Physical signs Facial muscles may relax and the jaw can drop. Skin can become very pale. Breathing can alternate between loud rasping breaths and quiet breathing. Towards the end, dying people will often only breathe periodically, with an intake of breath followed by no breath for several seconds.
What happens when someone dies? In time, the heart stops and they stop breathing. Within a few minutes, their brain stops functioning entirely and their skin starts to cool. At this point, they have died.
Body temperature can go down by a degree or more as death nears. Blood pressure will also decrease, contributing to reduced blood flow to the hands, feet, nose, and lips. You may notice the patient's skin turning pale, bluish, or mottled. Some people may fluctuate between being hot and cold.
Pulse and heartbeat are irregular or hard to feel or hear. Body temperature drops. Skin on their knees, feet, and hands turns a mottled bluish-purple (often in the last 24 hours) Breathing is interrupted by gasping and slows until it stops entirely.
How Long Does the Active Stage of Dying Last? The active stage of dying generally only lasts for about 3 days. The active stage is preceded by an approximately 3-week period of the pre-active dying stage.
This stage is also one of reflection. The dying person often thinks back over their life and revisits old memories.4 They might also be going over the things they regret.
The first organ system to “close down” is the digestive system. Digestion is a lot of work! In the last few weeks, there is really no need to process food to build new cells. That energy needs to go elsewhere.
When a patient is transitioning, they are typically bedbound due to exhaustion, weakness, and fatigue. They are less responsive and sleeping most of the time. They may sluggishly rouse when you tap them on the shoulder. They may have a more difficult time waking up.
The five stages – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance – are often talked about as if they happen in order, moving from one stage to the other. You might hear people say things like 'Oh I've moved on from denial and now I think I'm entering the angry stage'.
This difficult time may be complicated by a phenomenon known as the surge before death, or terminal lucidity, which can happen days, hours, or even minutes before a person's passing. Often occurring abruptly, this period of increased energy and alertness may give families false hope that their loved ones will recover.
The duration of the gasping respiration phase varies; it may be as brief as one or two breaths to a prolonged period of gasping lasting minutes or even hours.
When you're dying, your body temperature drops, and your skin may feel cold or clammy to the touch. Other numbers may be irregular or unpredictable as your vital organs work to keep you alive, even as you're nearing death. As you approach your final hours, your respiration rate will steadily decline.
They Know They're Dying
Dying is a natural process that the body has to work at. Just as a woman in labor knows a baby is coming, a dying person may instinctively know death is near. Even if your loved one doesn't discuss their death, they most likely know it is coming.
But if it occurred at home, AARP says, call 911, and the police and paramedics will conduct an investigation and make a declaration of death. The medical team will help you decide whether an autopsy is needed by the L.A. County Medical Examiner-Coroner or if you should go ahead and call a funeral home.
Physical signs
Facial muscles may relax and the jaw can drop. Skin can become very pale. Breathing can alternate between loud rasping breaths and quiet breathing. Towards the end, dying people will often only breathe periodically, with an intake of breath followed by no breath for several seconds.
“Our data shows that a dying brain can respond to sound, even in an unconscious state, up to the last hours of life.”
Your loved one may become restless and pull on bed linens or clothing, hallucinate, or even try to get out of bed, due to less oxygen reaching their brain. Repetitive, restless movements may also indicate something is unresolved or unfinished in the person's mind.
Hospice has a program that says that no one should have to die alone, and yet this hospice nurse is telling me to take a break? Some patients want to die when no one else is there. Hospice professionals know that companionship while dying is a personal preference.
"When we imagine our emotions as we approach death, we think mostly of sadness and terror," says psychological scientist Kurt Gray of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "But it turns out, dying is less sad and terrifying – and happier – than you think."
The pain is caused by the overwhelming amount of stress hormones being released during the grieving process. These effectively stun the muscles they contact. Stress hormones act on the body in a similar way to broken heart syndrome.
Impact of Pain at the End of Life
Pain that isn't properly treated can cause more than discomfort. It can make other symptoms, like shortness of breath and anxiety, much worse. Emotionally, pain may cause you or your loved one to be irritable.
Mottling most frequently occurs first on the feet, then travels up the legs. Mottling of skin before death is common and usually occurs during the final week of life, although in some cases it can occur earlier. Mottling is caused by the heart no longer being able to pump blood effectively.
As someone approaches death, their body begins to show symptoms. Breathing patterns change and secretions collect in the throat. This can create a rattling sound known as the death rattle. It is a part of the dying process.