Cut-Throat Old Ladies

How much strength dose it take to cut a throat? Can an old lady do it?

I'll be honest. When I got this question in my inbox, I thought to myself, 'how should I know'? And then I thought 'how do I find out'? Questions like this, which seem to be so specific that the knowledge would really only help the questioner sometimes turn into real gems. In this case, my second-thought led me to a wonderful resource that I feel compelled to share with all of you who read this modest little effort of mine.

It took me three tries and strong Google-fu to find anything even close to what I was looking for, but of all the research I've done over the many years I've been doing this, both formally here and informally at Forward Motion and NaNoWriMo forums, this excites me more than any of the rest of it.

The resource I've found details, with step-by-step illustrations, nine methods for silently taking out a sentry by stealth, several of which would allow even someone with minimal physical strength to effectively kill a much stronger individual, both quickly and silently.

Again, just for the sake of my conscience, PLEASE, PLEASE, do not try this at home (or anywhere else but your fiction-verse). Don't even try it in demo mode with a willing partner and a blunt instrument. You can do SERIOUS damage to the structures of the neck and even cause death just from some of the initial steps prior to the actual cutting of the throat.

The full story, with illustrations - Sentry Removal

From what I know about physiology, these techniques look like they would be pretty effective, some more quiet and requiring less physical strength than others. For the sake of brevity, I'll focus on the first (illustration below). The idea here is to stun the sentry or victim using a blow to the neck/shoulder junction with the handle of the knife, then pull that person back against the attacker's body and let the weight of the victim slide down toward the floor. The weight of the victim would provide all the force required to actually cut the neck.

One of the first things you get taught in nursing school is if a patient is falling, slide them down your own body. It's possible to control the "fall" of a much larger/heavier person without injuring yourself if you use this technique. Using this technique while allowing the victim's weight to pull the knife through the tough, fibrous structures of the neck would allow even a very under-powered person to kill any opponent whose neck they could reach.

I could see this information applying to my own fiction and I can certainly see a wide-spread appeal for this type of information among the folks with stomachs strong enough to read this blog. Great question!

*****This blog is written for fiction writings, for the purpose of writing fiction. Information herein is not intended for use by real people, pets, trees, or imaginary friends. Arizela is not responsible for information used for purposes other than those expressly intended*****

Food Poisoning 101

My character ate some fish that's gone more than a little bad. Now what?

As with almost everything in writing, the answer is - that depends. Food poisoning can be caused by any of over 250 substances (bacteria, parasites, fungi, etc), and symptoms range in severity from very mild to life-threatening or fatal. Therefore, as long as you get the basics right, you, the author, can play with the outcome and severity to your hearts content. The most common symptoms of food poisoning include:

• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain or cramps
• Bloody diarrhea
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Headache
• Weakness
• General malaise (feeling "ill")

Symptoms usually start 2-6 hours after consuming the bad food, though this timeframe can be shorter or much longer (up to several days) depending on the agent of infection (bacteria, toxin, etc). Most food poisoning will clear up on its own without specific medical treatment within a week, depending on the agent, but most people will recover completely within 12-48 hours.

Youngsters and elderly folks tend to get symptoms more easily, and also tend to have more severe complications.

Complications of food poisoning are rare, but can include:

• Significant dehydration and shock
• Kidney failure
• Significant blood loss and shock
• Arthritis or joint pain that doesn't go away with the symptoms
• Nervous system disorders (paralysis, tingling sensations)
• Respiratory failure
• Inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the heart

In all of these cases, seeking medical help is important, but if your character lives in an era or region of the world that doesn't have the technology or knowledge to help, many of these complications can be fatal. A few of the organisms that most often cause fatal food poisoning and the foods they are found on are listed below.

• Salmonella - a bacteria commonly found on birds and reptiles, this little germ (see photo) is transmitted to humans through contact with these or by eating undercooked poultry (bird meat or eggs), consuming unpasturized milk, or eating food that's come into contact with surfaces that have been contaminated by salmonella (ie that old cutting board where he cut up the chicken first and then diced the tomatoes for the salad)
• Chlostridium botulinum - an anaerobic bacteria (non-oxygen environment required for growth) that multiplies in canned foods where the can or jar is damaged, the seal is broken, or the food was not properly sterilized prior to sealing. Even cooking the food thoroughly won't save the fellow who chows down on a can of this, because the bug that makes botulism produces a neurotoxin (nerve poison) that carries on after the germs themselves are dead. Botulism also lives in very low, mild forms in honey, but this is safe for all but the youngest or most immune compromised people. Babies should never be fed honey prior to age 1.
• Shigella - this little bug is passed heavily in the feces (pooh) of people with the infection. So how did it get on your cheeseburger? Somebody didn't wash hands before putting on that bun, more than likely. Ick. Symptoms last up to a week and can include pus in the diarrhea as well as all the usual symptoms. Kids who get severe shigella can develop seizures and brain damage.
• E. coli - unlike media reports would lead you to believe, E. coli is usually a mild infection. Even the most virulent (deadly) form of the infection, a strain called O157:H7 is rarely fatal. Most cases clear up within a few days, but this infection can spread into the rest of the body, causing severe bleeding problems and kidney failure. The most common way to get this little sucker is to eat undercooked ground beef. Why? Because modern food processing machines aren't always the most careful and meat can be contaminated with cow shit. Oops. Cooking ground beef or needle-punch tenderized meat thoroughly can save your characters a lot of problems later.
• Cholera - this type of food poisoning usually isn't passed in food. It's caused by dirty drinking water. Drinking untreated water, particularly in areas of high population, poor sanitation, war, or famine is just asking for it. Cholera outbreaks in pre-modern eras were devastating to populations, and continues to be a major problem in Africa, parts of Asia, India, Mexico and South and Central America. Vaccines are currently in development to prevent this infection but are still in human testing phase

A few other things to consider when poisoning your characters via dinner are the parasites that can be picked up through food. These include but are certainly not limited to:

• Fish tapeworms (giant tapeworms that can reach up to 30ft in length - see photo, yeah, that's not a shoe lace) can be contracted from undercooked or raw fish. In the US, sashimi and sushi-grade fish is flash-frozen at very precise temperatures to kill off these potential pests prior to serving.

• Trichinella (worms that invade the muscles of animals and humans and cause severe pain) are primarily gotten by eating undercooked pork.
• Giardia are one-celled parasites that spread from infected animals or people. If your character's dog gets bloody diarrhea, plan to fork over some $$ to test for and treat this before it spreads to the people.

As with any medical situation in fiction, consider what your reader needs to know, and what it's reasonable for your character to know. You, the author, might know that the character's symptoms are caused by that nasty waiter not washing his hands after using the toilet, but unless the character has gone to the doctor and been tested, or is prescient, she won't, and if the specific bug isn't important to the story, the reader won't care either.

*****This blog is written for fiction writings, for the purpose of writing fiction. Information herein is not intended for use by real people, pets, trees, or imaginary friends. Arizela is not responsible for information used for purposes other than those expressly intended*****

Animal Attacks

So your character is wandering along, minding his own business when out of nowhere a vicious creature leaps on him intent on lunch. The intrepid hero manages to fight the beast off, or perhaps the plucky heroine rescues him for a change, but he's not without battle wounds. Now what?

What kind of creature was it?

• Small animals like rabbits, rats, and squirrels tend to cause small, painful bites and marks, but unless your character is a hemophiliac, chances are he'll survive.
• Camels, horses, and other large grazing animals can do some major damage with bites, particularly if they occur on the head or face. Another concern with these animals is crushing injuries from hoofed kicks which can be serious or fatal depending on the force of the blows.
• Domestic cats and dogs come in all shapes and sizes, and their damage capacity varies just as much. The ferocious neighborhood chihuahua isn't likely to cause nearly the trauma that crazy old Bill's trio of abused pit bull guard dogs could. Likewise and ancient rolly-polly tabby cat is less likely to eat your face than a muscular tom in his prime.
• Large predator animals, be they tigers, lions or bears (or wolves, coyotes, primates, etc) are the biggest risk. Harder to fight off and with much more advanced weaponry than the average racoon, these big carnivores and omnivores mean business. Their survival depends on their ability to turn the next guy into ground chuck rather than being served up themselves. Big cats in particular come along with an increased risk of infection because they routinely lick their claws, dragging mouth germs all over these 5cm to more than 8cm long weapons.
• Humans (yep, we're animals too, folks) typically only bite during altercations of some sort (and in undead movies). Our teeth can do a lot of damage to hands and faces, but like the grazing animals above, the damage is usually limited to the cosmetic rather than the life-threatening (vampires and zombies aside). The big risk here is that human bites are much more likely to become infected than most animal bites. Yes, your mouth is dirtier than your dog's.

First things first - stop the bleeding

In an emergency situation, the ABC's of triage apply - Airway, Breathing, and Circulation. Most survivable animal attacks are going to endanger the third category, circulation. No blood means no circulation means bye-bye birdie, so the goal of first aid is to keep the blood where it belongs, on the inside. If the blood isn't gushing out, washing the wound in clean running water is recommended to prevent infection, but stopping the bleeding is more important and more immediate a need.

All but the deepest and deadliest injuries in a normal, healthy person are going to respond to pressure. Obviously if the animal has ripped into the abdominal cavity or neck or sliced through an artery, your character had better hope there's a rescue chopper on standby. But for flesh wounds, pressure is your friend. To stop most bleeding, apply direct pressure to minor wounds for 5-10 minutes without peeking. Even for deeper gashes, direct pressure will often stop or slow bleeding until further help can be organized.

Minor scratches can be cleaned with soap and water and covered with a clean bandage. Puncture wounds, deep scratches or wounds on the face should be attended to by a medical professional if at all possible. If your character is enjoying the good life in 1810, however, cleaning the wound with clean water and using stitches to close the wound is about the best you can hope for.

Special cases: Facial and scalp wounds

Face and scalp wounds bleed. A lot. Bleeding from scalp or facial wounds, even small cuts, can be pretty significant. Get pressure on it as soon as possible and seal the wound with stitches or surgical-grade bonding liquid (aka medical grade super glue).

Second step - Preventing Bugs

Infection is the most significant risk associated with wounds that are not immediately life-threatening (these include uncontrollable bleeding, penetrating abdominal, head, or chest wounds, neck injuries, head injuries). Keeping wounds clean and covered helps in any setting. In the modern world, small cuts can be covered with a thin layer of antibiotic ointment like Neosporin, Polysporin, or Bacitracin. Large, penetrating wounds may require surgery and/or prophylactic (preventive) antibiotics via either oral or IV methods.

If an infection occurs, symptoms usually start 2-5 days from the initial injury or sometime during the healing process for major wounds (which can take months). Symptoms include redness of the skin around the wounds (see photo, child with infected dog bites to face), increased pain, heat or warmth at the site and on the surrounding skin, foul-smelling drainage or pus (creamy or chunky textured drainage in any of several common colors including yellow, rust-brown, green, pink, blood-tinged, or white), and delayed healing. If the symptoms don't get any worse, minor wounds usually clear up on their own after a few days or a week in healthy individuals. However, folks who are very old, very young, immune-compromised (prone to getting infected), diabetic, or who have circulation issues, or folks who have deep or large wounds, or whose infections are caused by "super bugs" (antibiotic-resistant germs) can get very sick, very quickly and even die from skin infections.

Signs your character needs a doctor, shaman, or undertaker - fever, chills, generalized feelings of weakness, ill ease, fatigue, red-streaks along the skin starting at the wound and tracing lines outward, irregular heartbeat, or difficulty breathing. These symptoms may indicate a life-threatening spread of infection into the blood stream or other body organs. Some few people recover without aid from this sort of infection, but there is a high risk of death.

Third, consider the source

Bites from your fellow humans typically occur during a fight of some sort. In those situations where there is a likelihood of blood from another person entering an open wound, special tests for HIV and hepatitis are recommended.

Small animals, particularly rodents, can be carriers of Yersinia plague (aka The Black Death, see also Rare Diseases: Yersinia Plague). Yes, even in modern times, Yersinia plague can cause deadly disease, but modern antibiotics can cure the plague if given within a very narrow time frame. Seeking medical attention can be life-saving, particularly in regions where animal carriers of the plague are more common, like the US west.

Wild dogs, stray pets, raccoons, and large predator animals are considered to have rabies unless proven otherwise. Rabies is a disease which, if left untreated, leads invariably to madness and death. Treatment consists of giving a series of vaccine injections after exposure but before symptoms develop. Once symptoms show up, best start digging the grave.

Domestic dogs and cats are considered free of rabies if they have been vaccinated or if they could not possibly have come into contact with wild or unvaccinated animals.

Special Case: Bats in the Attic

Though bats are small mammals not birds, these tiny bug-eaters can harbor rabies virus. Bats are responsible for most of the cases of human rabies that occur in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Rabies can be confirmed only in a laboratory. However, any bat that is active by day, is found in a place where bats are not usually seen (for example, in a room in your home or on the lawn), or is unable to fly, is far more likely than others to be rabid. Such bats are often the most easily approached. Therefore, it is best never to handle any bat. Bats have tiny, needle-sharp teeth that can penetrate the skin and infect a human without even leaving a mark, so if a Sunny Susie awakes to a bat flying around the ceiling, she'd best get the bat tested for rabies, or she could end up looking like this:

Just kidding!

Excuses, excuses... And a list of what's to come

My apologies, guys, for the little Muse Med hiatus. I've been dealing with some real life health problems over the last couple of months and it sort of got away from me.

But!

I've gotten a little back-log of questions from very patient writers that will be addressed over the coming weeks. Stay tuned for everything you ever wanted to know (or maybe didn't want to know) about:

animal bites and scratches
food poisoning
parasitic worms
hemorrhagic fever

Keep those questions coming, folks.