Re: When someone over 65 dies

Katcat1 · ‎07-21-2011

@RoughDraft COVID 19 does not care how old you are. It is interested in your cells. It needs the right cell to produce the infection in your body. A baby was recently diagnosed. It's so important to protect yourself with a face mask because someone may just been afflicted with the virus and symptoms have not started so you may think that person is safe. Who would have thought we would be in the crisis right now? Very sad, very serious.

kindness is strength

Isobel Archer · ‎04-04-2015

@JaneMarple wrote:
@lovescats wrote:
When someone over 65 dies of the virus what is the cause listed as the virus or the underlying condition? Is it the same in all states? When I read the obits I have to wonder? Nursing homes are big business and the head person is ofter a doctor who would sign the death certificate?
What makes you ask this question?

CDC issued guidelines that if Covid played any part to list it as cause of death.

pitdakota · ‎03-16-2010

@lovescats wrote:
When someone over 65 dies of the virus what is the cause listed as the virus or the underlying condition? Is it the same in all states? When I read the obits I have to wonder? Nursing homes are big business and the head person is ofter a doctor who would sign the death certificate?

________________________________________________________

So for the sake of discussion, let's say you have a history of asthma and you are driving somewhere when you are involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. You are taken to the ER, then on to surgery because you have sustained multiple internal injuries...ruptured spleen, broken ribs one which punctures your lung, etc.

After surgery is finished, they are not able to get you to breathe efficiently on your own, so they leave you intubated and put you on a ventilator in the post anesthesia care unit. From there you are transferred to ICU where you continue to have trouble on the ventilator maintaining an adequate oxygen level. You start a downhill trajectory in which you end up with multi-organ failure and die.

You think the cause of death would be the asthma because asthma is an underlying condition and maybe if it hadn't been for the asthma things would have turned out differently? The cause of death would be the motor vehicle accident. You were doing perfectly ok at the time of the accident and it is what led to the series of events that caused your death. Even though you had asthma.

Same in nursing home deaths with the virus. Those individuals have underlying medical conditions but they were alive and functioning until they contracted the virus. Once they contracted the virus they were not able to overcome the series of events the virus caused with those conditions present. But cause of death is still the virus.

No one is under any requirement to release cause of death in an obituary. Family may choose to do so, but they are not required to do so.

* Freedom has a taste the protected will never know *

denisemb · ‎12-07-2012

Don't want to hijack this thread but it made me think...and maybe a medical professional can help.

Let's say a patient with a pre-existing condition passes suddenly (not a car accident or something obvious). Considering the crazy busy situation at hospitals now, is it a "best guess" cause of death towards pre-existing condition or are autopsies being done? Does Covid-19 even SHOW UP during an autopsy, or would it require the Covid-19 test, too?

I realize surviving family have an ultimate say over autopsies, but are alternate processes taking place now?

Denise

magicmoodz · ‎03-16-2010

I understood a doctor on a local talk show to explain it this way:

Let's say John was recuperating from a heart attack and then tested positive for COVID-19 and died. Cause of death would be COVID-19.

Now let's say John tested positive for COVID-19 and then had a heart attack and died. Cause of death would be heart attack.

catter70 · ‎10-11-2017

There was one obit in my local paper today saying person died of complications from Covid-19. She was elderly.

ID2 · ‎06-25-2012

EVERY death notice lately I've seen have listed the cause of death was the COVID-19 virus if deemed necessary. I actually found that interesting that it looks intentional that this virus was the cause of these particular deaths.

"Pure Michigan"

violann · ‎03-10-2010

We are told here, in my geographic area, that a face mask protects NOT the person wearing it, but the people that person encounters.

The virus is so tiny that it can permeate most, if not all common fabrics that "household" masks would screen. The mask stops the expulsion of virus bearing saliva from leaving the mouth of the person wearing it.

One of the original concerns about asking people to "mask up" was that masking would encourage a false sense of security in people who chose to wear them.

Also in our geographic area, many, MANY obituaries, for people of ALL AGES, indicate that the Corona Virus was the cause of death.

It is almost "quaint" to me that this would even be a consideration. Financial concerns? Family pride? Denial?These may be luxuries to which some of us have no access.

Where I live, the fear, and the truth, are VERY CLOSE. I plead with all of you, BE SAFE. Being an alarmist is by no means my typical life style. There is no "sunny side" to this. If you happen to live in an area that will never see a single case, BLESS YOU, AND BE GRATEFUL.

But if you are warned by medically based authority, if you are told to stay home, if you are told that you "might" be in a vulnerable group.....LISTEN.

Theoriginallacey · ‎03-28-2012

So it stops the virus going out, but not coming in?

Janey2 · ‎06-07-2010

@Theoriginallacey I read many articles about wearing masks. If you want to read up on this topic there is one in Popular Science, The Atlantic, and Forbes. There seems to be some pros and cons about wearing masks. What all seem to agree upon is that you are not wearing a mask to stop yourself from getting infected but to stop someone else from getting infected.