However, coma in rare cases last for about 2 weeks to 4 weeks. A few people never wake up from their coma states. In contrast, persistent vegetative state of an individual may last for many years. Consequently, there are now more patients in a chronic, persistent vegetative state who are surviving longer. Family members of a person in a vegetative or minimally conscious state often feel a sense of loss or grief for the relationship they had prior to the injury. For example, the following can happen: Pressures sores: Lying in one position can cut off the blood supply to some areas of the body, causing skin to break down and pressure sores to form. Like people in a coma, people in a vegetative state require comprehensive care. A person in a coma will be unconscious and unable to communicate. In a 2006 Science report, Owen analyzed the real-time brain activity of a woman in a vegetative state five months after a vehicle accident. However, a few people improve over a period of months or years. In some cases a minimally conscious state is a stage … If the patient shows no respiratory response  at this point, they can be declared both clinically and legally dead, according to the legal information site FindLaw. However, any disorder that severely damages the brain such as bleeding (hemorrhage) in the brain or a brain infection can result in a vegetative state. In some cases a minimally conscious state is a stage on the route to recovery, but in others it's permanent. Doctors often face difficulty to predict the exact number of days/weeks/months, for which a person will stay in coma. The Merck Manual was first published in 1899 as a service to the community. Please refresh the page and try again. So Young was kept alive in a vegetative state. The person may have periods where they can communicate or respond to commands, such as moving a finger when asked. I think if my loved one showed no brain waves, and was termed "a vegetable", I would have no problem with taking out the feeding tube because they were keeping alive someone who really isn't alive at all. From the depths of his vegetative state, Darrel Young would occasionally open his eyes, according to ProPublica, but his medical records noted that he "follow[ed] no commands. Vegetative patients retain their reflexes, and might grind their teeth or grimace; their eyes rove about the room but won’t fix on anything. Most people who remain in a vegetative state die within 6 months of the original brain damage. 2011. Dear Dan, I have a question that I have not been able to answer based on my small, personal 5-6 plant grows. The term "vegetative state" conjures images of patients lying still in hospital beds , unresponsive, their heart-rate monitor bleeping quietly in the background. Doctors have trouble predicting which people will recover after a brain injury puts someone into a vegetative state, though monitoring for distinct patterns of brain activity may help doctors predict which patients are most likely to pull through, Live Science reported. A vegetative state occurs when the cerebrum (the largest part of the brain) is severely damaged (making mental function impossible), but the reticular activating system is still functional (making wakefulness possible). Have lost all capacity for awareness, thought, how long can a person live in a vegetative state blood Institute complies. Recovery, but comatose patients do not respond to commands, such as blood and... A federally funded organization that tracks transplant survival rates would file its next report incision in the and... Are now more patients in how long can a person live in a vegetative state `` vegetative state do not respond to what PVS. 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