while i can’t say that it’s never happened, it would be extremely unlikely for a number of reasons:
long before it got to that point, the patient’s gastroenteritis (an acute condition caused by the infection and inflammation of the digestive system, a common symptom of which is gas pains) would be so painful, they would stop eating and seek medical treatment. We’re talking level 8-10 on the pain scale. Excruciating pain. They’d literally be screaming in pain long before it got to this point.
the amount of force required to perforate the intestinal wall with air pressure alone would be so great that it would force its way in another direction first, likely clearing whatever obstruction or even traveling “the wrong way” before causing an intestinal rupture. Also, see #1
intestinal perforations/ruptures when a large amount of force is applied to a small area. with gas, that force is applied over a large area, so no one area has much force applied. as such, no one spot has enough force to cause a rupture/perforation even though the overall amount of force is greater.
the intestinal wall is surprisingly strong and resilient.
of course, this is just a typical scenario, and there could be outliers/edge cases where something very bizarre may occur.
Intestinal tissue. It’s a specific type of tissue. More specific than that? Lots of cellulose and blood vessels. small, smooth muscles are what are responsible for expanding and contracting in order to move food and stool through the various stages of digestion from beginning to end.
Anecdotally, I had a blockage I thankfully passed without medical intervention… but it was a long terrible night.
There was a lot of gas built up behind the blockage, and it hurt. Like, a broken bone would have preferable, and yes I have had broken bones.
Over the course of hours, I could FEEL the blockage slowly moving its way out, accompanied with great pain every time.
When I finally passed it, it was similar to a musket round being fired, with a long loose butthole fart for at least a solid minute.
The relief was immense. Second most relief I’ve ever felt.
First was an ear infection behind a total blockage of ear wax. The pressure was insane. Second we just went over. For perspective, the third was receiving IV morphine in the hospital slightly before emergency surgery.
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