1. Seven Crowns

    Seven Crowns Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    Blood-Stained Hands

    Discussion in 'Research' started by Seven Crowns, Oct 10, 2017.

    We've all heard this, Lady MacBeth trying to scrub the blood off her hands, etc. I guess I've just taken it for granted, but does blood really stain skin? Is this just a metaphor every time? I guess I've never been drenched in blood to find out.

    Lets say Conan hacks up a bunch of Hyborian mooks. Later, when Boris Vallejo has him pose atop their corpses with a feathered-hair swimsuit model (from the 70s), does he itch? Conan, not Boris. Would the crust come off him cleanly, like he was some sort of ghastly Eskimo Pie? Or would he be all stained, like Lady MacBeth? I would think a surgeon or someone like that would know. I'm curious for a scene I'm writing, not to evade a crime.

    *insert ominous music*
     
  2. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    yep ... if you get enough blood on your hands, just like oil it gets in the grain of the skin, finger prints etc ( I only know this from doing a butchery course i hasten to add)

    It comes off reasonably easy with a nail brush though
     
  3. archer88i

    archer88i Banned Contributor

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    Mine always seems to wash off pretty easily. The weird exception is when it gets in your ears or your hair for whatever stupid reason--seemed like that was still coming out in the wash for days. Even so, unlike ink, blood isn't impregnating the skin or anything. I mean, for obvious reasons, skin is not permeable to blood.

    >.>
     
  4. Midge23

    Midge23 Active Member

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    Stain, no. Let it dry it will be awkward to get off without some moisture. Warm, soapy water and it disappears.
     
  5. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    It'll stain clothes like a bitch though As eminem says " a blood stain is orange after you wash it four or five times, but that's normal aint it, Norman ?"
     
  6. izzybot

    izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

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    There's sort of a sweet spot (well, a gross spot?) between blood still being wet enough to wipe away easily, and dry enough that it just flakes off no problem. You could go for that time frame if you need a 'stain', though how long it takes is dependent on things like the bleeder's hydration and whether they're on bloodthinners, etc. At that point, yeah, you're going to need some water to get it off, so if all you have available is dry cloth / hands it will be a nuisance, albeit not a real stain in the sense that fabric gets stained.
     
  7. The Broken Soul Project

    The Broken Soul Project Active Member

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    I have a skin condition where I tend to get cut a lot just by rubbing my ankles together or any other part of my body. I can confirm this especially with one of my white button up shirts. Had to throw that shit away.
     
  8. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Blood does not stain skin. If it could we'd all have blood stains from past cuts and abrasions.

    It can stain other things like clothing.
     
  9. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    Lava Soap or Fast Orange is great for getting old blood out of your skin. It's usually only a problem if it's been there a while, though and has had a chance to work it's way int your pores. If you've got some on your clothes, you can usually avoid a stain by soaking right away and giving it a wash and sometimes taking a mix of baking soda and peroxide and working it into the stain with a toothbrush can get a stubborn stain out. If you've got whites, Javex will work. Mostly, though, I just leave it or toss it. Lady MacBeth's 'out damn spot,' shtick wasn't about real blood, it was about guilt. Lady MacBeth convinced her husband to Kill Duncan so she could be queen, but then guilty over her part in it, even though she didn't actually take a physical part. She never had any physical blood on her, therefore she could never wash it off.

    ETA: It actually does itch if you leave it there too long. When it starts doing its thing it can clog up your pores and can lead to some pretty uncomfortable skin irritation.
     
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  10. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I lick it off too fast to notice.
     
  11. The Broken Soul Project

    The Broken Soul Project Active Member

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    I didn't think there were actual vampires/murderers that wrote here. lol jk.
     
  12. Sclavus

    Sclavus Active Member

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    I've only been witness to a mass amount of blood once during a science teacher's lecture. She had her hands elbows deep in the extracted heart of a large animal. She had blood under her fingernails for months after it dried there, but the rest of it washed away. Lava Soap works wonders for that kind of thing.
     
  13. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    She wasn't wearing gloves?

    And even so, the blood stayed for months?

    I've certainly had blood dry under my fingernails before, but I just scrubbed it away with a nailbrush. I have serious concerns about your science teacher's hygiene!
     
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  14. Sclavus

    Sclavus Active Member

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    Yeah, I don't know why she didn't use gloves. I was in sixth grade, so I can't say I noticed anything amiss with her hygiene, because I wasn't self-aware on that front. I walked through a middle school last year and wondered how the hell anyone tolerates that stink.
     
  15. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    That's disgusting. If you shampoo your hair in the shower, it will also clean under one's fingernails. We use brushes in the OR to clean under the nails. The only reason one would have blood left behind under one's nails is because one is doing a crappy job washing one's hands.

    Now if it is grease like a mechanic gets under one's nails, that is harder to get off.

    And blood left behind after washing is not the same as a stain.
     

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