How long can someone safely be choked?

[Orion283]

Both for story purposes and my own safety knowledge in martial arts, how long is too long to keep a choke-hold, or for a character to be suffocated by being in a vacuum or something? I figure that once a person passes out if they don't start getting air again soon it gets quite bad, but is that threshold a matter of a few dozen seconds or can they die in moments after passing out from being choked?

[MichaelB]

As I understand it, if the brain is deprived of oxygen for two mintues permanent damage ensues. This includes time during which the brain is still fuctional but simply not recieving oxygen, as in a tue, effective stranglehold.

As such, most strangleholds will only reduce the bloodflow or the breathing minimally or enough to cause discomfort. Truly damaging chokeholds haven't been practiced in any (publicised) professional form since the ninjas and the Chin Warriors went out.

[AXJ]

Remember, there are two types of chokes: air chokes and blood chokes. With a blood choke unconsciousness comes much more quickly but recovery is very fast when it's released. However, if you hold it, death or permanent brain damage can occur very quickly - under 30 seconds, or so I've been told.

With air chokes / drowning, the brain can live off of the residual oxygen still in the system for a while - at least two minutes after unconsciousness, sometimes longer in cases where it's very cold. However, in the case of choking, just releasing it may not be enough, as the act of forcibly collapsing the trachea from the outside can damage it and/or trigger fast swelling - in which case, the only hope for the victim is an emergency tracheotomy. (This is why air chokes are so strongly discouraged in martial arts practice.)

[Hippie]

Rule of three: One can live three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food.

I learned that from CSI... so I take it with a grain of salt.

[Orion283]

Hrm... So as long as ya let go after he goes limp you're probably in the clear. Though it's also advised in our training that after any kind of fight you should always seek medical attention for all involved in case of internal injuries whose effects might not be obvious at first.

[Lord of Fools]

Rule of three: One can live three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food.

I learned that from CSI... so I take it with a grain of salt.

Being pedantic, but those DO vary depending on conditions :P Not so much the air one, but the others are very general and not necessarily true in every circumstance. Your grain of salt is well taken.

The choke would have to be a very, very good choke. Sometimes people can pass out due to lack of oxygen, but still be breathing just enough that they can recover once the pressure is removed without too much damage. It's not, however, something I would advise.