Why do bodies go into comas?

Your body goes into a coma when severe injury, illness, or toxins disrupt the brain's ability to function, causing prolonged unconsciousness where you can't be woken up; common causes include head trauma, strokes, infections (meningitis, encephalitis), lack of oxygen, diabetic extremes, or drug/alcohol overdose, all leading to critical brain dysfunction.

How long does a coma last before death?

You can be in a coma from minutes to years, with most lasting a few weeks, but death is a risk, especially with severe injuries or illness, though some people recover fully, enter a vegetative state, or die, with recovery depending on the cause, severity, and duration of the coma. While severe oxygen deprivation (5-10 mins) is often fatal, some coma patients live for years, like Elaine Esposito who was in a coma for 37 years before dying. 

Is a coma the closest thing to death?

Brain death is not the same as coma

Brain death differs from other states of unconsciousness in important ways. For example, coma is similar to deep sleep, except that no amount of external stimuli can prompt the brain to become awake and alert. However, the person is alive and recovery is possible.

What's the most common cause of a coma?

The most common causes of coma involve severe disruptions to the brain, often due to lack of oxygen (anoxic injury from cardiac arrest/drowning), traumatic head injuries, strokes (bleeding or blockage), severe infections (meningitis, encephalitis), poisoning (drugs, alcohol, carbon monoxide), or metabolic issues (extreme blood sugar in diabetes, liver/kidney failure). While specific prevalence varies, substance overdose and oxygen deprivation are major contributors, often linked to underlying health crises or injuries. 

Why do they put a person in a coma?

People go into a coma due to severe brain injury, illness, or poisoning, either naturally or intentionally induced by doctors to protect the brain, reduce swelling, and allow it to heal from conditions like stroke, traumatic head injury, severe infections, seizures, or drug overdose, by slowing brain activity with sedative medications. 

What Happens in the Brain During a Coma?

What are the odds of surviving a coma?

In patients with a scale from 5 to 7, 53% will die or remain in a vegetative state, while 34% will have a moderate disability and/or good recovery. In patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale of 8 to 10, 27% will die or remain in a coma, while 68% will have a moderate disability and/or good recovery.

Can a person hear in a coma?

Yes, people in a coma can often hear, even if they can't respond, with studies showing brain activity when familiar voices are present, and some patients later recall hearing loved ones, suggesting that talking to them is beneficial and can aid recovery, as familiar sounds stimulate the brain. Hearing and comprehension are different, but auditory pathways often remain active, and familiar voices, music, or stories played to patients have been linked to faster healing and improved outcomes, making it important for families to communicate. 

Is being in a coma like sleeping?

No, being in a coma isn't like normal sleeping; while a person in a coma looks like they're deeply asleep, they are in a prolonged state of unconsciousness, unable to wake up or respond to stimuli, including pain, and their brain activity is significantly different, lacking the regular cycles of sleep. A coma involves a serious brain issue, unlike sleep, where the brain cycles through stages, processes information, and dreams, whereas a comatose brain has reduced activity and doesn't experience normal sleep patterns.
 

What drug can lead to coma?

Doctors use powerful anesthetic and sedative drugs like Propofol, Midazolam, and Barbiturates (e.g., Pentobarbital, Thiopental) to induce a medically controlled coma, slowing brain activity to reduce swelling, stop severe seizures, or help patients tolerate a ventilator, with these drugs given intravenously for precise control and quick adjustment.
 

What's the longest a person has been in a coma and woke up?

The longest confirmed case of someone waking from a coma is Munira Abdulla, who regained consciousness in 2019 after being in a coma for 27 years, following a car crash in the UAE in 1991, with reports of another patient, Edwarda O'Bara, spending 42 years in a diabetic coma-like state before passing away. While recovery after decades is extremely rare, these cases highlight that prolonged unconsciousness doesn't always mean a permanent loss of consciousness, though recovery is often partial. 

Is the brain alive in a coma?

Someone who's in a coma is unconscious and has minimal brain activity. They're alive, but cannot be woken up and show no signs of being aware.

Is being in a coma a near death experience?

NDEs can be experienced in a variety of states: coma, anaesthesia, syncope or even orgasm. The phenomenon is still poorly understood, but scientists today explain it as the synergy of a spike in cerebral electrical activity and the release of certain hormones.

Does death feel like unconsciousness?

As death approaches, you may drift from sleep into unconsciousness, much like being in a coma or dream state. You may wake up later, unaware that you were unconscious. Toward the end, you'll remain in this unconscious state of extended rest.

What is the last sense to go before death?

Hearing is widely considered the last sense to go before death, with research showing the brain's auditory centers can remain active and respond to sounds even as a person becomes unresponsive, suggesting familiar voices and touch can still offer comfort in the final hours. 

What hospice does not tell you?

Hospice doesn't always fully prepare families for the intense emotional toll (anticipatory grief, spiritual struggles), the variability in visit frequency and caregiver burden, the complexities of medication decisions (even comfort meds), or that while it's comfort-focused, some discomfort can still occur; they also might not mention specific costs or deep cultural nuances, and it's a type of care, not just a place. 

What is the first organ to shut down when dying?

The digestive system often shows the earliest signs of shutting down as appetite and thirst fade, followed by the brain, which fails quickly from lack of oxygen once breathing and circulation slow, leading to unconsciousness. While the heart and lungs are vital and cease functioning close to the end, the digestive system's gradual slowdown (loss of hunger, bowel movements) is usually the first noticeable sign of the body preparing for death. 

What drug causes the most memory loss?

There isn't one single drug causing the "most" memory loss, but benzodiazepines, anticholinergic medications, and illicit drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, along with excessive alcohol, are major culprits, significantly impairing memory by disrupting brain chemistry and neurotransmitters crucial for forming and retrieving memories, with long-term use increasing dementia risk. 

What illness puts you in a coma?

Overview. 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.

What does being in coma feel like?

Being in a coma feels like a complete absence of awareness, thought, and sensation, similar to being in a dreamless sleep or blackout, with no sense of time or surroundings; patients are unconscious and unresponsive, though their brains may still process some sounds, and upon waking, many experience confusion and memory gaps, with some reporting feeling sensations like pain or pleasure.
 

Can you pass away while in a coma?

Yes, you can die in a coma, as it's a severe medical state with outcomes ranging from recovery to permanent vegetative states or death, often due to complications like infections, blood clots, or the underlying cause (like severe oxygen deprivation or stroke) leading to brain death, which is the irreversible cessation of all brain function.
 

Can you cry while in a coma?

Yes, people in a coma or related states (like a vegetative state) can sometimes cry, but it's usually an involuntary reflex or emotional response, not a conscious expression of sadness, as they lack awareness and voluntary control; these facial expressions (crying, smiling, grimacing) happen alongside normal bodily functions like breathing and heart rate, but without purposeful communication. 

What's the longest someone can sleep?

There's no definitive limit, but prolonged sleep is usually due to medical conditions like Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS) or hypersomnia, with cases like a 7-year-old sleeping 11 days or a woman sleeping 19 days reported, though normal healthy sleep usually doesn't exceed 20-30 hours, even after sleep deprivation, as the body needs to catch up.
 

How to help someone come out of a coma?

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.

Do people in Comas know what's happening around them?

Yes, people in comas can often hear and process what's happening, even if they can't respond; recent studies show 1 in 4 may have hidden awareness (cognitive-motor dissociation), responding mentally to commands like imagining tennis, while brain scans reveal familiar voices light up their brains, suggesting they perceive loved ones and benefit from hearing them speak, though memory afterward varies. 

Is vegetative state painful?

It's a complex and debated topic, but evidence suggests some people in a vegetative state (now called Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome, or UWS) might feel pain or at least register painful stimuli, even if they can't show it, with some brain scans showing responses similar to healthy people. While traditional views held they couldn't, newer studies show residual awareness and pain processing, leading many experts to recommend treating them as if they feel pain due to the significant ethical implications, notes this New Scientist article and this Frontiers article.