TIL cows can suffer from fatal bloated stomachs. A way of treating it is by puncture and burning the released methane gas (to determine how much is remaining).
Specifically, it occurs when the cows eat high volumes of clover or other nitrogen fixing plants (most legumes fall in to this category). Ruminants produce a lot of gas in their digestive process, because their stomachs are designed to ferment their food, allowing them to better access highly fibrous food sources like grass. Normally, they belch or fart the gas away, but in the case of nitrogen fixing clovers, they produce too much gas to be able to burp and fart away, and they end up with fatal bloating!
I remember learning this in school in rural Australia. The most amazing thing is that I still remember it :P
Stupid question, but could a similar thing happen to a human? I don’t belch/burp, and I can get insanely bloated. I should probably see a doctor to see if this is normal or if there’s a treatment, but it’s kind of embarrassing!
It might be a rare condition called RCPD where a muscle in your esophagus is too strong. The treatments are a shot of Botox to weaken the muscle, or getting it cut a little bit if Botox doesn't work.
I have issues with it intermittently.
Not a doctor, and you should definitely talk to one before trying it, but I have found Eno to be remarkable in solving gaseous bloating.
no such thing as embarrassing when dealing with medical problems, they've seen and heard everything and medical staff that at all makes you feel bad are incompetent and should get another job.
Any good medical worker is there to make you feel better, and will actively appreciate blunt honesty because it makes everything so much easier and treatments more effective.
But wouldn't nitrogen lead to ammonia? Methane is ch4, with no nitrogen? Or does nitrogen fixing vegetation somehow induce other digestion paths?
yeah I think the extra ammonia and hydrogen gas emitted from the nitrogen fixation process fucks with the regular breakdown of sugars to make more CH4 instead of CO2.
The products of the nitrogen fixation make the environment inside the stomach less aerobic so you end up with the anaerobic breakdown of sugars.
Oh, neat! Message received: if I eat enough beans, I can be my own creme brulee torch!
Wow, that would explain the mutilated cows that people think are aliens. Like lightning striking an explosive cow and boom ground beef.
Lmao they literally flare off the cow??
That cow is very slightly rocket powered.
I know I might get shit for this, but I thought I would share it anyways because you asked.
Final Verdict:
Technically possible if you:
Outcome:
Disclaimer: No cows were harmed in this thought experiment. Please do not weaponize livestock. 🚀🐄🔥
Spoken like a true redditor
So its... kinda like a tracheotomy, but for your gut, so... gastrotomy?
Ah, 'gastrostomy'.
A medically necessary, emergency fart valve.
Amazing.
Pericentesis is probably a closer analogue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracentesis
Do you mean this?
Either way, TIL!
Though, if I am understanding this right, paracentesis typically is targetted at... some kind of fluid build up basically outside of the actual gastrointestinal tract, in the paracenteal cavity, the space between your abdominal muscles and organs...
... the procedure does seem to outwardly more resemble this cow fart valve in appearence, but it doesn't actually directly pierce, go into the intenstine directly.
G (I'm no veterinarian but I'd guess you'd number which stomach it's going into since G means gastric) tube?
You just know there's some old vet that systematically lights up his cig on this every time he does it, all casual
Gee I somehow thought somebody shot a lil jet propelled blow dart lol
Cutting out the middle man to light your farts on fire.
I appreciated the TIL by itself, but the video added a whole new dimension of "definitely, this is not what I was imagining".
Thank you!
Hey Angus, why is Hettie on fire?
Oh she just walked past Bessie.
Best to give Bessie a wide birth ey Angus.
That's right Maggie, when you see Bessie coming you better MOOOOOOve over.
Oh nice one Angus.
Thanks maggs that's why they call me the cow-median.
Udder genius.
It’s half and half tbh
Won't it get really hot after a while?
I ate so much I feel like I need this fr
Pro tip: don’t close the wound after the incident, install a valve, hose, and flamethrower nozzle.
You can also put a hose down it's throat.
Which makes for a much more dramatic-looking jet of flame when you light it.
For the cowherd that always wanted to be a dragon-keeper.
less comfortable for the cow, much much much more comfortable for me
That cow takes one wrong breath and its over for both the cow and the torch guy. But that's just a worst case possibility. I'll wait for the video.
I only ever seen plastic pipes used
Imagine cooking a hamburger using that torch.
Imagine thinking this is a good solution to horribly mis-feeding animals.
Sometimes animals escape their enclosures and mis-feed themselves. The couple times I've witnessed this were the result of cows helping themselves to a field of alfalfa. Alfalfa is good as a component of a silage mix but is too rich to be consumed fresh on its own. But cows love alfalfa and are good at finding weaknesses in fencing.
what makes you think this is due to misfeeding?
Because it's very common to feed cows subsidized grains instead of letting them graze on grasses. Definitely the kind of thing that would create too much methane during digestion. Corn especially has way more sugars than the grasses they're supposed to eat.
Edit: It appears it's not necessarily grain but does have to do with the quality of their feed.
the way we treat animals is fucking horrifying.
Helping it not die from internal gas build up is horrifying? That sounds like an awful way to go.
This is exactly how we used to treat a collapsed lung in humans, sometimes still do. Been there, would rather have been poked with that method than the giant tube up my side to the top of my lung.
Ignoring the gigantic needle piercing its body, that pressure relief must feel amazing
It feels barely nothing for cows. A typical "syringe" for them looks like a freaking gun
I can't read pixelese, but I think that's an insemination device, not a syringe.
What on earth is that for? I’ve injected a lot of cattle with vaccines/antibiotics in a former life and never saw a needle this size. Unless it’s something requiring a vet maybe?