Real-life Zombie, People Coming Back to Life Actually Happen
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VIVA – An 82-year-old woman was pronounced dead at a New York nursing home only to be found breathing three hours later at the funeral home where she had been taken, authorities said.
This follows a similar incident in Iowa where a 66-year-old woman with early onset dementia was declared dead by a nurse but was later found gasping for air when funeral home staff unzipped the body bag.
Fortunately, these events are very rare. But the fear of such 'zombie' events runs deep, which may explain the navy's long-standing custom. When sewing a shroud for a deceased sailor, the sailmaker would take the last stitch through the nose of the deceased.
The passage of a sailcloth needle through the nose was considered a stimulus strong enough to wake up any sailor who was still alive. Confirmation of death today is thankfully no longer brutal.
Ilustrasi orang memerankan zombie di Jakarta.
- VIVAnews/Nurcholis Anhari Lubis
The absence of heart and breath sounds over a while, the presence of fixed and dilated pupils, and the failure to respond to any stimuli declared death. All doctors are taught how to do this and all are aware of their duties.
Unfortunately, there have been instances where death has been confirmed by this process, yet the patient has shown signs of life afterward. Failure to perform the confirmation-of-death procedure properly explains some instances of people being incorrectly declared dead.
A cursory examination while distracted could easily lead to a failure to hear heart sounds and spot shallow, infrequent breaths. It pays to be thorough.
After that, an overdose of tranquilizers can also reduce response and suppress breathing and circulation causing the impression of death while protecting the brain from hypoxia (oxygen starvation). As the drug is cleared from the body, the person may wake up.
Next up are Diazepam (brand name Valium) and alprazolam (brand name Xanax) where both cause people to be mistakenly pronounced dead.
Certain poisons may have similar effects. A branch of the voodoo religion called Bokor gives victims a powder to make them appear dead.
This powder reportedly contains small doses of tetrodotoxin from puffer fish to paralyze victims, who are then allegedly kidnapped before being buried and enslaved.
