If the person's death is expected and natural, you don't have to call a doctor right away. If they die during the night you can wait until the morning before calling a doctor. If there is no doctor available, call the police.
You can simply sit with them, perhaps holding hands. Hearing is said to be the last sense to go, so you may want to talk, read aloud, sing or play music. Your cultural or spiritual traditions may require someone to be present, and this may also be the time to perform any rituals.
Gasping is also referred to as agonal respiration and the name is appropriate because the gasping respirations appear uncomfortable, causing concern that the patient is dyspnoeic and in agony.
It isn't clear how long a person who is dying retains awareness of what is going on around them, but research suggests that some degree of awareness may remain even after the person slips from unconsciousness.
They might close their eyes frequently or they might be half-open. Facial muscles may relax and the jaw can drop. Skin can become very pale. Breathing can alternate between loud rasping breaths and quiet breathing.
Police officers attend all incidents of sudden or unexpected deaths that occur outside of a hospital or medical setting.
If the death is unexpected
You should dial 999 if someone dies unexpectedly. The operator will tell you what to do to see if the person can be resuscitated. When ambulance staff arrive they will try resuscitation or else will confirm that the individual has died.
If your loved one dies unexpectedly, call 000. If you were expecting them to die, call their doctor. They will sign a certificate that confirms the death. If they died in aged care, at a hospital or in a hospice, you don't need to do anything.
But, in most cases, if it's an expected death, you're completely free to care for someone at home. You could do this for hours, days or even a week or more if that feels right. As long as the death is registered within five days, there isn't any rush to decide what to do next.
For the first few minutes of the postmortem period, brain cells may survive. The heart can keep beating without its blood supply. A healthy liver continues breaking down alcohol. And if a technician strikes your thigh above the kneecap, your leg likely kicks, just as it did at your last reflex test with a physician.
An unexpected discovery made by an international team, examining the results of an EEG on an elderly patient, who died suddenly of a heart attack while the test was in progress.
Researchers measured 900 seconds of brain activity around the time of death of the 87-year-old patient. Their findings revealed that the man's brain waves in the 30 seconds before and after his heart stopped beating were similar to what happens when we recall memories, dreams or meditate.
One of the wildest innovations is “living funerals.” You can attend a dry run of your own funeral, complete with casket, mourners, funeral procession, etc. You can witness the lavish proceedings without having an “out-of-body” experience, just an “out-of-disposable-income” experience.
The important findings, along with observations of long-time palliative care doctors and nurses, show: Brain activity supports that a dying patient most likely can hear. Even if awareness of sound cannot be communicated due to loss of motor responses, the value of verbal interactions is measurable and positive.
Death just became even more scary: scientists say people are aware they're dead because their consciousness continues to work after the body has stopped showing signs of life. That means that, theoretically, someone may even hear their own death being announced by medics.
When the window is ajar. Opening the window after someone dies is a tradition that hasn't died out. All over the world many nurses and families abide by this practice. It is said the souls of ancestors gather at the time of death of a family member and, regardless, this aids the soul transitioning to the next world.
It can be upsetting or worrying for those around the person to hear their noisy breathing. But it's unlikely to be painful or distressing for the person who's dying. Often they will be unconscious or won't be aware of it.
We enter heaven immediately upon our death, or our souls sleep until the second coming of Christ and the accompanying resurrection.
Pallor mortis, paleness which happens in the first 15–120 minutes after death. Algor mortis, the reduction in body temperature following death. This is generally a steady decline until matching ambient temperature. Rigor mortis, the limbs of the corpse become stiff (Latin rigor) and difficult to move or manipulate.
Livor mortis is defined as the first stage after death. It means "discoloration of death" or "wound of death" in Latin. Liver mortis occurs within 20 to 30 minutes after death and lasts for the first 12 hours.
Typically, if the death was from natural causes and in the presence of family, a funeral home of the family's choice will go to the home and remove the dead body.
Death at home
When someone dies at home, the first step is to call the GP. The GP will normally visit the house and if the death was expected, issue a certificate giving the cause of death. If the person did not have a GP or you do not know the name of the GP, you should call an ambulance instead.