# If someone thats drowned has been submerged for long enough, will they eventually puke up the contents of their stomach whilst still underwater? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2024, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159 "2024-01-16T09:48:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bluerust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/59ef9b/32.png) [@bluerust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluerust)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/1 "2024-01-16T09:48:54Z")
I would have thought that if their stomach was uncontrollably and quickly filling up with water whilst they were unconscious, it wouldn’t take long for their stomach to forcibly expel it’s contents? I was thinking about this because a week ago, I read a local news report of two guys who died in a car accident where their car crashed into a river running next to the road and the car was submerged in the water as a result. When the emergency services arrived and recovered the car from under the water, both of the guys were pronounced dead at the scene. I wonder what the likelihood is that after the car was recovered from the water, any vomit was found inside the car alongside the water or any residual vomit found in the mouths of the two guys as a result of stomach overfilling with water during their deaths in the accident? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/2 "2024-01-16T11:41:52Z")
Dead Don’t Puke ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/3 "2024-01-16T12:08:24Z")
Wouldn’t their stomach fill with water diluting any stomach contents that managed to find the way out? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/4 "2024-01-16T13:29:54Z")
I’m struggling a bit to understand the OP’s idea of the timeline. A living person is trapped under water. After a couple minutes at most they become unconscious. That is to say their higher brain functions quit working for lack of blood oxygen. Over the next couple of minutes the various lower-level brain functions also quit for the same lack of oxygen. Then they are dead. A living stomach is not a big air-filled bag with some food maybe in the bottom. It’s only as big as the stuff in it plus it’s own structure. What force is propelling water into it? And why, in the relatively few seconds the autonomic nervous system is still operating would it “decide” that vomiting was something useful to do? Vomiting also takes aggressive muscle contractions. Which require oxygenated muscles. Even if a rapidly fading autonomic nervous system “decided” to trigger vomiting, there might not be much reaction from the relevant muscles. ---
**Author:** ![bluerust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/59ef9b/32.png) [@bluerust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluerust)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/5 "2024-01-16T14:50:35Z")
I would have thought that being unconscious and having no control would mean there would be no way to stop the water running down your throat, no propelling force needed for your stomach to fill up with water? How long would it actually take for the stomach to fill up with water once submerged unconscious and wouldn’t there be a limit before the stomach wouldn’t be able to expand anymore and overflow bringing the water in the stomach along with the rest of the stomach contents mixed in upwards and out of the mouth and nose? I would have thought it would have been like having a bowl of something like soup, then pouring water in the bowl until it overflows, the water spilling out with the soup mixed in? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/6 "2024-01-16T14:59:17Z")
> [@bluerust](#): > > I would have thought that being unconscious and having no control would mean there would be no way to stop the water running down your throat, no propelling force needed for your stomach to fill up with water? When you’re drowning, you involuntarily inhale (not drink) water; it goes into your lungs, you cough and inhale more, rinse (so to speak) and repeat a few times. End result is your lungs, and your throat, are full of water; the air went upwards as a bunch of bubbles. Why would water subsequently run down your throat? To get to your stomach, water would need to go down your esophagus, but your esophagus isn’t a big open tube full of air (that would be your trachea, under non-drowned circumstances — your windpipe leading to your lungs, the bigger of the two tubes). (And your trachea is now full of water instead). ---
**Author:** ![bluerust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/59ef9b/32.png) [@bluerust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluerust)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/7 "2024-01-16T16:24:18Z")
Why is it then when I’ve seen stuff on YouTube of someone being rescued from the water and given CPR, they often seem to be dribbling vomit out of their mouth whilst being resuscitated, especially if the muscles aren’t oxygenated? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/8 "2024-01-16T16:45:18Z")
You’re asking why does a nearly-drowned person throw up sometimes upon being resuscitated? I dunno, but last time I was in the hospital recovery room following general anaesthesia, I threw up. I don’t think it has anything to do with the water they nearly drowned in filling up their stomach though. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/9 "2024-01-16T18:17:26Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Dead Don’t Puke Edit that to Dead Men Don’t Puke and I think we have a new slogan. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/10 "2024-01-16T19:01:08Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > A living stomach is not a big air-filled bag with some food maybe in the bottom. It’s only as big as the stuff in it plus it’s own structure. What force is propelling water into it? > [@AHunter3](#): > > When you’re drowning, you involuntarily inhale (not drink) water; it goes into your lungs, you cough and inhale more, rinse (so to speak) and repeat a few times. End result is your lungs, and your throat, are full of water; the air went upwards as a bunch of bubbles. > > Why would water subsequently run down your throat? To get to your stomach, water would need to go down your esophagus, but your esophagus isn’t a big open tube full of air (that would be your trachea, under non-drowned circumstances — your windpipe leading to your lungs, the bigger of the two tubes). (And your trachea is now full of water instead). I was suspicious too, so I looked up drowning and found this: > **[Drowning | Water aspiration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drowning#Water_aspiration)** > > If water enters the airways of a conscious person, the person will try to cough up the water or swallow it, often inhaling more water involuntarily. When water enters the larynx or trachea, both conscious and unconscious people experience laryngospasm, in which the vocal cords constrict, sealing the airway. This prevents water from entering the lungs. Because of this laryngospasm, in the initial phase of drowning, water enters the stomach, and very little water enters the lungs. Though laryng Asp... **TL,DR:** Two phenomena appear to be responsible for water ingestion. One is simply swallowing to clear one’s airway of water that is interfering with breathing. That seems like something that would only happen when the victim is above water and senses an opportunity to inhale fresh air. The other phenomenon is a bit more complicated. It happens involuntarily when your panicked (or unconscious) brain insists on attempting to inhale, despite being submerged. The presence of water causes your vocal cords to involuntarily close off your trachea, but your body is still trying to inhale - and the result is that you suck water down your esophagus. I have the ability to close off my vocal cords and suck large volumes of air into my stomach to facilitate comically huge burps. I can easily see how this same sort of thing might happen with water instead of air. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/11 "2024-01-16T21:30:39Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > > > Dead Don’t Puke > > Edit that to Dead Men Don’t Puke and I think we have a new slogan. I was actually thinking of “Dead Can’t Dance” but I misremembered them as “Dead Don’t Dance”. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/12 "2024-01-16T21:46:10Z")
> [@bluerust](#): > > I wonder what the likelihood is that after the car was recovered from the water, any vomit was found inside the car alongside the water or any residual vomit found in the mouths of the two guys I hear ya. Anytime I read a story of some tragic death, I too wonder about the amount of vomitus that’s found. Sort of a hobby, actually. (Kind of like the Nintendo executive who loves to measure things) [Shigeru Miyamoto Loves to Measure Stuff - The Escapist](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/shigeru-miyamoto-loves-to-measure-stuff/#:~:text=Speaking%20with%20fellow%20Nintendo%20veteran,that%20he%20could%20measure%20things). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/13 "2024-01-16T21:50:47Z")
If water is flowing into the stomach, and if there’s a limit to how much the stomach can hold, then when it reaches that limit, water will just stop flowing into the stomach. For comparison, put a balloon underwater. Does it fill up with water until it pops? No. Maybe a little water will get into it, but mostly it’ll just sit there. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/14 "2024-01-16T21:54:47Z")
Your dead mamma don’t dance, and your dead daddy don’t rock n roll. ---
**Author:** ![bluerust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/59ef9b/32.png) [@bluerust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluerust)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/15 "2024-01-16T22:06:51Z")
When it reaches that limit, whats to stop the water continuing to build upwards up the tube as to speak until it reaches the back of the throat and the stomach contents floating upwards through the water buildup and puked out as a result? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/16 "2024-01-16T23:15:04Z")
Dead Mommy’s alright, dead Daddy’s alright, They just seem a little dead ---
**Author:** ![bluerust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/59ef9b/32.png) [@bluerust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluerust)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/17 "2024-01-17T09:42:20Z")
I like what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/18 "2024-01-17T11:25:14Z")
> [@bluerust](#): > > Why is it then when I’ve seen stuff on YouTube of someone being rescued from the water and given CPR, they often seem to be dribbling vomit out of their mouth whilst being resuscitated, especially if the muscles aren’t oxygenated? Being resuscitated after nearly drowning probably involves a certain amount of coughing and spluttering, I imagine, expelling water from the airway and possibly water plus snot from the nasal passages, and if there’s enough coughing and spluttering, that can trigger gagging and vomiting too. All of that would seem to be a function of not-drowning, rather than drowning. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/19 "2024-01-17T11:27:37Z")
> [@bluerust](#): > > When it reaches that limit, whats to stop the water continuing to build upwards up the tube as to speak until it reaches the back of the throat and the stomach contents floating upwards through the water buildup and puked out as a result? There’s no reason for any of that to happen. ---
**Author:** ![bluerust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/59ef9b/32.png) [@bluerust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluerust)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159/20 "2024-01-17T13:51:15Z")
Sometimes when I’ve coughed heavily, I’ve felt weak in the stomach and had to take deep breaths to stop myself from vomiting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-thats-drowned-has-been-submerged-for-long-enough-will-they-eventually-puke-up-the-contents-of-their-stomach-whilst-still-underwater/996159.md?page=2)