Latest news with #KathrynMannix
Edinburgh Live
18-06-2025
- Health
- Edinburgh Live
Doctor warns 'death will come soon' to anyone spotting one specific symptom
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A specialist in palliative care, Kathryn Mannix, has offered a powerful perspective on death, providing insights into what may be a prominent sign that someone is nearing their final moments. Dr Mannix, who merges her expertise as a clinician and author with her advocacy work for Hospice UK, promotes an open conversation about dying, calling it 'a natural process'. Dr Kathryn, a key figure in Hospice UK's Dying Matters campaign and contributor to the eye-opening BBC piece 'Dying is not as bad as you think', advocates candid discussions about mortality across different platforms. During such conversations, she often points to particular signs indicating when a patient may be approaching the end of their life. Urging for a rediscovery of 'the wisdom' in discussing the last phases of life, Dr Kathryn aims to break down the stigmas surrounding death. READ MORE - Kate Middleton has the same breakfast every day to keep herself feeling healthy READ MORE - ITV Good Morning Britain star reveals painful health battle live on air The Express reports on Dying Matters, an initiative by Hospice UK which strives to produce educational materials and encourages a culture where talks of death, bereavement, and the dying process are standardised. Hospice UK has released a video with Dr Kathryn which sheds light on a key indicator of impending death, reports the Mirror. Dr Kathryn has shared her view that 'dying is probably not as bad as you're expecting', offering reassurance and guidance regarding the dying process. She details this in the Hospice UK video, explaining: "As time goes by people sleep more, and they're awake less. "Instead of just being asleep, this person has temporarily become unconscious, we can't wake them up." Dr. Kathryn described the moment of passing as follows: "At the very end of somebody's life, there will be a period of shallow breathing and then one out breath that just isn't followed by another in breath." She explained that this marks the transition from consciousness to a comatose state, rather than simply sleep. The physician also addressed the 'death rattle', a phenomenon that often precedes the final breath. She clarified that this sound is an indicator of profound tranquillity as the individual approaches death. Dr. Kathryn stressed that the 'death rattle' should not be viewed negatively, but rather as a serene aspect of the dying process. She explained that the rattling noise occurs when the person becomes completely unconscious and peaceful, as they continue to breathe but lose the ability to clear their throat. According to Dr. Kathryn, the accumulation of mucus and saliva in the back of the throat causes the characteristic rattling noise as the individual breathes. She described the final breath as potentially 'so gentle' that loved ones present may not immediately realise the person has passed away. Dr. Kathryn highlighted the importance of understanding and appreciating this natural part of life, as well as comforting one another in times of bereavement. Dr Kathryn voiced her desire for society to recognise and accept the inherent process of dying – a common characteristic shared amongst all humanity.
Daily Mirror
17-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'I'm a doctor and death will come soon if you spot this symptom'
Dr Kathryn Mannix, a palliative care doctor, has called for society to break the taboo around death and says that dying is a 'natural process' that can be 'reclaimed' A palliative care specialist has shed light on a telltale sign that indicates someone is nearing death, while also suggesting that dying may not be as dreadful as we fear. Kathryn Mannix, a doctor, writer, and advocate for Hospice UK, is encouraging a more open dialogue about the topic, describing death as a 'natural process'. Dr Kathryn has been actively involved in the Dying Matters campaign by Hospice UK and contributed to a BBC feature titled 'Dying is not as bad as you think'. She has frequently spoken about mortality across various platforms, pinpointing a specific indicator that suggests a patient's time is drawing near. Dr Kathryn is calling for a revival of 'the wisdom' surrounding discussions on death and dying, aiming to dismantle the taboos associated with the end of life. The Dying Matters initiative by Hospice UK is dedicated to providing content and resources that foster an environment where conversations about death, dying, and bereavement are normalised, reports the Express. A video featuring Dr Kathryn's insights and guidance has been circulated by Hospice UK, highlighting the primary sign that death is imminent. Dr Kathryn has expressed her belief that 'dying is probably not as bad as you're expecting'. In the footage shared by Hospice UK, she explains: "As time goes by people sleep more, and they're awake less. "Instead of just being asleep, this person has temporarily become unconscious, we can't wake them up. "At the very end of somebody's life, there will be a period of shallow breathing and then one out breath that just isn't followed by another in breath." The physician notes this as the point where the patient transitions from consciousness into a comatose state rather than merely sleeping. She points to the 'death rattle' phenomenon, clarifying that it is an indicator of someone being profoundly tranquil as they approach death's threshold. The 'death rattle', as Dr Kathyrn elucidated, generally precedes the final breath that a person takes. She imparted the notion that the 'death rattle' should not be seen negatively but accepted as an element of the serene passage of dying. Dr Kathryn illustrated that the rattling noise is a consequence of someone plunging into total unconsciousness and profound peacefulness. According to her, at this juncture, the individual continues to breathe but loses the ability to clear their throat as they drift towards unconsciousness. The accumulation of mucus and saliva in the back of the throat of those nearing life's end causes the characteristic rattling noise as they breathe. Dr Kathryn portrayed the last breath as potentially 'so gentle' that loved ones present might not grasp immediately that the individual has passed away. She emphasised that appreciating this intrinsic part of life, as well as comforting one another in times of bereavement, should be viewed as a cause for recognition. Dr Kathryn expressed her wish for society to acknowledge and embrace the innate process of dying – a universal trait shared amongst all humanity.
The Guardian
24-02-2025
- General
- The Guardian
When my sister died, it wasn't just her own childhood memories that disappeared. Mine did too
I was midway through Kathryn Mannix's With the End in Mind when it happened. It's a comforting book – the author is a palliative care consultant – that describes the basics of a good death: a diminuendo. The mind fades. The breath slows. Inevitably, gently, life stops. And then I got the call: my sister Millie had died. Her death, at the age of 47, was sudden and unexpected. She was my only sibling – four years younger than me. I put the book down. I'll probably never finish it. Shock grief is not the same as 'here it comes' grief, the feeling you eventually get when someone has been ill and deteriorating for some time. There's no chance for reflection while shock is in charge. In the days that followed, I was overwhelmed by one notion: that someone ought to tell Millie she was dead – she didn't see this coming either – and that the someone ought to be me. Then the sadness began to change. Shock grief gave way to something new. Let's call it horizontal grief. I'd done vertical grief. My father died years ago, and I have lost grandparents and aunts and uncles – but losing the only other member of the family who went to the same primary school as me and with whom I shared the back seat of the Austin Maxi and argued over the Kellogg's variety pack on day one of every holiday was something new and dreadful. My sister was a lot of what I'm not. She was immensely practical. Pulling down a wall was, to her, what straightening a picture is to me. Millie also (unlike me) had a phenomenal memory for detail. She could describe the pyjamas I was wearing when we were woken by the garden wall getting blown down in the great storm of 1987 (when I first and finally heard my mum say 'fuck'). She knew the name of the boy at the French holiday camp who told 10-year-old me how babies were made. She remembered my imaginary friend, Tommy Taplin, better than I did. As Millie's death graduated from a 'shock' to a 'thing', I began to realise just how much I had always relied on her version of events. When she was born, she 'bought me' (in the charming, absurd tradition that an unborn sibling is gestating alongside a gift) a present. It was something to do with either Noddy or the Wombles. But which? I'll never know again. When she died, she took the memory of not one but two childhoods with her – in all their vivid, silly, scattered, doesn't-matter-but-it-does detail. I feel as though I have lost a witness, someone who can attest to what happened to us both. Millie is gone; my father has been dead many years; and my mother's memory is cruelly abandoning her. It is as though 90% of the family photo albums are suddenly gone. 'To lose your younger sister is a terrible thing,' wrote Blake Morrison. 'There's no one alive to check the truth.' I am resigned to a future of 'I don't know'. Why did our dad throw his career away in his 30s? I don't know. But he would have told Millie. Did I imagine an apparently lost bus struggling to turn around in our cul-de-sac one Saturday morning? Millie would have been able to confirm. Did our nan smoke weed? I'm sure Millie mentioned that once. Except I'm not sure now, and can't be. Memories are the stories we tell ourselves, and they are the building blocks of the self. But if you can't remember the stories, who are you? Anyone who has loved someone with memory issues knows the horror that is watching a personality vanish while the person remains. Dementia, if heredity determines it, could be my future. The rest of my memories could in time be corrupted and deleted. For many bigger reasons, I miss Millie. She was very, very alive – an inveterate showoff, and with good reason. I have never known anyone more impossible to ignore. One memory I hope I never lose is of her blazing her way through Katy Perry's Roar at a children's party, madly choreographing all the kids. Louder than a lion, that was my sister. Jason Hazeley is a comedy writer who is partly responsible for TV untellectual Philomena Cunk
