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May 2, 2024 · Knowing more about the end-of-life process may help you better prepare for what's to come. This article explains a typical end-of-life timeline and what happens to someone mentally, behaviorally, and physically.
- Angela Morrow, RN
- Angela Morrow, RN
- Pain. Pain is a common symptom experienced near the end of life, although it can vary from person to person. Pain is not only determined by medical conditions that cause pain, like cancer or lung disease, but also by factors like emotional distress, interpersonal conflicts, and the non-acceptance of one’s own death.
- Shortness of Breath. Shortness of breath, also known as dyspnea, is one of the most common end-of-life symptoms. Even if a person doesn't have lung disease, dyspnea can occur because the organ systems of the body are interconnected.
- Anxiety. Anxiety is normal at the end of life as a person contemplates their own death or struggles through the stages of dying. This is commonly expressed as agitation, worrying, sweating, stomach upset, nausea, sleeping problems, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations.
- Decreased Appetite and Thirst. As a body starts to shut down, it no longer needs as many calories and nutrition to function at such lowered levels. Although it is normal for people to refuse food and drink near the end of life—either because they have no desire for it or find the effort of eating or drinking to be too much—it can still be upsetting for families.
- Lana Burgess
- Decreasing appetite. As a person approaches death, they become less active. This means their body needs less energy. They may stop eating or drinking as much as their appetite gradually reduces.
- Sleeping more. In the time before a person dies, they may spend less time awake. If a person is caring for a dying loved one who is sleepy, they should make them comfortable and let them sleep.
- Changing toilet habits. Because a dying person is eating and drinking less, their bowel movements may reduce. They may pass solid waste less often. They may also urinate less frequently.
- Weakening muscles. In the days leading up to a person’s death, their muscles may become weak. Weak muscles mean the individual may not be able to carry out the small tasks that they were able to previously.
Jun 1, 2023 · Published on June 1, 2023. Key takeaways: The process of dying looks different for everyone. But there are common stages that many people go through as they get closer to death. Signs that death is near include a slower heart rate, colder body temperature, and changes in breathing pattern.
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Feb 16, 2024 · The Five Tasks of Dying. Hope at the End of Life. Signs That Death Is Near. They Know They're Dying. Talking About Dying. As death approaches, it's thought that many people have an intuitive sense of what's about to happen, even if nobody is talking about it.
- Angela Morrow, RN
Aug 3, 2016 · 1 to 3 months before death, your loved one is likely to: Sleep or doze more. Eat and drink less. Withdraw from people and stop doing things they used to enjoy. Talk less (but if they're a child,...
Defining life to define death. One of the challenges in defining death is in distinguishing it from life. As a point in time, death seems to refer to the moment when life ends. Determining when death has occurred is difficult, as cessation of life functions is often not simultaneous across organ systems. [19]
