• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Doctor shares a common theme regularly seen in people that are about to die

Home> News> Health

Published 19:29 3 Jul 2024 GMT+1

Doctor shares a common theme regularly seen in people that are about to die

It's normally the first sense to go

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

When people are in the process of dying, the senses tend to go in a particular order.

As the body nears the end of its lifespan something doctors call 'active dying' kicks in, and Dr. James Hallenbeck of Stanford University explained in his book 'Palliative Care Perspectives' how it all works.

You might have been told that hearing is the last sense to go and that is the case according to Dr. Hallenbeck - though he said that a person could also feel things around them as they passed away.

A study on hospice patients going through 'active dying' found that most unresponsive patients still had a response to being played different sounds, with some people still being able to hear things right up until their final moments.

Advert

While those may be the final senses to go, a common theme which usually marks the first step in 'active dying'.

Those who work in palliative care have seen a common pattern among those who are dying. (Getty Stock Photo)
Those who work in palliative care have seen a common pattern among those who are dying. (Getty Stock Photo)

And that is usually a loss of appetite.

The sense of taste may remain but a person's need to eat is diminished as the end of their life approaches.

The scientific reason for this is that as the body requires fewer nutrients to sustain it as it begins to shut down while dying, which means the appetite is just not there any longer.

Advert

A hospice nurse explained that the human body is designed to die, and thus when someone enters old age, their body will be ready for the process of death.

Once appetite has gone, speech is usually the next of the body's possible functions to stop working.

A person won't suddenly lose the ability to speak, but as they reach the end, they'll usually speak slower and conversations will become more difficult.

Hearing might be the last thing to go, but appetite is usually the first. (Getty Stock Photo)
Hearing might be the last thing to go, but appetite is usually the first. (Getty Stock Photo)

In the final stages before touch and hearing begin to fail, a person in the process of dying may find their vision affected.

Advert

This may explain why some people start to hallucinate and see loved ones who've already died in their final moments as their vision is going.

What sometimes follows then is something called 'the rally', where a person appears to get significantly better for a short period of time which may stoke some hope among their family and friends.

However, it's the body's last hurrah and hospice staff have learned to tell loved ones not to get their hopes up too much.

A palliative and intensive care nurse in Los Angeles said that about a third of patients who they administer palliative care to would experience 'the rally' in their final days.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images

Topics: Health

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
3 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Simulation reveals Amelia Earhart's 'final moments' as scientists 'finally discover' lost plane

    Back in 1937, Earhart was travelling across the globe with her navigator, Fred Noonan, when the pair disappeared

    News
  • an hour ago

    Ex-ketamine addict who spent £5,000 on drugs in a weekend reveals lowest point of his addiction

    Thomas Delaney bravely opened up about some of his toughest moments before getting clean

    News
  • 3 hours ago

    Royal Caribbean drinks package hack will save you money on future cruises

    Who doesn't love a bargain?

    News
  • 3 hours ago

    Awkward moment Emmanuel Macron left hanging by his wife as they arrive in UK for state visit

    The French President is in the UK to meet the King today (8 July)

    News
  • Doctor gives surprising answer about how regularly people should masturbate
  • Doctor shares the common cancer symptoms that some people may dismiss over summer
  • Doctor explains phenomenon people experience moments before they die that ‘people can’t understand’
  • Woman severely burnt in volcano disaster that killed 22 people shares how she looks five years on