Hesperian Health Guides
Caring for Someone Who Is Near Death
- keeping them comfortable and offering emotional support.
- having family and friends sit with them.
- allowing them to make decisions.
- helping them prepare for death. It may help someone to talk about death, things they are grateful for in their life, fears they may have about dying, and worries or wishes for the family’s future. It does not help to act as if the person is not dying. Assure a dying person that you will do what you can to prevent pain and discomfort and that there is nothing to be ashamed of as their body lets go of life. Talk about funeral arrangements if they wish.
Signs that death is near might be:
- the person’s body starts to fail
- medical treatment stops working or is not available
- the person says they are ready to die
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As someone nears death, they may be unconscious, stop eating, breathe very slowly or very fast and unevenly, stop passing urine, or lose control of passing urine or stool. |
Anyone can get HIV. With treatment, anyone with HIV can live a good life.
HIV is not a death sentence, but lack of treatment is
Many people with HIV are not on treatment. They may not know they have HIV, or they may lack access to health care. People who are poor, live far from care, or have low status in the community may be prevented from getting care (see Why do people with HIV still get sick when there is ART?). Because so many people with HIV are not on treatment, more than half a million people die every year from AIDS. Nearly 2 million people become newly infected with HIV each year.
For groups most affected by HIV—young women, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs— community education and peer support help more people get tested, start treatment, and stay healthy. It also prevents HIV from spreading. Learning together from and with people who share similar life experiences can help spread information, skills, and trust through communities.