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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Is Foaming From Mouth Normal While Being In Coma State And Liver Failure?

My grandmother is in hospice but we're taking care of her at home. Anyway she's in the active stage of death, bleeding from the the mouth, involuntary twitching, shallow breathing and has been in a coma like state for 24hrs. My question is is foaming from the mouth normal? What else should we expect. She has liver failure from Alcoholism. We're giving her morphine as well. Thank you in advance.
posted on Thu, 13 Mar 2014
Twitter Tue, 23 Dec 2014 Answered on
Twitter Wed, 24 Dec 2014 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello and thank you for your question. I am very sorry that your grandmother is dying. The foaming from the mouth comes from the body shutting down and not being able to process fluids. Fluids build up in the lungs, do not get reabsorbed and come out through the mouth. This is a normal part of the dying process. Morphine can help dry up the secretions. Twitches and jerks are also a normal part of the process as the body shuts down. As she progresses, her breathing will become more shallow and then stop.
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Is Foaming From Mouth Normal While Being In Coma State And Liver Failure?

Hello and thank you for your question. I am very sorry that your grandmother is dying. The foaming from the mouth comes from the body shutting down and not being able to process fluids. Fluids build up in the lungs, do not get reabsorbed and come out through the mouth. This is a normal part of the dying process. Morphine can help dry up the secretions. Twitches and jerks are also a normal part of the process as the body shuts down. As she progresses, her breathing will become more shallow and then stop.