How long can you live without blood?

Answer 1

Living without eating

Somewhere, I heard a simple adage about survival: The Three Threes:

• Three minutes without air.
• Three days without water.
• Three weeks without food.

I don't know how accurate this is. Surely, survival times without food and water would be subject to considerable variation depending on ones initial physical condition, the environment in which one was attempting to survive, and how much physical exertion was required. I suppose that the Three Threes probably represents a general ballpark estimate, based on an average person under average conditions of temperature, humidity, and physical exertion, which means that this info is only an average for normal humans, that do not have exceeding fat, which can be used as food by the body.

Special case

I went 40 days without eating anything and drank mostly water and some juice. I had more energy than if I ate. your body uses a lot of energy to process food. after 21 days I forgot that I ate. eating is a habit. the fast was very healthy and I purged my GI tract of "silt" that caused "un-abosrbtion" it was so great that I got depressed to eat again I ate for a week then did another 40 days...

In the above special case, unless a doctor was consulted, fasting for the period described-40 Days- is highly DANGEROUS and possibly FATAL.Never Fast without Consulting a Doctor

Fasting (voluntarily stopping to eat for a certain period of time) is widely practiced for many different reasons- but should always be done under the consultation and supervision of a doctor; this will ensure the fasting is done in a safe way.

There is scientific research that claims certain health benefits are derived from allowing the body's digestive system to rest for a short period of time (around 24 hrs) a few times a year. Each person's body and nutritional needs are different; only a doctor can provide you with the right requirements to fit your specific needs.

Juice Fasting or Maple Syrup/Honey and water fasting, is not the same as fasting using only water.

A juice fast can be healthy as digestion is the hardest work the human body does, and it can be maintained for weeks and oftentimes months, but the body needs salt, and in particular potassium for the heart to beat regularly. Potassium deficiency develops within days, and depending upon the condition of the patient, heart irregularities may be evident in less than a week in some people, while in others there may be no symptoms for a month or more. Let us be clear, however, juice is still food in liquid form, while water contains only minerals at best.

The longest honey and water fast I have undertaken was for five months, done at a time in my intemperate youth when I still thought I was immortal. During that time I did take a few mouthfuls of yogurt from time to time when my heart irregularity scared me, but I lost 97lbs during those months and looked great - but felt terrible.

Electrolyte balance must be preserved if we wish to abstain from eating, and there are 'juice' preparations which do supply the necessary electrolytes for a long fast, but we'll still lose important muscle tissue, involving all our major organs, and oftentimes irreversible damage is sustained.

Six weeks is the maximum time I would recommend for an electrolyte balanced juice fast in a healthy individual, and return to regular eating should be gradual and take half as long as the fast itself. (That is a cardinal rule when fasting.)

For hygienic purposes, a healthy individual can juice fast for ten days without any adverse effects, indeed, the body will be cleansed, which may produce unpleasant side effects, but they will subside and are usually not dangerous.

While many people do fast without medical supervision, it is unwise to do so. One's blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, and respiration should be monitored daily by a competent medical practitioner if one does not wish to endanger oneself. Blood sugar imbalances can arise unexpectedly and are potentially fatal within minutes, and one never knows if he or she will experience such an episode. There are no warning signs, and unfortunately, no 'cure' unless one is already hypoglycemic or diabetic, which conditions are really just flip sides of the same coin. Diabetics and hypoglycemic patients should not fast at all unless in a hospital setting under constant supervision.

OTOH, dying patients often go without food for six weeks or more in the last stages of illness, but withdrawal of water would shorten their lives considerably. Most patients die within two or three days when water is denied them, but I am reminded of Terri Schindler Schiavo who lived for thirteen days without food or water, IIRC. I have never witnessed any patient surviving that long without water in all my years of medical practice.

A 72-hour juice fast will do the body as much good as a longer one in healthy individuals, but in my opinion, no one should fast for longer than ten days, and never without daily medical supervision - it simply isn't worth the risk.

Answer 2

Blood isn't what keeps the brain alive per se, but rather the dissolved oxygen in the blood. Typically, the human brain can go for about 3 to 5 minutes without oxygen before irreversible brain damage begins to occur, and 9 minutes is usually the point where brain death will occur and all electrical function stops.

But in certain situations, the brain can go as long as an hour without oxygen. This usually only occurs in cases of extreme cold water drowning. In this case, the body in the cold water can be likened to putting a steak in the freezer. The degeneration of cells is slowed down dramatically.

Answer 3

most likely 4-6 weeks!!! did some research on people who have gone without food for extended periods of time: Medical Doctors Commonly cite 4 to 6 weeks without food 10 Political Prisoners in Ireland Lived 46 to 73 days before succumbing to lack of food 12 individual starvation protestors Two lost tongues, 1 lost feet, 7 on kidney dialysis Many war prisoners Lived 28 to 40 days with no food World War II concentration camps With only 300 to 600 calories per day, many thousands did not have enough food to survive more than a few months at best. Terminally Ill patients Live 10-days to 3-weeks without food depending upon initial heath Obese Can live from 3-weeks up to 25-weeks and more without food depending upon initial health and amount of fat Mahatma Gandhi Survived a 3-week fast while in his 70's The Will to Survive With Not Enough Food

Answer 4

Answer 1:

If somehow all your blood was gone at once, you could "live" for about two minutes, that being about how long your brain could do without fresh oxygen before shutting down.

(Note: I disagree with answer two. One, "about two minutes" versus "one minute" is negligible. Secondly, experimental data from the guillotining of people indicates that a person who has literally lost all their blood - and their body - do have "about two minutes" of consciousness.)

Answer 2:

Actually, the brain would shut down within one minute, or even a matter of seconds. The heart would have nothing to pump and would stop. The brain would have no blood to supply even the most minute amount of oxygen normally left in the blood even when the lungs are no longer supplying it to the blood. It normally takes a man about two minutes to die once air is no longer flowing through his lungs. (some people build up an endurance by increasing lung capacity) But once there is no oxygen left in the blood, it takes far less time for the brain to shut down and for death to occur.

Answer 5

About 6 1/2 minutes, before permanent brain damage kicks in (under normal circumstances... the body and brain can survive longer at lower temperatures, as shown with hypothermia and drowning victims).

Answer 6

It "lives", as in retains viable DNA, forever. Unless the blood is covered in an altering substance such as ammonia, it can be tested effectively.

If you're referring to donated blood, red cells last for 42 days before they cannot be transfused. Platelets last for 5 days and plasma lasts up to a year if frozen.

Answer 7

up too 4 - 6 weeks