Someone in a coma needs intensive care in hospital. They may need help with breathing, they will be fed through a tube and they will receive blood and fluids through a drip inserted into the vein. The cause of their coma will also need to be treated to prevent further brain damage.
A person in profound coma or suffering from a PVS is unable to experience hunger, thirst or pain. Even if a pain stimulus occurs, there can be no recognition of its presence by the person unless the higher regions of the brain, the brain cortex, can receive and interpret the stimulus.
If your family member is comatose, a mouth sponge, kind of like a little chunk of sponge on a stick, can be used to swab a bacteria killing solution called Peridex on the teeth a couple of times a day. Even a very small amount of this product will do quite a bit to reduce the effect of the comatose period on the teeth.
They make sure the person gets fluids, nutrients, and any medicines needed to keep the body as healthy as possible. These are sometimes given through a tiny plastic tube inserted in a vein or through a feeding tube that brings fluids and nutrients directly to the stomach.
A case of pituitary coma with continuing menstruation is presented. This association is extremely rare, but a history of recent menstrual periods does not exclude advanced hypopituitarism from the differential diagnosis of severe hyponatraemia.
A: Many people who have woken up from comas have reported having dreams in which they saw something from the outer world. Others have had dreams that seemed to stretch on and on. A person's ability to dream is most likely determined by the underlying medical condition that put them in a coma.
Annie Shapiro (1913–2003) was a Canadian apron shop owner who was in a coma for 29 years because of a massive stroke and suddenly awakened in 1992. Apart from the patients in the true story Awakenings, Shapiro was the longest a person has been in a coma like state and woken up.
Elaine Esposito (December 3, 1934 – November 25, 1978) held the record for the longest period of time in a coma according to Guinness World Records, having lost consciousness in 1941 and eventually dying in that condition more than 37 years later.
The person's eyes will be closed and they'll appear to be unresponsive to their environment. They won't normally respond to sound or pain, or be able to communicate or move voluntarily, and basic reflexes, such as coughing and swallowing, will be greatly reduced.
Some people feel they can remember events that happened around them while they were in a coma, while others don't. Some people have reported feeling enormous reassurance from the presence of a loved one when coming out of a coma.
The coma patient is a particular and unique patient: he depends completely on the caregivers, more than a neonate. The bed bath of a coma patient is important to maintain his personal hygiene, to clean and refresh, to monitor skin condition and to promote comfort.
Care during coma or VS
Turning the person while he or she is in bed to prevent pressure injuries (“pressure sores”). Helping with bowel and bladder relief. This may include using a catheter or diapers.
A person may appear fine, but will not able to speak or respond to commands. Spontaneous movements may occur, and the eyes may open in response to external stimuli. Individuals may even occasionally grimace, cry, or laugh. A coma rarely lasts beyond two to four weeks.
Someone in a coma needs intensive care in hospital. They may need help with breathing, they will be fed through a tube and they will receive blood and fluids through a drip inserted into the vein.
According to a study, a person cannot survive more than 8 to 21 days without taking any food or water.
Coma is a state of consciousness that is similar to deep sleep, except no amount of external stimuli (such as sounds or sensations) can prompt the brain to become awake and alert. A person in a coma can't even respond to pain. A wide range of illnesses, conditions and events can cause coma.
Such a person exhibits a complete absence of wakefulness and is unable to consciously feel, speak, hear or move. Such a person is called brain dead but as the body system is functioning, the person is considered as living.
Comas may last from a few hours to years. Comas outwardly resemble a state of deep sleep, but are actually quite more complex. A good working definition is that a coma is a state of unresponsiveness from which an individual has not yet been aroused.
A coma stimulation programme (sometimes called a coma arousal programme) is an approach based on stimulating the unconscious person's senses of hearing, touch, smell, taste and vision individually in order to help their recovery.
You can't "pull the plug" if there is brain activity. Longest coma someone woke up from was about 37 years. I would have to be sure that there was no chance for recovery.
Some patients who have entered a vegetative state go on to regain a degree of awareness (see Minimally Conscious State). The likelihood of significant functional improvement for VS/UWS patients diminishes over time. There are only isolated cases of people recovering consciousness after several years.
Your body would age, maybe your hair would turn grey, your muscles would atrophy from lack of use. You might lose volume in your face, causing it to age some. But, as far as traditional aging, wrinkles and such, you probably wouldn't gain any new ones!
Coma is a state of prolonged loss of consciousness. It can have a variety of causes, including traumatic head injury, stroke, brain tumor, or drug or alcohol intoxication. A coma may even be caused by an underlying illness, such as diabetes or an infection. Coma is a medical emergency.