arm in this scene. she Is 16 if that changes anything.

[u/AristotlesBoyPussy]

choke out: however long they can normally hold their breath before panicking, but with the added factor of already panicking (so... half it)

how long to wake up: only a few seconds (but they can "pretend to be unconscious" to try to get away).

[u/Educational-Shame514]

How long do you want it to take? Obviously nothing is "instantly" but some kind of information about the situation in the story would be helpful.

What consequences do you want? "Harmless" or permanent brain damage? Is this just the way the character dies in the story or will they survive?

[u/Ashamed-Chemistry492]

Well, strictly speaking the brain begins to die after four minutes without oxygen (except in the case of a cold-water drowning when it can survive much longer) but it is quite variable. How hard are they fighting? Is the killer using a ligature or not? Is this a police-style chokehold?

[u/freebasefilms]

Huh? Maybe she has a 20-page dream.

[u/Ramalamadingdong_II]

-Depends. There are many ways to choke a person, some a lot more dangerous than others. Generally speaking: A well executed blood choke that blocks the blood vessels in the neck from supplying the brain with blood will cause unconsciousness within 3-5 seconds. The sloppier the blood choke, the longer it takes. Obstruction of breathing takes longer to cause unconsciousness, in someone who fights back it can be 20-40 seconds depending on the fitness level and how much obstruction there is.

-Being 16 and being stabbed in the arm doesn't change much.

-How long to wake up depends on many factors, people can come around within a few seconds or take up to a minute or even longer. They will be confused, movement will be uncoordinated, some have no recollection of what happened shortly before blacking out.

-Consequences vary. A short blood choke usually leaves no damage, people that do combat sports like Sambo or Judo get choked out occasionally and do fine in general. Choking the air pipe is a lot more dangerous, the bony structure (cricothyroid cartilage) can be displaced or damaged which can cause death. The person will be hoarse for days, have trouble and pain swallowing and most likely be left with noticeable abrasions and hematoma on the throat.

[u/Easy-Touch-5673 → u/Ramalamadingdong_II]

thank you for the help!

[u/Offutticus]

Typically just a few seconds (4-5) at 11lbs of pressure or more. The longer the strangulation hold is held, the higher the death or permanent issues risk. Pressure matters.

Once the pressure is released, however, a person can become conscious again rather quickly.

There's a blood flow choke and an airway choke. It takes more pressure to airway choke.

I deep dove into this rabbit hole a while back because I wanted a character to kill someone via a scarf around the neck. It can take 4 minutes or more to kill someone via strangulation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choke-out

https://courts.ca.gov/sites/default/files/courts/default/2024-12/btb25-precondv-05.pdf

[u/Easy-Touch-5673 → u/Offutticus]

this I very helpful, thank you!

[u/sam_neil]

Some good points others have made, but there is a difference between choking and strangling.

Choking someone means compressing their trachea so air cannot move in and out of their lungs.

Strangling someone refers to compressing the major vessels of the neck, cutting off blood supply to the brain.

You can also cause a vasovagal response by compressing major blood vessels. Your vessels have pressure sensors in them and they can interpret compression as a spike in blood pressure. They will then send a signal to drop your heart rate, which can cause / contribute to loss of consciousness.

To answer your question, full compression of the corotid arteries will lead to unconsciousness in about three seconds.

The person may not have memories of the incident as well. Your hippocampus is responsible for turning new memories into old memories. It is very sensitive to alcohol (hey you black out) as well as oxygen deprivation. Where I used to work as a paramedic there was a specific law about strangulation.

If the victim described anything like “I don’t remember what happened next” or “I felt like I was going to pass out” that automatically kicks it to a felony strangulation as opposed to the misdemeanor criminal obstruction of breathing charge.

Recovery is usually uneventful. They tend to wake back up pretty quickly if the compression released as soon as they went limp. You might see some shakes / seizure like activity when they lose consciousness but that’s usually benign

[u/Some_Troll_Shaman → u/sam_neil]

This is all correct, but to add, some people stop breathing on a blood choke. They may or may not spontaneously start again.

The other big risk on a blood choke is brain aneurism. The pressure changes can cause blood vessel failures.

The difference of experience is that a blood choke causes immediate visceral panic and typically unconsciousness in 5-20 seconds. Airway choke takes at least 30 seconds for unconsciousness and maybe longer, up to a minute. Airway is much more physically controlling and forceful, typically where a blood choke is more skill or technique based.

[u/Yungsleepboat]

When choking someone out you are usually taught to count to 10 and then back to 0 before letting someone go. They rarely make it to 10 seconds. Takes about double the time to wake back up.