Dying Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying

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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (February 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 3,160 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:臨終]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|ja|臨終}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Dying is the final stage of life that leads to death.

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Signs of dying[edit]

The National Cancer Institute in the United States (US) advises that the presence of some of the following signs may indicate that death is approaching:^[1][2]

• Drowsiness, increased sleep, and/or unresponsiveness (caused by changes in the patient's metabolism).
• Confusion about time, place, and/or identity of loved ones; restlessness; visions of people and places that are not present; pulling at bed linens or clothing (caused in part by changes in the patient's metabolism).
• Decreased socialization and withdrawal (caused by decreased oxygen to the brain, decreased blood flow, and mental preparation for dying).
• Decreased need for food and fluids, and loss of appetite (caused by the body's need to conserve energy and its decreasing ability to use food and fluids properly).
• Loss of bladder or bowel control (caused by the relaxing of muscles in the pelvic area).
• Darkened urine or decreased amount of urine (caused by slowing of kidney function and/or decreased fluid intake).
• Skin becoming cool to the touch, particularly the hands and feet; skin may become bluish in color, especially on the underside of the body (caused by decreased circulation to the extremities).
• Rattling or gurgling sounds while breathing, which may be loud (death rattle); breathing that is irregular and shallow; decreased number of breaths per minute; breathing that alternates between rapid and slow (caused by congestion from decreased fluid consumption, a buildup of waste products in the body, and/or a decrease in circulation to the organs).
• Turning of the head toward a light source (caused by decreasing vision).
• Increased difficulty controlling pain (caused by progression of the disease).
• Involuntary movements (called myoclonus), increased heart rate, hypertension followed by hypotension,^[3] and loss of reflexes in the legs and arms are additional signs that the end of life is near.

Culture[edit]

In the late Middle Ages, documents known as Ars moriendi were circulated in Western Europe to help people cope with dying. The documents describe the process of dying as involving the devil's intervention, however, the God would let the dying person experience heaven and be promised to get accepted into heaven. Many related manuals also described that caretakers for those dying should not give them false hope of possible recovery, but rather help them to be able to accept death as much as possible.

In Chinese Buddhism, it is said that dying patients will experience phases between the state of torment and the state of exultation, and that caretaker in this stage must help the dying patient stay in the state of Buddhist exultation, through Buddhist prayers known as Nianfo.

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dying.

• Assisted dying (disambiguation)
• End-of-life care
• Last rites
• Near-death experience
• Terminal illness

References[edit]

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