In movies stab wounds appear incredibly dangerous; the victims normally bleed profusely and die very quickly whereas gunshots, even to the chest, seem “safer” as the people always survive them. I grew up thinking we had this inherent weakness there and that’s why criminals always go for stab wounds.
While researching i can’t find anything to support this. I found one study saying abdominal gunshot wounds were actually deadlier than stabbings. So what causes the cinematic stab in the gut, and the person dies in 30 seconds? And if I’m ever a victim of a stabbing, what last minute decision can I make to increase my survival? Aka; is there something in there I can afford to loose and other I can’t?
In: Biology
Knife fights and stabbing are often more “personal” conflicts that are supposed to cause more tension emotional distress in the viewer. In keeping with this perception of raised stakes, they will often be depicted as fatal.
Wouldn’t it be also that a stab wound is at close quarters and therefore more accurate whist a gunshot would be at distance
Also gunshot is a smaller wound than a knife wound
They both obey the same laws:
If it hits an artery/heart, you’re dead 99% of the time
If it hits a major organ, there’s a high chance of death unless treated immediately.
It’s just stabbing is more accurate than shooting.
It’s all about what’s convenient for the story. Bad guys get shot and they are instantly dead. Good guys get shot and they can run a marathon.
There is no consistent logic even within the same movie. As long as it doesn’t break the suspension if disbelief, writers and directors do what moves the story in the direction they like
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I have been an ER nurse for 25 years and one thing I have learned in that time is that if a woman comes at you with a knife, run! She will kill you!
I have seen far too many deaths from stab wounds compared to gun shots. The majority of them have severed aortas, pulmonary arteries, superior vena cava, etc. Most gun shot wounds tend to hit extremities or in the back (which causes other issues).
Almost every stabbing victim I have treated was attacked by a woman. I had a guy in the other day who was stabbed by a woman. She severed his pulmonary artery. He died in the trauma room. We got him back. He was in for a follow up because he thought his wound was infected.
Maybe I should put this in /r/life tips but if you have pissed off a woman enough that she comes at you with a knife, run like hell, your life depends on it.
You see, guns are cool. And no, this is not some 2nd amendment pro or against, it just is what works on screen at the time. Guns are convenient method of disposing bad guys, specially if the are nameless henchmen or other cannon fodder. Stabby stabby is personal and narratively, is totally different kind of action.
As for being a victim of stabbing: remain calm. Stop moving, lie down and call the ambulance. If the wound is bleeding badly, use compression on the wound: press it as hard as you can. T shirt or other cloth can be used to form a ball that you press against the wound, this will give you more pressure on point and buys you time. Do not remove the blade if it is still in the wound.
Stabbings are less dangerous as the are quite neat wounds compared to gun wounds. A stab wound can even close on its own leaving just a thin line of blood coming out with the two sides of the cut touching each other (very important for healing). What makes stabbing deadly, is repeated stabbings (and infections). One stab wound has great changes of survival unless you have a bad luck and lose a vital organ or a major artery is cut. I live in a country with strict gun control so stabby stabby is more common. Thus i know quite a few who have survived a single stab, even when it has gone thru vital organs the person survived. In that case, like so many others, he noticed he had been stabbed after walking 100m away from the place.. Called the ambulance himself from a payphone (which were a thing once), knife went thru spleen so it was a deep cut..
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