How do people actually die from Alzheimer’s Disease?
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Patients often begin to have problems swallowing and drinking, something that is called aspiration, where the food and / or drink can end up going into the lungs instead of the stomach.
To stop that happening, doctors can suggest to the family of the patient to start feeding and watering by a tube put down the throat. Many families – and the patients themselves – do not want this, and the doctors give an option to remove food and water entirely. Apart from a wet sponge or tissue sometimes held against a patient’s tongue to give them a moment’s respite, these are all the fluids they get. They will also get a ramped up amount of pain relief at this time.
The result of that is many people in these situations die of dehydration. Pretty horrible to think about that.
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