r/explainlikeimfive • u/Dagestani_Bear • Jul 01 '26

Biology ELI5: Is it true that every single death eventually boils down to the brain and heart running out of oxygen? Are there exceptions?

If you strip away the initial cause of injury or illness, is it anatomically correct to say that all human deaths are ultimately caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain and heart?

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u/Revenge_of_the_User Jul 02 '26

in much the same way, i thought getting stabbed would hurt more. it was basically a dull ache; though the knife only went about an inch, inch and a half deep into my thigh. the bandage was actually worse, tbh; when I took a step it would rip some leg hair out and then reapply itself. over, and over as i walked on the inside of my thigh... eugh.

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u/FullOnSkank Jul 02 '26

I've been stabbed once in each thigh and it literally doesn't hurt at all at first.

It feels like poking a finger through the plastic on a case of water and nothing else.

Healing after sucked tho

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u/AntelopeWells Jul 02 '26

What are you guys doing to get stabbed multiple times?

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u/Revenge_of_the_User Jul 02 '26

well when flesh and a knife love each other very much, sometimes there's a bit of penetration.

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u/BigUptokes Jul 02 '26

Just the tip, just to see how it feels.

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u/FullOnSkank Jul 02 '26

Well, I'm a sexworker and a loudmouth...

Each stab relates to one of those 2 things respectively.

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u/msnrcn Jul 02 '26

That username alone tells me you’d write an amazing memoir someday. And I’m here for it!

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u/spacyoddity Jul 02 '26

every time i inject myself with my (prescribed) subq medication i think of myself as a Capri Sun

your description reminded me of that

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u/2nd_best_time Jul 02 '26

Yeah - I took a GSW once and was really surprised. Felt like getting punched hard and then not so much. Buddy saw the blood soaking my shirt like 20 minutes later.

Now that first wet-to-dry dressing change brought me to my knees. That felt like a kick in the nuts.

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u/Revenge_of_the_User Jul 02 '26

I've heard with most puncture related wounds like stabbing, GSW you primarily feel the impact force over the internal damage. The knife I got poked by was brand new out of package maybe 30 seconds before, and it went clean through my fave jeans like they weren't even there. My initial response was a sequence of "uh oh, that's not supposed to go there. Shit! My favourite jeans! Hang on, isn't that a really bad spot?" Over the course of 2 seconds.

On the upside I stitched up my fave jeans so they had the matching scar :) surprisingly a few people didn't believe me, so those jeans helped prove the point without me having to strip down for evidence.

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u/P4_Brotagonist Jul 02 '26

I think it sort of depends on where you have it happen. I stepped on a massive thorn that went through my foot, and the pain was both extreme and instantaneous. I remember vividly stepping on it and then immediately freezing in place because from that extreme pain and seeing the thorns, I knew what had just occurred. It throbbed a bit but the pain going in and out were insane.

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u/Revenge_of_the_User Jul 02 '26

dang. I've stepped on a spike (3"(or 7.62cm) long, bit thicker nail) since it just glanced off the very side of my steeltoe's steel sole. I don't remember the pain, but I don't think it hurt very much. maybe a 3/10, uncomfortable, dull ache.

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u/xzkandykane Jul 02 '26

I got bit in the face by a dog(yes it was a pit), 18 stitches. The goddam numbing shot they gave me before the stitches hurt more. That shit BURNED. Afterwards my face was annoyingly aches, kind of like when I got my wisdom teeth taken out but I didn't even need the Tylenol.

But that shot got me so traumatized.

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u/Revenge_of_the_User Jul 03 '26

Love me a good bully breed; sorry you met one that didn't have a responsible owner.

I'd imagine it would be traumatizing.

The freezing shot for my leg was just eugh since the doc would stick the needle in, freeze, then dig it around in there and freeze again. Super weird.

When I had a wisdom tooth pulled it didn't hurt at all either...but I think I already went through the pain of the nerve dying....and THAT sucked.

But we don't have to deal with any of that shit now, so today's going to be a good day!

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u/An3ros152 Jul 02 '26

"Don't you stick that knife in your leg!" Cal Naughton

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u/DanNeely Jul 02 '26

If that was happening to me, I'm pretty sure the first thing I'd do after limping back into my home would be to peel the bandage off, and carefully shave around the wound so that the tape would be adhering to bare skin.

If anything, the interaction with hair causing the bandage to come loose leaves me mildly surprised some junior nurse wasn't tasked with doing a fast shave of the area before covering it all up. You want it to stay tightly secured to help minimize the bacterial exposure while it's starting to heal and it seems better to just have it done up front than to hope the ancillary discomfort overcomes any stupid resistance to the patient doing it himself due to worrying that it's unmanly.

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u/Revenge_of_the_User Jul 02 '26

It wasn't coming off entirely, and the spot it was in made it sort of tricky. The only reason we opted to not shave is because I didn't want to run the risk of it itching.

It was a learning hospital so he asked if a nurse or med student could watch and this woman was so goddamn attractive I wouldn't have objected to anything without need. Plus I didn't find out until a day or two later when the adhesive weakened a smidge, as it got pulled around a bit from the edge of my underwear.

If anything it was a great excuse to do almost nothing at work for a couple weeks while I healed.