Hospice nurse says there are 12 signs someone is nearing their death

Look, not to put a downer on your Saturday, but if there’s one thing that’s inevitable in life, it’s death.

I mean, you know that already, it’s hardly a shock revelation. But still, it can be scary – especially because of the element of the unknown.

So, to alleviate a little bit of that worry, a hospice nurse has shared what she says are the 12 signs someone is nearing their death.

Julie wants to help alleviate fear. (Getty Stock)

Hospice nurse Julie

Julie McFadden is a licensed hospice nurse who uses her YouTube to teach others about ‘death, dying and hospice’.

Her inspiration for this came after working as an ICU nurse for eight years where she saw ‘a lot of death’. But while the workers would talk among themselves about the likelihood of a patient's death, ‘we wouldn’t be talking with the patients or families’.

So, she hopes her videos can help others ‘understand death to live better and die better’.

Her posts range from revealing people’s most common regret they share in their final moments to the ‘unusual’ first stage of dying.

Regarding the pain element of dying, the nurse once stated in a video: "Biologically, our body is built to live, built to survive first and built to help us die.

"I saw that firsthand - and I still see that firsthand - as a hospice nurse.”

According to her, death is something natural that the body is prepared for. So, the signs she suggests are a total giveaway that your body is ramping up to the end of its capacity.

Julie shares plenty of videos on the subject. (YouTube/Hospice Nurse Julie)

One person in her comments believed that she was spot on with her list, and shared her own harrowing experience: “My Mum died today, everything you said, Nurse Julie, was correct! She was 95 and in the final stages of Alzheimer's.

“THANK YOU JULIE for helping me to recognise that her death was near. It was still a shock and I miss her already....”

Another said: “I was with both my parents when they died and they had all these signs. It was sad but we were happy they went to a better place where they weren't sick or old..”

The 12 things you may experience when you’re close to death

The nurse has many videos on this, but here is a summary of the signs and symptoms listed by Julie that she says you will likely see as someone nears the end:

1. A decrease in food and water intake

2. A decrease in functional ability

3. An increase in sleep

4. Dulled pain

5. Intermittent confusion or disorientation

6. Talking about or seeing dead relatives

7. Changes in breathing

8. Changes in skin colour

9. Fever

10. Glassy or teary eyes

11. Reaching for things or staring off into the distance

12. Agitation

"All of these things are normal in death and dying," Julie said.