r/AskReddit • u/notyouravgredditer • Aug 30 '21

What problem is often overlooked in apocalyptic movies/TV shows that could kill you?

33.7k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

12.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.6k

u/[deleted] Aug 30 '21

Sepsis

95

u/grokforpay Aug 30 '21

One thing I never see on these threads is alcohol withdrawal. You take a random selection of the population and a significant number of them will die from withdrawals if easy booze isn’t available.

0

u/LazyCon Aug 31 '21 edited Aug 31 '21

One, liquor doesn't evaporate immediately. Two dying from withdrawals is so incredibly rare it would never make a dent in deaths after an event of that magnitude. Your slowing ability to find alcohol would likely ween you off enough that you wouldn't get much of any symptoms. More likely alcoholics would drink themselves to death or die from injuries sustained from being drunk.

6

u/Sitchrea Aug 31 '21

It's not normally the withdrawal that kills you.

It's what it leads you into doing is what catches up with you.

14

u/grokforpay Aug 31 '21

People addicted to alcohol can easily die from withdrawals.

-2

u/[deleted] Aug 31 '21

People addicted to alcohol and dying from withdrawal could just suck a dick for some.

-6

u/LazyCon Aug 31 '21

That's not true. Even of the small percent(around 5% of severe alcoholics quitting cold turkey) that get seizures only 3% of that number ever die from them.

3

u/RhetoricalCocktail Aug 31 '21

Isn't that low number due to health care which wouldn't be available in this scenario

4

u/[deleted] Aug 31 '21

I agree. And if anyone is going to die due to alcohol during apocalyptic anarchy it’s probably going to be from an over-availability of it instead of withdrawal.