# Can you really tell if a person is dead by their eyes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 2, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816 "2005-12-02T21:32:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/21 "2005-12-03T10:38:36Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I find the idea of a doctor having to get a second opinion on whether or not someone is dead a rather…unsettling concept. There was a story in the news not too long ago about some kid who was horrendously injured in a (motorcycle?) accident. He was declared dead by one of the medics on the scene - all the tests he had done supported this theory - and a second medic just accepted this as the case - despite the fact that he noticed some movement from the victim (which the first medic attributed to some medical cause that I’ve forgotten). I think the upshot of the story was, if the second medic had checked on his own, he probably would have caught the fact the guy was indeed alive. I think this was discussed here on the Dope… I’ll have to see if I can track it down. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/22 "2005-12-03T10:56:55Z")
In my nursing days I saw quite a few dead patients and in most cases I knew they were dead on the basis of the most cursory glance. Of course you do tests as indicated to confirm it but dead people look dead. In most cases the death was expected soon so that may be cheating but even on the one occassion that it was a complete surprise I just walked in to the room and instantly thought she was dead. ---
**Author:** ![Clock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19adc/32.png) [@Clock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clock)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/23 "2005-12-03T12:41:50Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > Is it proven that you can tell if someone is dead or not solely by looking at their eyes or is that an old wives tale. I guess if you poked them in the eye with a sharp stick and never got a smack in the teeth as a thank you you could assume they were either dead or comatose. Next step is to check for any pulse…no pulse usually means they’ve shuffled off 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/24 "2005-12-03T13:30:38Z")
Or they’ve got a slow heart rate and you’re checking between beats. ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/25 "2005-12-03T13:33:07Z")
> [@1920s Style "Death Ray"](#): > > Or they’ve got a slow heart rate and you’re checking between beats. I think I can speak for all medical professionals when I say if I’m feeling for a pulse on someone I think might be dead, I’ll be feeling for a good long time, and looking at a heart monitor at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/26 "2005-12-03T19:27:02Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > (rotate the head and see if the eyes remain fixed or “move like a doll”… try this on your friend and then a dead guy to see the difference) Sweet, I know what I’m doing with my afternoon! ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/27 "2005-12-03T23:21:39Z")
> [@1920s Style "Death Ray"](#): > > Or they’ve got a slow heart rate and you’re checking between beats. Huh? Wouldn’t you keep your fingers there for…awhile to see if they had a pule, or is it possible to place your fingers on the wrist/neck at the wrong time and completely miss all beating? ---
**Author:** ![civiltongue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@civiltongue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/civiltongue)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/28 "2005-12-04T00:36:40Z")
I have trouble finding pulses in alive people. Sometimes I just can’t feel it. Ulnar, carotid … nada. So I hope it never comes down to me to pronounce anyone. Or … maybe it’s “Sixth Sense” and my friends really are dead. Or … maybe it’s “Psycho” and I don’t really have any friends. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/29 "2005-12-04T14:36:29Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Huh? Wouldn’t you keep your fingers there for…awhile to see if they had a pule, or is it possible to place your fingers on the wrist/neck at the wrong time and completely miss all beating? Don’t try taking my pulse from my right wrist or I might end up in the morgue a little prematurely! I’ve had amusement a few times as doctors/nurses attempt to do that (I have a scar from a cut-down there and it makes it very difficult to get a pulse from that wrist). ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/30 "2005-12-04T15:46:39Z")
> [@kinoons](#): > > I think I can speak for all medical professionals when I say if I’m feeling for a pulse on someone I think might be dead, I’ll be feeling for a good long time, and looking at a heart monitor at the same time. It was a joke. Obviously a bad one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/31 "2005-12-05T01:31:59Z")
Pardon my poor sense of humor, deffinately one of those “woosh” moments… ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816/32 "2005-12-05T06:57:01Z")
I’ve declared lots of folks dead. At this stage, I’ve never actually asked another doctor for their medical opinion. But it’s a good idea to remember the option exists and use it if in any doubt. I was senior resident in charge of the cardiac ward. The nurses called up an intern, just starting residency, and told him a patient had died on this ward and need to be declared. The intern went to the floor and told the nurses he had never declared a patient dead. He asked for their advice and was told the same things mentioned in this column. As a joke, one nurse called him back a couple hours later. “What do you think your playing at? Mr. Smith just sat up in his bed, and he’s really pissed off you declared him dead!”. The intern freaked out, ran to the floor, and was met by a smiling group of nurses. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-really-tell-if-a-person-is-dead-by-their-eyes/333816.md?page=1)