Terminal dehydration
Encyclopedia
Terminal dehydration is dehydration
to the point of death, potentially as a suicide method. Some scholars make a distinction between "terminal dehydration" and "termination by dehydration". Courts in the United States generally do not recognize prisoners as having a right to die by voluntary dehydration, since they view it as suicide. As terminally ill patients approach death, their desire to consume food and fluids tends to diminish. Although it is common practice to hydrate such patients, there is some evidence that dehydration may actually be more comfortable for these patients than hydration.
and leg cramps, can occur. Dehydration can be hard to bear, and requires patience and determination, since it takes from several days to a few weeks. This means that unlike many other suicide methods, it cannot be accomplished impulsively. However, a "point of no return" can eventually be reached at which, should it be desired to abort the terminal dehydration, rehydration cannot be accomplished through simple oral rehydration therapy
; rather, it will require medical assistance such as intravenous therapy
. Those who die by terminal dehydration typically lapse into unconsciousness before death, and may also experience delirium
and deranged serum sodium
. Discontinuation of hydration does not produce true thirst, although a sensation of dryness of the mouth often is reported as "thirst." The evidence this is not true thirst is extensive and shows the ill feeling is not relieved by giving fluids intravenously but is relieved by wetting the tongue and lips and proper care of the mouth. Patients with edema
tend to take longer to die of dehydration because of the excess fluid in their bodies.
that results in death by dehydration and euthanasia
.
Numerous studies have shown that for terminally ill patients who choose to die, deaths by terminal dehydration are generally peaceful, and not associated with suffering, when supplemented with adequate pain medication.
All ages may feel sudden head rushes, dizziness, and loss of appetite, as well.
Dehydration
In physiology and medicine, dehydration is defined as the excessive loss of body fluid. It is literally the removal of water from an object; however, in physiological terms, it entails a deficiency of fluid within an organism...
to the point of death, potentially as a suicide method. Some scholars make a distinction between "terminal dehydration" and "termination by dehydration". Courts in the United States generally do not recognize prisoners as having a right to die by voluntary dehydration, since they view it as suicide. As terminally ill patients approach death, their desire to consume food and fluids tends to diminish. Although it is common practice to hydrate such patients, there is some evidence that dehydration may actually be more comfortable for these patients than hydration.
Progression
During terminal dehydration, the usual symptoms of dehydration, such as headacheHeadache
A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...
and leg cramps, can occur. Dehydration can be hard to bear, and requires patience and determination, since it takes from several days to a few weeks. This means that unlike many other suicide methods, it cannot be accomplished impulsively. However, a "point of no return" can eventually be reached at which, should it be desired to abort the terminal dehydration, rehydration cannot be accomplished through simple oral rehydration therapy
Oral rehydration therapy
Oral rehydration therapy is a simple treatment for dehydration associated with diarrhoea, particularly gastroenteritis or gastroenteropathy, such as that caused by cholera or rotavirus. ORT consists of a solution of salts and sugars which is taken by mouth...
; rather, it will require medical assistance such as intravenous therapy
Intravenous therapy
Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...
. Those who die by terminal dehydration typically lapse into unconsciousness before death, and may also experience delirium
Delirium
Delirium or acute confusional state is a common and severe neuropsychiatric syndrome with core features of acute onset and fluctuating course, attentional deficits and generalized severe disorganization of behavior...
and deranged serum sodium
Serum sodium
Serum sodium is a measurement of the level of sodium in the blood serum.Sodium ions are necessary for regulation of blood and body fluids, transmission of nerve impulses, heart activity, and certain metabolic functions....
. Discontinuation of hydration does not produce true thirst, although a sensation of dryness of the mouth often is reported as "thirst." The evidence this is not true thirst is extensive and shows the ill feeling is not relieved by giving fluids intravenously but is relieved by wetting the tongue and lips and proper care of the mouth. Patients with edema
Edema
Edema or oedema ; both words from the Greek , oídēma "swelling"), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin or in one or more cavities of the body that produces swelling...
tend to take longer to die of dehydration because of the excess fluid in their bodies.
Voluntary
Terminal dehydration has been described as having substantial advantages over physician-assisted suicide with respect to self-determination, access, professional integrity, and social implications. Specifically, a patient has a right to refuse treatment and it would be a personal assault for someone to force water on a patient, but such is not the case if a doctor merely refuses to provide lethal medication. But it also has distinctive drawbacks as a humane means of voluntary death. One survey of hospice nurses in Oregon (where physician-assisted suicide is legal) found that nearly twice as many had cared for patients who chose voluntary refusal of food and fluids to hasten death as had cared for patients who chose physician-assisted suicide. They also rated fasting and dehydration as causing less suffering and pain and being more peaceful than physician-assisted suicide. There can be a fine line between terminal sedationTerminal sedation
In medicine, specifically in end-of-life care, palliative sedation is the palliative practice of relieving distress in a terminally ill person in the last hours or days of a dying patient's life, usually by means of a continuous...
that results in death by dehydration and euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
.
Numerous studies have shown that for terminally ill patients who choose to die, deaths by terminal dehydration are generally peaceful, and not associated with suffering, when supplemented with adequate pain medication.
All ages may feel sudden head rushes, dizziness, and loss of appetite, as well.