Injecting air into a vein?

[corvoscuro]

Would injecting enough air through an arm vein kill me? I'm not talking about just a syringe worth of air, that's pretty established that it doesn't work. But what about rigging, say, a tube to a needle, pretty easy to do, and pumping air in it either with a bike pump, or just by blowing in it. Would it work?

Is there a doctor here who can comment on that?

 

[corvoscuro]

Anybody?

 

[Sunset Limited]

What happens if you inject air into your veins?

Answer (1 of 66): Small air bubbles in intravenous lines are common and difficult to completely avoid, even with great diligence applied to eliminating them. A small bubble from an IV enters a peripheral vein, travels through larger & larger veins, eventually reaching the right side of the heart ...

www.quora.com

 

[eLdus]

I think technically it would have to be a large air embolism into an artery, rather than a vein. With a high chance of extreme pain, respiratory distress and cardiac arrest in the moments before death. Not a nice way to go.
(Note - this is just from what I've read, I'm not a doctor.)

 

[golfmavenice]

I don't have an idea about this, but I am thinking about injecting lidocaine. It should be %10 concentration to work, 5-10 ampules is more than enough

 

[sandalphon]

Would injecting enough air through an arm vein kill me? I'm not talking about just a syringe worth of air, that's pretty established that it doesn't work. But what about rigging, say, a tube to a needle, pretty easy to do, and pumping air in it either with a bike pump, or just by blowing in it. Would it work?

Is there a doctor here who can comment on that?

Don't. This is a stupid method and it will be agonizing with a high chance of failure.

 

[corvoscuro]

I don't have an idea about this, but I am thinking about injecting lidocaine. It should be %10 concentration to work, 5-10 ampules is more than enough

Can lidocaine kill you? Is it easy to get ahold?

 

[golfmavenice]

Can lidocaine kill you? Is it easy to get ahold?

Yes, 5 mL of %10 lidocaine will produce a cardiac arrest, 25 mL(5 ampules) will be a highly guaranteed death. I don't know how peaceful it is, you can ask google about the peacefullness of lidocaine side effects.

By the way you can't just use a syringe because it would limit the bolus rate

 

[Sunset Limited]

Can lidocaine kill you? Is it easy to get ahold?

The action of lidocaine on the CNS precedes its cardiac effects. Ataxia and convulsions before coma. I don't think it will be peaceful. There are local anesthetics with higher cardiac toxicity. A quick bolus with bupivacaine might be peaceful. It's still purely hypothetical. I personally do not prefer this method.