Talk:Death rattle

Dispute tag
I added the accuracy dispute tag. The article (even as a stub) needs a rewrite. This is folklore about the death rattle with no medical basis, no specific description of the phenomenon, what causes it, how often, and with statements like "Once the death rattle occurs, it is a clear sign that the person or animal is about to die and there is almost nothing that others can do to prevent it." Please. I'll try and clean it up later, but someone with a medical background could do it more justice. Tempshill 20:06, 13 September 2005 (UTC)


 * It is original research. Having seen (too) many people die, I have yet to observe the specific sequence of events as outlined in this ghastly piece of work. The author is confusing Cheyne-Stokes respiration with the increased bronchial secretions commonly observed in dying people. The result is deep, bubbly respirations that are indeed a telltale sign of impending death (but often hours or even days, not minutes). Restlessness and movement are also observed, but these are either myoclonic jerks secondary to encephalopathy or an expression of discomfort. In my experience these are not particularly indicative of impending death. JFW | T@lk  21:16, 13 September 2005 (UTC)

I've afd'd this, and struck the text through: this is a truly bad and misleading article. -- Karada 11:35, 5 October 2005 (UTC)


 * I have rewritten it based on medical sources I found in a quick google. I would urge people to use this version as a basis for expansion. I've also removed the Disputed and am just heading over to AfD The Land 11:44, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Anthony Hopkins item
The item about Anthony Hopkins's performance in The Silence of the Lambs is written ungrammatically, its meaning is unclear, and the note number at its end leads nowhere. Anyone for deletion or revision? Cognita 08:33, 7 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I agree -- and not only that, they forgot to specify a movie! Hopkins has portrayed Lecter in three films now.  I'd assume it was SotL, but Wikipedia isn't a place for assumptions.  Screw it, I'm, taking it out!
 * --63.25.97.7 (talk) 23:22, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

just a note and thoughts..
I am glad to see this article was kept. Having just lost someone yesterday, and having seen this effect precede their passing, it is reassuring to read articles such as this (and of course other documents as well with more details) which state that this is often a part of the onset of death. In this case, it took over a week from the start of the swallowing problems until the final result. It was unclear to us and the hospice attendants whether they had a flu or cold or some other infection causing it initially.

There has been some talk (in many articles) about the time range from start of the rattle to the actual death. I think this article could benefit from the added notation of the fact that the instance/time of death may be more directly related to the actual lack of water/nutrients during the rattle phase, which leads to the impending moment of death. For instance, the moment of death onset can be prolonged by use of a feeding tube if the patient or family has willed it, making it not directly related to the onset of the rattle/swallowing issue. Perhaps someone could find a citation for this. In the case I just observed, death came approximately 35 hours after the person could no longer ingest water or food, even though a chewing reflex could still be initiated. Also of note, the patient also could not properly expectorate in addition to the lack of swallowing, thus the pooling of saliva/mucus in the throat. Aviedit 07:46, 6 March 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aviedit (talk • contribs)