Patients in a coma appear unconscious. They tend to have no pain response at all, apart from certain reflex movements — but not brainstem reflexes, which more or less take a holiday. Maybe whip out some headphones and play them their favorite music, as well. A bad enough head injury? Of course, comas vary from person to person, and the fact that there's an arbitrary point of no return doesn't mean that people never come back from comas that last over a year. Then again, isn't it basically just being asleep? A coma is a state of prolonged unconsciousness that can be caused by a variety of problems — traumatic head injury, stroke, brain tumor, drug or alcohol intoxication, or even an underlying illness, such as diabetes or an infection.A coma is a medical emergency. As the NHS tells us, a comatose person is usually taken care of in an intensive care unit, and because of the nature of the condition, the patient's body is likely to experience some pretty unpleasant changes. We can't prepare you for such a terrifying scenario. They do indeed. A coma seldom lasts longer than several weeks. That being said, a coma is far from a simple state of being. How bad can a coma really be? The first responders can use the AVPU scale (Alertness, Vocal stimuli, Painful stimuli, Unconscious) to determine just how out of it the person is, and precisely what sort of an emergency they're dealing with. For a condition as complicated as a coma, it's difficult to say exactly when the person wakes up — or, for that matter, what their odds are for doing so in the first place. Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic. Calling an ambulance is likely a no-brainer if there's an accident or stroke involved. It took a month of regular stimulation, and granted, the guy didn't magically regain his faculties like they were never gone. That seems pretty harsh, really. The GCS is a handy, practical method that tests the patient's ability to open their eyes, as well as the level of their verbal and motor response. Here, to achieve fast recovery of coma … Every coma is different depending on the part of … This content does not have an English version. Turns out, it can lead to some pretty interesting imaginary experiences, and by "interesting," we mean "incredibly scary.". And no, one does not involve putting a comma in when you naturally pause. What do you think about when you hear the word coma? Don't worry, your poor relative isn't possessed or anything. It can last for a few days, but sometimes the person does not wake up. Their temperature is taken. With that said, here is some helpful information concerning comas after brain injury. Overview of coma and impaired consciousness. The idea that all of that happens, but you're still somewhat aware of what's happening around you is arguably even worse. Car crash “How old am I?” I had a car wreck in July and broke the C2 and C3 in my neck, hip, and clavicle. In fact, if things go really awry, even comparatively mundane conditions, such as infections or diabetes, can send a person into a coma. You wouldn't age mentally though because you're unconscious, you don't know what's going on around you. Mayo Clinic facts about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Our COVID-19 patient and visitor guidelines, plus trusted health information, Mayo Clinic Health System patient vaccination updates, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Book: Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, 5th Edition, Newsletter: Mayo Clinic Health Letter — Digital Edition, FREE book offer — Mayo Clinic Health Letter, Time running out - 40% off Online Mayo Clinic Diet ends soon. A brain tumor, or maybe stroke? That being said, a coma is far from a simple state of being. Because a coma prevents you from using your muscles like you normally would, spending time in a coma would be likely to cause your muscles to atrophy. What's more, some ICU patients' muscles are permanently damaged, which leads to physical weakness and even disability. Jan Grzebski. This is in response to reader Karen’s questions on what happens to a person in a coma and after physical death, which are probably better addressed to a priest or a medical doctor. Maybe if you are transcribing speech… but even then there’s a 99.9% chance that’s incorrect placing. The thought of an involuntary unconsciousness that you may or may not wake up from is arguably up there with the worst-case medical scenarios, like a cancer diagnosis. The part of their brain that was damages initially (to trigger the coma) might deteriorate as a result of inflammation or "maintenance" responses to the area. If You Use a Serial Comma, Use it Consistently. "Critical illness literally causes their muscles to dissolve. Unfortunately, Medical News Today tells us there have been cases where comatose people can "hear and understand spoken instructions," even though they're still very much under. The longer answer is the same, only followed by a rant about a coma being a horrific condition in so many ways that you've probably never imagined. A coma (say: KO-muh) can be difficult to understand, especially because people sometimes jokingly use the word coma to describe people who are sleeping deeply or not paying attention. The person’s eyes will be closed and they’ll appear to be unresponsive to their environment. Horrifying, yes? As Business Insider tells us, this is indeed true, but not necessarily in the way you expect, particularly if it's a medically induced coma — which is, after all, essentially a form of anesthesia. Compared with healthy patients in the study, high-traffic hubs of brain activity are dark in coma patients while more quiet regions spring to life. The signs and symptoms of a coma commonly include: A coma is a medical emergency. According to Business Insider, a medically induced coma can be used to counteract the brain swelling caused by severe head trauma, in order to prevent brain damage or even death. While that does sound more scientific than vivid visions of heaven and hell, we can't help but feel that doesn't really matter when you're stuck in an incredibly detailed hallucination that you absolutely cannot wake up from. Merck Manual Professional Edition. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Coma patients exhibit a complete absence of wakefulness and are unable to consciously feel, speak or move. "We know ICU patients lose muscle mass and function," says respirologist Dr. Jane Batt. Elsevier; 2016. https://www.clinicalkey.com. While the best-case scenario for a coma patient is waking up with all their faculties intact, there's a chance they've gained a new, debilitating illness in the process, according to a 2016 study by the researchers at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada (via Science Daily). Swift action is needed to preserve life and brain function. Accessed Nov. 6, 2020. The 10 minutes you spend browsing WebMD would be much better spent by calling for help, so doctors can use their brain CT scans and blood tests to figure out exactly what's up. The word coma has terrifying connotations to most people. It is not possible to wake a coma patient using physical or auditory stimulation. It's easy to think of a coma as a really deep sleep and little else, but the comatose state can actually wreck a person's body in a number of interesting and, let's face it, creepy ways. In fact, in 2017, French researchers were able to "boost the consciousness" of a man who had been comatose for 15 years. The researchers achieved this with a special implant that stimulated the vagus nerve, a huge nerve that plays a part in a person's attention and "wakefulness." http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/neurologic-disorders/coma-and-impaired-consciousness/overview-of-coma-and-impaired-consciousness. Accessed Nov. 6, 2020. Bradley's Neurology in Clinical Practice. According to the Guardian, in 2011, a group of researchers in Ontario, Canada scanned the brain of a man who had been in coma for 12 years, while asking him to imagine doing different things, like playing tennis.