# Have Some Come Out of Comas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2008, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840 "2008-02-01T12:20:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/1 "2008-02-01T12:20:49Z")
Ok, your brain may not be the same, but can one come out of a coma? Maybe some medical SDopers have some factual info to share? Extra credit for cites! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/2 "2008-02-01T12:28:56Z")
Yes, people come out of comas all the time. In fact, indefinite comas are pretty unusual. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/3 "2008-02-01T12:35:07Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] Yes, people come out of comas all the time. In fact, indefinite comas are pretty unusual. [/QUOTE] Friedo, do you have a cite for this? It would be of great help, thanks! I need to read up on such cases. Meanwhile, I’ll do my own Googling ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/4 "2008-02-01T12:45:06Z")
[Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coma) is Wikipedia’s overview. They say > [@](#): > > Outcomes range from recovery to death. Comas generally last a few days to a few weeks, rarely more than 2 to 5 weeks but it can last as long as several years. You can find lots of news articles about waking from comas if you search Google News or another news sites. You will probably also find some articles about doctors deliberately inducing comas for certain reasons. Obviously, they want their patients to wake up eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/5 "2008-02-01T14:07:20Z")
Here you go . Pole recovering from 19-year coma… [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6715313.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6715313.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6715313.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6715313.stm) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/6 "2008-02-01T14:09:40Z")
[QUOTE=Jinx] Friedo, do you have a cite for this? It would be of great help, thanks! I need to read up on such cases. Meanwhile, I’ll do my own Googling ASAP. [/QUOTE] This wasn’t directed towards me but it is a pretty weird question. I am surprised that you don’t know a few people yourself that have come out of a coma. It is far from rare. The way you asked for a cite leads me to believe that your actual question is different from the one as stated literally in your OP. Do you mean very long term comas? Most comas only last a few days and people recover from them every day. One of my best friends got hit by a train and was in a coma for about 2 months. He recovered from it but has some permanent brain damage. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/7 "2008-02-01T14:19:35Z")
Happens all the time - and some of the stories are amazing. For a good fictional example, see Stephen King’s _The Dead Zone_. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/8 "2008-02-01T14:24:58Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] For a good fictional example, see Stephen King’s _The Dead Zone_. [/QUOTE] You…don’t UNDERSTAND. You’re…wasting COFFEE! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/9 "2008-02-01T14:36:42Z")
Perhaps, instead of comas, the OP meant [Persistant Vegitative State](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistent_vegetative_state). Comas are not what he things they are. ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/10 "2008-02-01T14:37:24Z")
There was a recent one about a firefighter who emerged from a coma after a couple years. [http://www.rd.com/stories/drama/firefighter-true-story-of-recovery/article.html](http://www.rd.com/stories/drama/firefighter-true-story-of-recovery/article.html) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/11 "2008-02-01T14:41:02Z")
The question as posed is really, really obvious: Of course people come out of comas. They may suffer brain damage which may or may not heal over time, however. Even the most cursory research into the subject will tell you that. **Telemark** : Well, he _could_ mean a lot of things. Catatonia (some cases, at least) comes to mind, for instance, as does sleeping sickness and encephalitis lethargica (specifically, the akinetic mutism of acute cases which can also be caused by CJD). ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-some-come-out-of-comas/435840/12 "2008-02-01T15:52:50Z")
And that rescued Sago miner in West Virginia was in a coma and not expected to recover, but did: [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-25-miner-coma\_x.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-25-miner-coma_x.htm) This is an older article, as I recall he went on to speak and begin walking again.