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Chinese man holds in vomit, esophagus explodes

Preston Phro Jul 21, 2013
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Summer vacation is in full swing now, meaning everyone’s at the beach drinking lots of cold beer, in the park drinking lots of cold beer, or in the mountains drinking lots of cold beer. Basically, breweries are getting rich and we’re happy to help.

But, as one Chinese man recently found out, you need to be careful! Too much beer can have…explosive results.

Not feeling so great…

Wei Shi, a Chinese man in his thirties, was out drinking with his friends. As they gobbled down their food, Mr. Shi’s friends kept encouraging him to drink more. Though not much of a drinker, the man ended up sucking down two 300-milliliter bottles of beer, hoping to save face.

Unfortunately for Shi, his stomach just wouldn’t accept the sudden and massive influx of the bubbly drink and he was hit with intense nausea. Fearing for his reputation as a master brew-guzzler, the man suffered silently, struggling to hold back the urge to splurge.

From “not so great” to “pure agony”

As Mr. Shi was holding back his vomit, though, he felt an altogether new pain literally bursting inside of his body. It was then that he realized something horrible had happened and was taken to the hospital for emergency care.

▼In case you need a quick anatomy lesson…

The horror!!

The doctor who performed emergency surgery on the pitiable man was shocked at the damage he discovered upon cracking Mr. Shi open. According to the surgeon, it looked as if his stomach had been bombed, with the food and beer he’d ingested having been blown all around his body. The cause? His esophagus had ruptured. As soon as his esophagus had blown apart, all the contents of his stomach flooded through the hole and into his body.

Six centimeter (2.3 inch) hole

The hole in his esophagus measured a total of six centimeters (about 2.3 inches)! And the vomit didn’t just seep into his body—it flew so far as to end up next to his lungs. Obviously, in addition to having a hole in his body as well as half digested food hanging out with his lungs, Mr. Shi also faces the possibility of suppuration (the formation of pus) or infection occurring. The doctor indicated that the poor man was in very serious condition.

The cause

The first problem was that the patient clamped his mouth shut and held in the vomit. Obviously, the 600 milliliters of beer and food meant a large mass of foodstuff trying to punch its way out of his mouth. This in turn created a massive amount of pressure in his body, in addition to the pressure from the vomit. According to the doctor, when Mr. Shi tried to hold in the vomit, the pressure from all the food and beer was just too much, turning his abdomen into a food-and-beer bomb.

▼How to make a human bomb: Just add beer!

How YOU can prevent an exploding esophagus

But it turns out that just letting it all out wouldn’t necessarily have kept him safe. In addition to whatever is getting thrown out of your mouth while vomiting, there’s also additional pressure created by your stomach. So when vomiting large amounts all at once, if it comes out too fast, your esophagus can still rupture. Kind of like trying to shove a grapefruit through a straw.

Therefore, if you do find yourself with too much beer in your belly and have the need to get it out, you shouldn’t hold it in or just puke it all up at once, but instead try to let it out little by little. We’re not sure how, exactly, one goes about vomiting little by little, especially when drunk enough to vomit. But it’s something to aim for, right?

Obviously, the doctor emphasized, the best thing is to avoid eating and drinking to the point of vomiting. So if you’re starting to feel queasy yourself, be sure to take the doctor’s advice and try not to rupture your esophagus!

Note: RocketNews24 is not responsible for ruptured body parts as a result of reading gruesome articles.

Image sources: Wikipedia (Beer, Esophagus)
[ Read in Japanese ]