Despite all attempts by mankind to look beyond life, death remains something from the realm of the unknown, an ominous “terra incognito” - a mysterious territory that simultaneously excites curiosity and evokes existential fear in people from a deep awareness of the finitude of their existence. Faced with her, a person tries to personify her - bony, noseless, an old woman with a scythe or a grim reaper - in order to give familiar features to the incomprehensible and find a way to protect himself from her long arms. For this, over the course of many centuries, peoples around the world have come up with various protective rituals and rituals that were supposed to protect the living from the influence of the afterlife. From them originate numerous signs, superstitions, prejudices and beliefs associated with any manifestations of death, including the dead, cemeteries and funerals.
Animals are harbingers of death
In the popular consciousness, death is usually preceded by a number of signs and omens. The approach of an old woman with a scythe is often indicated by the unusual behavior of birds or animals, in particular a bird flying into the house. In Slavic folklore, a bird often represented the human soul, and therefore it was believed that if a winged guest flew through the window, then it was the soul of a deceased ancestor who returned to bring important news to family members or to call the dying person to follow him.
There are other death omens associated with birds. The three-time cry of an owl near the house, a lonely magpie circling overhead, a sparrow perched on the windowsill and a cuckoo falling silent in response to a question about the number of remaining years - all this may indicate an imminent death in the house. A seagull flying into a sailor's home can carry the news of his death. The pigeon, tit and swallow are considered less “deadly” birds and foreshadow mostly favorable events.
The bearers of tragic news can also be dogs howling at the ground or mice. If they chew clothes or shoes, their owner will soon die. Although cows are considered “positive” animals in many cultures, a black bull looking into a house where a person is sick foretells his impending death.
Dreams prophesying death
People often dream of deceased relatives or even their own death, but these dreams are not always a bad omen. Death in a dream, for example, does not mean literal death, but something fundamental to come in the dreamer’s life. If a person dreams that one of his relatives has died, such a dream may, on the contrary, portend success and luck for him, but the exact meaning will vary depending on the family connection with the one who “died”: parents, brother/sister, grandmother or grandfather, etc. However, there are exceptions to this rule. If at night a deceased relative appears in a dream and calls the dreamer to follow him, or the sleeper himself invites the deceased to the table, begins to play with him or wash him, all this may mean that he is calling a living person to follow him. Such dreams are especially dangerous for seriously ill patients.
Even the most seemingly ordinary dreams can portend trouble. For example, a tooth falling out in a dream is an unkind sign, which is believed to indicate an impending death in the family. And if a tooth falls out with blood, then a blood relative will have to die.
Dreams about cleaning are also a bad omen in the popular consciousness. “Don’t wash your dirty laundry in public” in a dream becomes not just a call not to chat about family problems, but a recommendation for maintaining health and safety: if a person dreams that he is taking out the trash from his house or apartment, they say that someone will be in the house soon will die. This prejudice is associated with ideas about the house not just as a place of residence, but as a separate world that is directly related to the people living in it. When sweeping garbage into the street, some part of it is taken away, which often represents vitality or health in a dream. It is considered especially dangerous to sweep garbage over the threshold into the yard.
In ancient times, before the spread of Christianity among the peoples of Russia, it was customary to carry out a dead person not through a doorway, but through a window or a specially made opening in the wall. In this way, the burying people tried to confuse the dead person so that his soul could not return home. Carrying the body over the threshold feet first is a more modern variation of this protective ritual. Therefore, a dream about a log being taken out of a wall is believed to symbolize loss in the family. For the same reason, it is not recommended to cut new windows in the house in a dream.
Doctors spoke about signs of imminent death
Resuscitator, member of the Federation of Anesthesiologists and Resuscitators Artem Lugovoy told Gazeta.Ru what signs indicate a person’s approaching death.
According to the expert, first of all, when examining a patient at the bedside, it is necessary to pay attention to such a symptom as the level of consciousness. “If a person stops answering questions, reacts only to painful stimuli or only if he is pushed hard, and then still quickly falls asleep, then this is a very bad prognostic sign,” the doctor noted.
He emphasized that the patient must open his eyes spontaneously - if he does this only when “braking”, then such a sign certainly indicates impending death. “Also, shortness of breath. The normal breathing rate is 14 to 18 breaths per minute. If the respiratory rate is more than 22 minutes, then it is also a negative prognostic sign,” Lugovoi said.
At first glance at a person’s body, one can also determine the outcome of his torment. “If the skin color changes - the patient turns blue or gray - this is a sign of an unfavorable outcome. The appearance of marbling on the skin - at this moment it becomes like marble - also indicates a violation of microcirculation and blood oxygen saturation,”
- noted the doctor.
According to him, the list of danger signs includes “cold sweat, clammy skin, and blue lips and fingertips.” Doctors also use these criteria when examining a patient, Lugovoi noted.
Cardiologist Anatoly Trifonov noted that in addition to the above signs, in case of cardiovascular diseases, the patient’s face, on the contrary, may turn red. In addition, when death occurs, relatives or doctors will observe the dilation of the patient’s pupils.
“These symptoms are literally written on the face. If, say, we are talking about a chronic cardiovascular disease, its main symptoms occur 10–15 days before death,” the doctor told Vechernaya Moskva.
And in a person suffering from heart failure, the color of the skin will periodically change. “The main symptoms preceding death are a change in skin color from flesh-colored to blue, coldness of the extremities, and convulsions. Foam may be released from the mouth,” the expert explained.
But in medicine there are also diseases from which death occurs suddenly - without any symptoms.
As Mikhail Kagan, Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation and scientific editor of the educational resource for doctors Vrachu.ru, explained to Gazeta.Ru, an early death can occur due to cardiac pathology, as well as diseases of the brain, blood vessels and lungs.
“The cardiac form of sudden death occurs for two main reasons: heart attack and changes in the normal electrical conductivity of the heart, leading to the development of fatal cardiac arrhythmia. One of the common non-cardiac causes of sudden death is pulmonary embolism, which is at increased risk in people with deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities,” the expert said.
The resuscitator also agreed with him. “Of course, sudden death can occur due to chamber heart disease, vascular atherosclerosis or aneurysm of the cerebral arteries,” Lugovoi noted in a conversation with Gazeta.Ru.
Japanese researchers also pointed to a sign of risk of early death in a patient with heart failure - the size of the pupil may indicate death. This conclusion was reached by scientists from Kitasato University Hospital, the results of which were published in the journal European Society of Cardiology.
According to the report, doctors divided 870 participants into groups with large and small pupils and observed the subjects for two years. Doctors have found that people with small pupils suffering from heart failure die twice as often as those with large pupils. Additionally, patients with small pupils were 50% more likely to require hospitalization multiple times, compared with patients with large pupils who were 28% more likely to have to be hospitalized.
“The observations suggest that measuring pupil area may be a new non-invasive method for assessing the condition of patients with heart failure,” the report stated.
Doctors noted that pupil examination is already used in diagnosing the condition of patients with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes mellitus and other ailments.
Fortune telling by hand: what palmists say about death
Along with the interpretation of dreams, one of the oldest systems of fortune telling is palmistry. The main tool of a palmist is the human palm: based on the individual characteristics of its shape, color and lines, soothsayers have been “deciphering” human destinies for thousands of years. Although palmistry has many skin lines, each of which is responsible for one or another part of existence, the so-called “life line” primarily tells about the quality and duration of life.
The life line begins between the thumb and index finger and descends in a semicircle to the base of the palm. It is believed that its length is proportional to life expectancy: the longer and brighter it is, the longer and happier a person will live. On the contrary, a weakly expressed or interrupted life line indicates poor health of the owner.
However, some palmists interpret such features in a more negative light: a sharp break in the life line can mean severe injury or sudden death. If there is a gap on both palms, then there is no chance of avoiding tragedy. And if before the rupture the line splits, forming small “islands,” then the person will die after a serious illness. Nevertheless, many palmists are of the opinion that interpreting these physiological characteristics literally is a mistake.
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But even with these alarming signs, there is, however, hope for recovery.
That the matter is already coming to an end is evidenced by a pointed nose, sunken temples, sunken eyes, cold and flaccid ears with slightly turned away lobes, hard and tense skin on the forehead, and the skin on the face is dark or deathly pale. It is much worse if all this was not preceded by insomnia. no diarrhea, no starvation. For the reasons just stated, sometimes (the patient) has this appearance, but it disappears in one day; therefore, remaining for a longer period, it serves as a sign of (approaching) death. If such a condition during a long-term illness lasts more than three days, then death will occur: in the near future; it is inevitable if, in addition to what is indicated, the eyes avoid light and water; if their whites turn red and the small vessels in them turn pale; if the mucus that appears in them again accumulates in the corners of the eyes; if one eye is smaller than the other; if they are too sunken or too bulging; if during sleep the eyelids do not close and some kind of discharge appears between them from the proteins, and this is not a consequence of diarrhea; if the eyelids turn pale and this pallor covers the lips and nose; if the lips, nose, eyes, eyelids and eyebrows or any of them become distorted; if the patient, due to weakness, no longer hears or sees. Signs of approaching death: when the patient lies supine and his knees are brought together; when his body constantly slides down to his feet; when the patient exposes his arms and legs and spreads them randomly. Moreover, they remain cold; when the patient sleeps with his mouth open all the time; when, during loss of consciousness, he grinds his teeth, which he usually did not do in a healthy state; when the ulcer, which existed before the illness or acquired during the illness itself, became dry, pale or lead-colored. Signs of (imminent) death also include white nails and fingers; cold breath; if, during an acute fever or insanity, or pneumonia, or a headache, the patient with his hands searches for something in his clothes and pulls out hairs or grabs the slightest protrusions on the adjacent wall. Pain that occurs in the lower back and lower parts (abdomen), if it spreads to the insides and suddenly stops, also indicates imminent death; especially when other signs are added. It is impossible to save someone who, with a fever without any swelling (in the throat), suddenly begins to choke, or cannot swallow his saliva; or who, in the same feverish state of the body, will have his neck twisted so that he cannot swallow anything freely; or who at the same time constantly has a fever and extreme bodily weakness, or who, with an unrelenting fever, the body remains cold on the outside, but inside is so hot that it even causes thirst: or who, with the same unrelenting fever, is simultaneously tormented by delirium , and suffocation; or who, after drinking hellebore, develops convulsions; or when a drunk loses the ability to speak. After all, such a one always dies from convulsions, unless he is seized by a fever or he does not speak at the hour when it passes (Hangover. And a pregnant woman also easily dies from an acute illness, and the one whose sleep increases suffering also dies; at the beginning of a new illness, black bile appears either from below or from above, or someone whose bile appeared in one way or another when the patient, after a long illness, has become emaciated and is close to the end. Possible death is also indicated by the appearance of bile and pus in the sputum , either alone or in conjunction with each other. Moreover, if it began about the seventh day, it is very likely that the patient will die on the 14th day or so, unless other good or bad symptoms are added. The easier or the more severe the accompanying symptoms, the later or sooner death may occur.In acute fever, cold sweat is also harmful, and in any illness, vomiting, varied and multi-colored, especially if it gives off a bad smell. Bloody vomiting during fever also threatens death. Reddish and clear urine usually occurs with indigestion and often brings a person to premature death. So, if such urine persists for quite a long time, the patient is in mortal danger. However, dark, thick, foul-smelling urine is especially bad and even fatal. This is equally bad for both men and women, but it is bad for children if it is transparent, watery and liquid. There are also different types of bowel movements; those that contain blackness, blood, bile, some kind of greenery, sometimes together, sometimes in various special combinations, inspire fear. But even this the patient can withstand for some time; that he is standing at the last line is evidenced by liquid feces, sometimes black, sometimes pale, sometimes greasy, especially if a strong disgusting smell is added. I know that I may be asked: if certain signs of impending death are present, then how do patients doomed by doctors sometimes recover, and some, as rumor claims, come to life during the funeral itself. Thus, even a man who rightfully enjoys great fame, Democritus, suggested that there are no sufficiently solid signs of death that doctors could trust; but it does not pass over in silence precisely that there are some definite signs of approaching death. I will not dispute that certain related symptoms often mislead inexperienced physicians, but not renowned ones. Asklepiades, meeting with the funeral procession, realized that the one they were carrying to be buried was alive. The art of medicine is not directly to blame if the doctor makes a mistake in something. However, I will be more careful about this: medicine is the art of assumptions and conjectures, and its method of assumptions is such that although it often gives correct answers, it is sometimes mistaken. Therefore, if medicine makes a mistake once in a thousand times, it does not matter, since it helps countless people. And I attribute this not only to symptoms that threaten death, but also to those that foreshadow healing. For the doctor’s expectations are sometimes not justified, and the patient dies, in whose recovery he was initially confident: the means used for treatment sometimes turn to the detriment of the patient. With such a wide variety of organisms, the imperfect human mind cannot avoid making mistakes. Therefore, there is trust in medicine, which helps much more often and to a much larger number of patients. However, we should not forget that in acute illnesses there are false signs of both salvation and death. ‹ CHAPTER V. ABOUT SIGNS OF LONG-TERM DISEASE Up CHAPTER VII. ABOUT THE SIGNS BY WHICH CERTAIN TYPES OF DISEASES ARE RECOGNIZED ›
