Scientific Data Surah 85 · Ayah 10
The people of the trench were burnt alive - the following article explains what happens to the human body on being burnt alive
The people of the trench were burnt alive - the following article explains what happens to the human body on being burnt alive
Burning to death might be the worst possible way to die. What does burning to death feel like? Human flesh does not catch fire easily, so burning to death can be a slow and painful process. There are a number of ways that you can die from side effects of the fire before the fire actually kills you. But until you lose consciousness, you're going to be in agony.
If you've ever wondered what it's like to burn to death, this list has all the information that you need.
The Carbon Monoxide Might Kill You First
When people were executed by being burned at the stake, they could die from carbon monoxide poisoning before the flames caused seriously damage to the body. This only happens in large fires, where multiple people were executed at once.
Dying from carbon monoxide is also common for people caught in house fires.
Fire Peels Away Your Skin
A fire will first burn and peel away the epidermis - the thin outer layer of skin. After five minutes under a flame, the thicker layer of skin - the dermis - shrinks and splits open, and fat begins to leak out. If you're lucky, you're already dead at this point.
Your Body Can Burn for Seven Hours
A body on fire can sustain its own flame for a long time. Your body fat (which starts leaking once your dermis cracks) can serve as a fuel source for the fire. Clothing can act like a wick and feed the fat into the flame.
Under these circumstances, a body can continue to burn for up to seven hours.
You Can Burn Until You Don't Feel Pain
The most severe burns cause so much damage to your nerves that you are no longer able to feel pain. However, it's uncertain whether you would be able to survive long enough to recognize that you cannot feel pain anymore.
Your Body Starts to Decompose
Another cause of death by fire is the thermal decomposition of vital organs or body parts. Essentially, organs that you need in order to live get destroyed by the heat or the flame itself.
Your Muscles Might Move After You Die
When the fire reaches your muscles, they get dried out and contract. This means your limbs can move long after you've died and much of your tissue has been incinerated.
Dying of Shock Is Common
Dying of shock, like carbon monoxide, would be a merciful way to go if you were being burned alive. The initial pain of the fire could be so severe that your body could go into primary shock. When you go into shock, your blood pressure suddenly drops so low that your vital organs can no longer function.
You Can Die from Loss of Blood
If you don't die of carbon monoxide poisoning or shock, the next likeliest cause of death will be loss of blood or fluids, also known as hypovolemia. Severe burns to the skin trigger an inflammatory response, which causes capillaries to leak. If the capillaries leak too much blood, you'll die.
You Might Suffocate
Another way you could die while being burned is suffocation. Your throat could become so swollen and blistered from breathing in hot air and fumes that you would be unable to take in any more oxygen.
You Can Die from Heatstroke
If your temperature rises above 105 degrees Fahrenheit, the enzymes inside your body won't be able to function properly. This leads to major organ failure, which results in death.
Spontaneous Human Combustion Might Be Real
There have been some mysterious cases where people have been found burned to death in their homes, with no other fire damage to the house. The theory is that these people died by spontaneous combustion. Skeptics, however, think that these cases always have an external source for the flame, even if it is difficult to determine what it was.