I see on TV and in real life they ask the person to “talk, “stay with me”, “don’t close your eyes” etc.
Is there any science that says if they had not done any of the above that would have died. As opposed to attempting to do as they asked and staying alive, if the injuries were the same?
Comments
It’s about keeping them conscious, not alive specifically.
No, talking to someone does nothing to prevent bleeding out.
It’s done in movies because a person passing out shortly before dying doesn’t telegraph to the audience that the person has died, and it’s far less dramatic.
The purpose is to keep the person conscious so they can provide information to the healthcare provider. It doesn’t by itself prolong life.
It gives them something to do as they’re dyin’.
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DONT YOU DIE ON ME has always worked for me.
Honestly, as someone who has hemorrhage while awake, it’s sometimes a comfort thing (during a c section not being shot). But ultimately, it’s just to make the TV plot move on. Just like how the doctors do all the work vs nurses and cna’s or even the techs. Hospitals aren’t all just ran by doctors.
It’s not necessarily keeping them alive so much as wanting to keep them calm if you can as well. You want them to know they’re not alone and distract them from the situation. Thats how I’ve always seen it at least
Such things do not prevent them from dying at all. But talking to someone that was shot can help keep them calm and relaxed. It can help the person but is not medically necessary.
No, of course not.
Talking to someone who is injured CAN give you a better idea of their consciousness and cognitive level though.
Since loss of consciousness and unresponsiveness will kick things into a ‘Have to check if they’re still breathing, might have to start CPR’ mode.
Going into shock has its own symptoms.
I’ve gone into shock from a purely psychological trigger and I was freezing cold, shaking, uncoordinated, and behaving recklessly (driving 120mph).
Dunno how much the symptoms of going into shock impact survivability if you’ve already been shot.
But if you’re not a paramedic or otherwise don’t have the necessary supplies and training to treat shock, trying to keep someone from going into shock might be helpful.
It didn’t work on my dog so I’m gonna say it doesn’t apply to people either
I’m a doctor.
No it does not help.
If someone has a head/brain injury, you want to keep them awake so that you can quickly notice any changes in consciousness. If an awake person suddenly starts slurring words, or gets double vision, or becomes unarousable, that’s a Big Problem that needs to be immediately addressed. If they’re sleeping you won’t notice any changes until you try to wake them up.
But for non-head injuries, that’s just a movie trope.
No, but I’ve heard people say it was very comforting to know they weren’t alone as they thought they were dying.
No. Stopping the bleeding does.
No, but it’s used to calm them and reassure them that they aren’t alone, even if they don’t make it.
I was dying after having my twins – my blood pressure was 47/25 as I hemorrhaged and was being rushed to the OR. The nurses kept saying "talk to me – tell me about your babies!" And "Don’t close your eyes" while slapping me. They don’t want you to close your eyes and start going out on them. As long as you are talking, you are breathing.
As someone who has been shot and actually died and was resuscitated I can confirm I have no recollection of people talking to me. Even when I was in a coma and my family was there talking to me I have no recollection of it. I’ve been told I would occasionally respond by lightly squeezing a hand if someone I knew was holding my hand and talking to me.
The goal is to keep their brain active to help fight off losing consciousness. They need to be as aware as possible so they can actively relay where they’ve been hit and what they’re feeling. It helps paramedics identify and address the situation before the victim is moved to a safer location.
I just finished Ben Sherwood’s The Survivors Club. Why people survive terrible things. Love. Hope. Faith. Purpose are some of the top survivor tools. Being reminded that you matter, that you have people who love and count on you, encouragement to not give up are all very powerful.
Agent 86 leans over a fallen man, trying to get information about who shot him; man dies. Agent 99 asks, "Max, what did he say?"
Agent Smart responds, "He asked me to get my knee off his chest."
It doesn’t make a difference.
Doing a series of neuro assessments was a good way to see how the patient is trending. We now have access to CTs, MRIs, and all sorts of other scans that give actual pictures of what’s going on inside the skull.
If they’re going to do and you don’t have the gear/knowledge to keep the alive until you get to the hospital they’re going to die. Even in the back of my ambulance there is only so much you can do.
I’m an EMT. I’ve seen people get shot and been directly involved in the care of said people.
It doesn’t keep them awake— if they’re going unconscious, they’re going unconscious. But, as others have said, it helps assess neurological function— which is obviously a lot harder to do if the person is unconscious.
Someone who’s awake and oriented is definitely more ideal than someone who’s unresponsive to pain or voice. In traumatic injuries like shootings, stabbings, crashes, and the like, where we can see obvious major trauma and also observe an altered level of consciousness, it often indicates that some major body function has been disrupted and the brain/lungs/heart/etc. are not able to perform the way they need to sustain life.
However, speaking to the person may provide comfort, which I know I personally would appreciate if I were to be shot.
It’s mostly to treat for shock and keep them conscious. And by shock I mean them freaking out and trying to move around or start ripping you away. Keeping them checking their consciousness also helps with seeing how much oxygen their brain is getting. If they’re getting enough they will be awake and still talking. It can also calm a patient down, obviously they’re in a lot of pain but in terms of field medicine it can really calm someone down.
TLDR: At a hospital not so much, in a field medicine scenario, it can be keep the patient calm enough to prevent further injuries and shock.
Yes. Under any emergency involving a person’s staying alive or conscious, talking most definitely helps. Keep talking even if you get no response.
I’m not able to answer directly, but I do know that if you do keep them talking, it’s imperative you don’t let them announce that they’re only a few days from retirement.
From my understanding, it’s about evaluating the patient and trying to keep them out of shock.
Amusing story about this. When I was in Afghanistan, a guy I served with was shot in the foot. Well, I’m providing cover for the corpsman while he’s doing his thing. Doc is asking him questions, and I’m doing my thing only kinda listening, then I hear this exchange:
Doc: "So tell me about your girlfriend back home."
Footy Mcstudmuffin: "Fuck that bitch! She’s at home, in bed! I just got shot!"
The point of keeping them talking is to try and keep them from passing out/falling unconscious. It is also to try and keep them focused on you and less on their injuries and panicking/freaking out.
When I was in the military we had a wire snap on the flight deck. It took a shipmates leg off at the knee. He was okay ( as in not freaking out)until he looked down and realized half his leg was missing.
I always assumed it’s about distracting the person from the pain that’s occurring to keep them calmer
Probably not. But as doctor Caramel Bandit mentioned, assessing mental status changes is very valuable for critical patients especially if head injuries are involved.
Think of it this way. The character begging the injured party to "keep talking to me" is expressing their anxiety about the injured one dying. This moment (in a movie/show) is about the witness’s distress.
Nothing to do with actual medicine.
SOP for someone in shock is to make sure that they remain conscious.
Sometimes, in life or death situations, EMTs will annoy the shit out of you so you don’t drift off, since drifting off could get to a point where they can’t wake you back up. Staying awake helps them monitor you as well and get some extra time situating you in the hospital.
Not a medical professional but my mom always taught me that it’s important to talk to someone who is severely hurt. Anything that would require stitches or more is what I’m referring to here. You want to keep them calm, conscious, and at least a little aware of themselves. The most important thing though is to keep them from freaking out. Moving around or, even worse, flailing can cause even more damage than what’s already there. You never know how someone is going to react to seeing their own muscles/tissue/etc or having their appendages bent backwards.
Just keep them talking and, as much as possible, NOT looking at whatever is injured.
Not a stupid question but a great question actually. I had never thought about it.
Medic here
I like to talk to my patients for two reasons:
-I am aware of their mental state and "how far gone" they are
-they can find comfort in the knowledge of being helped and are less prone to taking involuntary defensive action when drifting away (no people don’t usually have a last stand reflex but even flinching is highly unfavorable when Im knuckles deep in their GSW or trying to find an IV access)
It’s not solely about preventing immediate death but preserving the will to live.
Verbal engagement in trauma likely modulates neuroendocrine responses indirectly influencing physiological stability alongside direct medical intervention.
Former ER nurse here: it doesn’t matter how comforting the words may be, if there isn’t enough blood in the body or a major organ is failing, you will die.
We say (or at least in my experience) those things to give them comfort as we know the end is coming. In some instances, we are trying to keep them conscious so we don’t have to go to more invasive measures (intubation/CPR) as going unconscious/unresponsive can be a sign of deterioration and the body failing.
Not sure about any proven science but I could have given all the comforting words in the world and it wouldn’t have made a difference for some of the people we tried to save.
If I was dying, I would want someone to do the same for me.
Keeping an injured person conscious helps with assessing them and allows them to report changes in pain or sensation.
It doesn’t help keep them alive directly, but it does help first aiders and doctors treat them.
Got taught as a first aider, you don’t know when or if they’re gonna wake up, best tell em who you are, what you’re doing, and what’s going on so they don’t wake up panicked and injure themselves or helpers.
It’s meant to help with the adrenaline in the aiders because you’re literally walking yourself through the steps and keeping everyone helping you engaged in what’s going on.
So less so "wake up, please wake up! " more "HI I’M X, I’M CHECKING YOUR BODY FOR WOUNDS, DO NOT SIT UP BECAUSE YOU’RE INJURED"
Plus as well, as a patient you’re already worried, if everyone starts ignoring you, you panic more