Health question - World War Z related (minor spoilers)

June 22, 2013 9:40 AM

A question about unconciousness and bladder/bowel control. (Minor World War Z spoilers)

So Brad Pitt gets to Cardiff and falls unconcious. On waking he is told he has been out for 3 days. He does not appear to have a catheter and has been tied down, presumably for the whole period. Could his body have held its water for that long or is he likely to have fouled himself while out for that amount of time?

I note he does not appear to change his pants on waking.

posted by biffa to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

I have not seen this specific movie but recently saw a very similar thing happen on tv or another movie (can't remember, I watch way too much Netflix) and had the same question. I finally decided it's just one of those things they gloss over in movies, unless it's a big scene unto itself (like the movie Frozen--they get trapped on a ski lift and there's a whole scene where the girl has to pee her pants and it's traumatic-ish).
posted by masquesoporfavor at 10:21 AM on June 22, 2013

Incontinence is one of the listed possible effects of unconsciousness. Add it to the long list of things (mostly bodily functions) that film makers seem not to represent realistically. (Slight derail: the thing that always grates for me is the inability of anyone in an American film or TV programme to lock a car they have just parked.)
posted by epo at 10:57 AM on June 22, 2013

Just to clarify, I am quite interested in how long the body can go before it evacuates waste during unconciousness.
posted by biffa at 11:13 AM on June 22, 2013

I take care of patients in ICUs who are unconscious all day long (i.e. patients who demonstrate unarousable unresponsiveness due to critical illness or medically-induced coma/sedation). People often refer to the nervous system of the gut as the body's "second brain" for a reason. All other things being equal, bowel and bladder function is largely unaffected at least directly by one's level of consciousness. Exceptions might include neurological injuries or medications/toxic ingestions that may specifically affect the enteric nervous system as well as the central nervous system.

In other words, I don't know why Brad Pitt lost consciousness in the movie, but in real life, he would likely have soiled himself within hours of the event.
posted by drpynchon at 11:52 AM on June 22, 2013