Is it possible to live after being shot in the head?

Question

i ask because i saw an episode of general hospital where someone gets shot in the head but doesn't die...

Answer 1

yeah, if it doesn't go too far in the head

if it crosses the midline of the head, you are dead

Answer 2

happens all the time, people have had nails, pipes, all kinds of things impale the brain. The thing about being shot in the head is what areas of the brain are damaged and the path, expansion, caliber of bullet...etc. Short answer, yes. Happens all the time.

Answer 3

yes it is possible to live-there are many people who have tried to shoot themselves in the head to commit suicide and it missed their brain.  

Answer 4

Yes it is possible, though not incredibly likely. But it has happened.

As for GH, I love how everyone's hair still looks perfect after brain surgery! In fantasy-land nobody every needs a surgical shave!

Answer 5

Yes... many people have survived gun shot wounds to the head. There are many variables in why some people survive and others don't.

Answer 6

The person would have to be extremely lucky. I have heard of it happening though, many times they are just grazed by the bullet or it only goes in a little bit. If the bullet is too far in and they can't surgically remove it, which in almost all case is impossible, then you would most likely die from it.

General Hospital may not be the best place to see anything medically realistic, no offense to the show...

Answer 7

Yes.  Brain injuries are not always fatal, especially with modern medicine.  A bullet can miss vital areas of the brain, or can catch the curve on the inner skull follow it around the brain.  The brain can be damaged without cutting the involuntary vital functions that run the other major organ systems.  

Answer 8

yepp.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...

Answer 9

It's very unlikely, but the bullet could hit an area of your brain not directly associated with survival, or you could be hit in the jaw or other non-vital area. Regardless you'd suffer severe blood loss and probably permanent brain damage.

Answer 10

i saw a do-cu on a guy who had a lot of his head missing so much so that his kid brothers were throwing around a ball made of rolled socks and they completely disappeared they searched everywhere until they noticed them sitting in the hole in their brothers head it was a truly amazing do-cu to the ways in which a human body can adapt

edit i found some info on the boy from the docu and a photo altho it looks as tho between the docu being made and the photo more reconstruction has been done but its still evidently alot missing and from a gun shot

thanx to whoever did the thumbs down lol i was asked i gave knowledge of what id seen thats all

its number eight in the list and heres whats said below the photo:-

“I try to appreciate things a lot more. You never know what moment you won’t be there.” In 1987, an accidental discharge of a gun blew half of 14 year old Israfil’s brains away, yet he survived and later graduated with honors.

Doctors were able to fill the hole with a silicone block, “the flap of skin was pulled over and hair grew back, giving him a fairly normal appearance.” Cranioplast was used to put the “icing on the cake” (Dayton Daily News)



http://listverse.com/people/top-10-amazi...

Answer 11

yes it is very possible, actually, many people in the first World War were shot in the head, because it was an easy shot when they took their heads out to aim with their guns, and many of them survived. They were deformed very badly though, and that's when plastic surgery began to become as famous as it is nowadays :)

Answer 12

Yes. I depends on where you get shot and how far the bullet penetrates into your skull.  

Answer 13

ya for like 2 seconds, but if u get shot in the heart you can live, but only for like 3 seconds though

Answer 14

Maybe If it doesnt go all the way through, or maybe if it just skid your head. But if that happend you'd be considered extreamly lucky ! your chances of that happening are 1 out of a million !

Answer 15

I think if it doesnt hit the brain.

Answer 16

It's most deffinately impossible. If you get shot in the head it also shouts your brain and without your brain your blood stop and so does your heart. Sorry if this was gross.

Answer 17

yes it's very possible. it all depends on were the shot enters, what it hits, and whether it stays in the head or leaves. Some of the effects can be very serious though. you can be severly damaged for life.  

Answer 18

Depends on where you get shot at.  A lot of people actually survive, and they just put a thin iron plate on the skull to cover the hole and protect your brain from further harm.  There is normally side effects though.

Answer 19

Yes, but it is EXTREMELY uncommon. When a bullet enters the body, it deforms and takes out a ton of living tissue with it. A direct hit to the center of the brain is almost certainly fatal. The smaller the bullet and the further away from vital parts of the brain, the greater the chance of survival.  

Answer 20

I heard this story in my hometown, and it happened for real. this guy wanted to kill this other guy with a magnum .357 and the other guy didnt realize that the guy with the gun was following him and the guy with the gun shot the other guy in the rear of the head, and the other guy started running, then the guy with the gun started chasing him and shot the other guy again in the head, and the guy kept running, it took three shots in the head to finally kill the guy. isnt that unvelievable? I know it happened because that day I was taking a shower and I heard the three shots, and when I finished taking a shower, I went to the street and saw the body. I live in Puerto Rico, and the houses dont have air conditioner, so the windows remain open, and you can hear whatever happens in the outside. if you are wondering how i heard the shots.

Answer 21

I originally thought this was a serious question but then you went ahead and named a soap opera.  Way to kill a good question.  "IS IT POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE CAN FLY??? I SAW THIS SUPERMAN MOVIE AND ......."

Answer 22

Yes, even if the brain is hit, it's possible you can live.

Answer 23

Yes, its possible. Not every head injury is fatal.  

Answer 24

yup...its possible to live after getting shot in the head...general hospital wouldnt lie!!!!! :-o

LOL

Answer 25

yes. your body can live without brain function because the basics functions that keep our bodies alive are automatic heart beat and breathing.  

Answer 26

Yes it is possible. One of my friend's has a brother who tried to commit suicide this way. It didn't work. He's alive, and functioning well, speaks well, and looks well, but he still does need some assistance with daily tasks. But there are those that are very lucky and never notice a difference.

Answer 27

yes it is ,it all depends what part of the head gets hit .

:)

Answer 28

Oh sure, in fact there have been some even worse cases (7 inch knife through the brain, nail through the eye) that people come out of just fine. It depends on where the bullet hits and what kind of bullet it is. If you don't bleed to death, and the bullet doesn't hit near the base of the head where all the life support is, you can get through it with varying levels of brain damage, including barely any change at all.

Answer 29

Absolutely. There is no guarantee that the shooting victim is going to be 100% ok, but, yes it is very possible to live after being shot in the head. I have seen and am familiar with a gentleman who was out of the country for sometime when he was shot in the head by a stranger and survived. Although in a wheel chair he understands and has a device to help him respond to those who are talking to him. No, he is not fully 100% functional, but, he is alive. There has been a case or two that I have read in the news and what not of people who have been shot in the head and have come out just fine with no apparent signs of being shot in the head.

As for those who are shot point blank with a gun directly to the head, I believe it is litterally impossible to survive because in this case the brain has no chance of survival.

Hope that this helps you.  

Answer 30

yea sometimes with a 9 millimiter pistol the bullet goes past the skin in the brain hits the skull but it doesnt penetrate the skull the bullet goes around the skull lol its complicated. also there is a place where you can get shot and the bullet passes through the head completely but does not hit the head

Answer 31

Yeah...definitely possible.

My girlfriends dad is an ex-police officer.  he was shot straight on, right above the nose...and he's lived the past 15 years a normal life.

he had reconstructive surgery, and you can barely tell anything happened.