system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What exactly happens to the body to fall into a medically induce coma?

Also, how does a medically induced coma differ from one that is the body’s natural reaction to trauma?
gpt
From an ER doc:

We put people into "medically induced comas" to basically protect their airway. If, for whatever reason, a patient is unable to breathe on their own, we intubate them (put a tube down into their lungs) to breathe for them, but also give them medications to sedate them, so as not to torture the patient by keeping them awake while we are trying to stabilize them. This process can take hours, days, weeks, or even can be permanent.

For example, someone has a brain bleed, which causes such an increase of pressure within the head that it is squeezing the brain so tight that parts of the brain lose bloodflow and become compromised. The patient rapidly loses function of several aspects of their bodily function. In thecase of trauma, we rate them on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). At a certain level, patient's are almost guaranteed to continue to decline to the point that they will die unless they are sedated and intubated. 

And thus, what are considered medically induced comas start out like this. Whether its an unstoppable seizure, a massive heart attack, a stroke, etc. some catastrophies to the body and brain are so severe that patients must be sedated in order for doctors to initiate critical care. If the patient were not sedated, they would likely lie there awake but unable to move or talk, while needles and mechanical objects and medicines are being pumped into their bodies. The "medically induced coma" is there to sedate the patient until doctors can stabilize whatever issue is causing them to be so sick, if even possible.