A hospice nurse has shared something she says she always gets “heat” about, including other health care workers about an end-of-life symptom.
TikTok user, Hospice nurse Julie, has built a huge following on social media thanks to her clear and candid discussion around death. The best-selling author works tirelessly in palliative care to look after her patients and help their loved ones be prepared.
In one of her latest videos, Julie revealed to her 1.6 million followers that there’s one symptom that a person is going to die soon that many people, including medical professionals, don’t like to hear.
She told her fans: “I get the most heat for saying this one thing, including from other health care workers, and that’s when I say people who are dying should be dehydrated. I know that can sound so jarring so let me explain to you why.
“When a person is dying from something, not from being dehydrated but they’re dying from something else and we know they’re dying from something else, your body will eventually start preparing itself to die. The body knows how to die, it has built in mechanisms to help it do that.”
Julie went on: “And one of things it will do is start making the person not really hungry and not really thirsty. So the person will already not be wanting to eat and drink, usually. Of course, the family starts freaking out, they’re not eating, they’re not drinking, what are we going to do?”
Julie explained that families understandably get very upset when their loved one doesn’t want to eat or drink and they worry that this will cause them to die. She stated: “What you have to remember is people dying are not dying because they’re not eating and drinking. They’re not eating and drinking because they’re dying and our body knows this.”
She explained that when the human body is so clever it knows that if it is dry with minimal food and drink inside it, it will be easier and less painful when the time comes to die. She went on: “The body will actually go into ketosis where it releases endorphins that make that person feel good and feel better.”
She revealed that when someone is dying and they’re dehydrated they don’t have that thirst that a healthy body will have when they’re on a hike or in a desert. Julie added: “It doesn’t feel like that where you have a headache and other things. It doesn't feel like that. The body actually prepares itself to be dehydrated.”
Julie revealed that people often don’t believe her and demand that family member be given an IV of fluid but this can have a detrimental effect on their body. She explained: “If a healthy body got IV fluid the healthy body would feel better, they’d get hydrated and instantly start feeling better but when a dying body gets hydration, it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.”
She revealed that the fluid would actually cause swelling, usually in the lower extremities until it gets up to the heart. She went on: “The heart will say it can’t keep pumping this fluid around the body, it’s too much. It will then back up into the lungs and cause respiratory distress.”
Julie revealed that if a dying body is overloaded with hydration it will cause them a less peaceful death because they’ll usually be in respiratory distress. She finished: “Moral of the story. Dehydration at the end of life does not cause suffering and can in fact cause a more peaceful death.”
People watching Julie’s video were grateful for her frankness. One person replied: “Hydration would be prolonging death not prolonging life.” And another medical expert shared: “GP here. This is the best explanation I have heard for this mechanism. Your patients and their families are lucky to have you.”
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