“First hunger and then thirst are lost. Speech is lost next, followed by vision. The last senses to go are usually hearing and touch.”
Research suggests that even as your body transitions into unconsciousness, it's possible that you'll still be able to feel comforting touches from your loved ones and hear them speaking. Touch and hearing are the last senses to go when we die.
They Know They're Dying
Dying is a natural process that the body has to work at. Just as a woman in labor knows a baby is coming, a dying person may instinctively know death is near. Even if your loved one doesn't discuss their death, they most likely know it is coming.
Transitioning is the first stage of dying. It describes a patient's decline as they get closer to actively dying. Generally, when one is transitioning, they likely have days — or even weeks — to live.
Mortality salience is the awareness by individuals that their death is inevitable.
The reasons why death is scary are often related to the fears of the unknown, of non-existence, of eternal punishment, of the loss of control, and fear of what will happen to the people we love.
This typically lasts no more than a few hours, but each patient is different and it can continue for as long as 24-48 hours. While the sound is difficult for family members to hear, it does not cause the patient pain or distress.
The stages of dying include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Decomposition can divide into five stages – fresh, early decomposition, advanced decomposition, skeletonization, and extreme decomposition. The early decomposition phase begins with the onset of skin slippage and hair loss. These changes usually begin from the first day after death to up to five days post-mortem.
Shock: During this phase, people are often in a state of shock. Their feelings go back and forth between agony and disbelief. They often feel that they are in a state of misery that isolates them from the world. Dealing with the bad news takes up most of their physical and emotional energy.
Not all cultures hold funerary memorials forty days after death. Some pagan traditions believe that the soul of a recently deceased person continues to wander the earth for forty days; other religious traditions believe the soul will rest in the Lord's hands after death.
Most people who are dying feel tired. They may want to sleep more often, or for longer periods. They may want to talk less, although some may want to talk more. They may want to eat less or eat different foods since their stomach and digestive system are slowing down.
As the blood pools, patches appear on the skin within 30 minutes of death. About two to four hours postmortem, these patches join up, creating large dark purplish areas towards the bottom of the body and lightening the skin elsewhere. This may be less apparent on darker skin. This process is called livor mortis.
Physical, mental, and behavioral changes are common. In the week or two before death, the dying process speeds up. They may start being confused and periodically not making sense. Their bodily process may slow down or become erratic, but the person may also appear restless.
Pulse and heartbeat are irregular or hard to feel or hear. Body temperature drops. Skin on their knees, feet, and hands turns a mottled bluish-purple (often in the last 24 hours) Breathing is interrupted by gasping and slows until it stops entirely.
There are three main stages of dying: the early stage, the middle stage, and the last stage. These are marked by various changes in responsiveness and functioning. However, it is important to keep mind that the timing of each stage and the symptoms experienced can vary from person to person.
Sometimes, it appears briefly and then resolves on its own. It often occurs in the pre-active dying phase, which usually lasts two weeks (with many exceptions). Many people experience other end-of-life symptoms at the same time, such as tiredness and decreased food and water intake.
As the moment of death comes nearer, breathing usually slows down and becomes irregular. It might stop and then start again or there might be long pauses or stops between breaths . This is known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing. This can last for a short time or long time before breathing finally stops.
Your loved one may seem to be working hard to breathe -- even making a moaning sound. The moaning sound is just the sound of air passing over very relaxed vocal cords. This indicates that the dying process is coming to an end.
The end-of-life period—when body systems shut down and death is imminent—typically lasts from a matter of days to a couple of weeks. Some patients die gently and tranquilly, while others seem to fight the inevitable. Reassuring your loved one it is okay to die can help both of you through this process.
They find that atheists are among those least afraid of dying...and, perhaps not surprisingly, the very religious. Religion has long been thought to be a solution to the problem of death. Notions of an afterlife are nearly universal, though there is great diversity in the details.