But most whiskey doesnt have enough alcohol content to actually sterlize- https://typeset.io/questions/why-cant-use-vodka-or-whisky-to-disinfect-open-wounds-240jicnem3 Vodka or whisky cannot be used to disinfect open wounds because they do not have the necessary antimicrobial properties. Disinfectants are substances that inhibit the growth of microbes and kill bacteria, while alcohol-based hand disinfectants have been used for decades as a routine measure in Europe [1]. Vodka and whisky, on the other hand, do not have the same level of antimicrobial activity as alcohol-based disinfectants. Alcohol, specifically in concentrations above 60%, is effective in denaturing bacterial proteins and killing both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria [2]. Vodka and whisky do not contain the necessary concentration of alcohol to effectively kill bacteria and prevent infection in open wounds. Therefore, it is not recommended to use vodka or whisky as disinfectants for open wounds.
Mind you, it’d be better than water, unless that water was very hot. OTOH, they now say to NOT use alcohol on an open wound anyway.
If it lodged in his body, he could die of sepsis. IIRC, that’s what happened to Presidents Garfield and McKinley.
Ironically, McKinley was shot at the World Exposition in Buffalo, NY, just a few yards away from an X-ray machine that could have helped doctors find and remove the bullet. They were afraid to use it, though.
I seem to remember something similar happened with Garfield. In that case, the device was a kind of magnetometer, and it didn’t work well enough to find the bullet.
It worked well enough, but the doctors didn’t consider that Garfield was on a bed with metal springs. That threw all the reading off, making the machine worthless. If they’d moved him to a wood-framed cot, things would have been different.
Lest someone find themselves shot in a cowboy movie, I need to point out that incredible healing won’t happen until the bullet is removed and dropped with a CLANK into a metal tray.
That’s what happened during President Lincoln’s autopsy. After the surgeons removed the brain, they dug out the bullet with a probe and let it fall into a tray.
A few years back, there was an “investigative” documentary on one of the History channels where the big mystery was whether or not the bullet had ever been recovered. I guess they hadn’t read the book I got for Christmas one year.
There’s a similar one where somebody wanders into a completely dark and quiet place, the lights turn on and suddenly there’s dozens or hundreds of people there that somehow couldn’t be heard even though this isn’t a surprise party or ambush or anything.
It’s not so much the metal bullet as the organic material that the bullet brings in with it such as bits of clothing. Even worse is if the bullet puts a hole in your intestines. Very often in the real world bullets are left in the body because they don’t pose a danger. What is a problem is the path the bullet takes. I don’t have to list all the organs a bullet can perforate going through the abdomen. The show I saw and others make it seem if the bullet passes through all you have to do is put a bandage on the outside and everything is fine. That won’t help you if the bullet went through your liver.
In the past, with black powder guns, there was also wadding, which indeed would cause an infection. But today, sometimes the Doctor will decide to just let the bullet stay there.
A stab to anywhere in the torso with a knitting needle fencing sword will immediately stop the heart, but a similar bullet wound, hydrostatic shock included, allows time for detailed instructions to be relayed to one’s sweetheart back home.
Garfield did die of sepsis, not because of the shot, per se, but because stupid-assed American doctors didn’t believe in washing their hands when they went probing around inside with bare (shit covered) hands. American exceptionalism in action!
Today, a bullet wound like Garfield’s would be treated as an out-patient procedure.
As for Hollywood magic bullet, in the football game I am watching they mentioned a player that recently got shot in the chest, and he is playing today.
It wasnt “American exceptionalism”. Most doctors in Britain and around the world didnt accept the idea until after Garfield died. Yes, there were early adopters, but by and large they were ignored.
