“Everybody goes through the dying process in their own way,” said the LPN to my sister, Marlene, and I.

We’d been told as much the day before, from another nurse, when Marlene had pointed out that Dad had gone through the death process with his eyes open the whole time…right up to his passing…“But people usually don’t have their eyes open as they are dying,” the nurse had added.

Dad had had his eyes open…but I sensed he didn’t “see” his surroundings near the end.

Mom’s eyes were closed.

Recently I had a chance to talk with a palliative nurse who shared, “I’ve seen about an equal number of people who die eyes open or shut. I would venture to guess it has a lot to do with shock. If the body is going into shock, i.e. moving all its vascular energy to the core, then the eyes will probably stay open due to natural contraction, and the opposite will occur if the body dies without shock.”

Yes, Dad had lost heat in his extremities and was very cold to the touch BEFORE he died…whereas Mom was still very warm when she passed.

I was curious.

I wanted more information.

So I read a New Zealand abstract. It said, out of 100 patients at a Hospice, “The majority (63%) of the patients died with their eyes fully closed, however, 37% had bilateral ptosis at death, with incomplete eye closure.” (Ptosis is also called “drooping eyelid.” And with the death process it is caused by weakness of the muscle responsible for raising the eyelid.)

I continued reading.

“Hepatic encephalopathy appeared to be a pre-mortem risk factor of bilateral ptosis at death.” (Hepatic encephalopathy is a worsening of brain function that occurs when the liver is no longer able to remove toxic substances in the blood.)

So I take it that an eyelid being open or closed does not originate from the mind; it isn’t a conscious decision. It is in fact organic.

And just so you know, for “open eye position” to be registered, the upper eyelid needs to be at least above the pupillary midline i.e. at least 50% of the white of the eye needs to be visible.

So yup, according to that, Dad’s eyes had been open.

“Eyelids control the portal of entry to the principle sensory organ for perceiving the external environment, and are tightly linked to the fundamental processes of the brain itself.”

So I guess Dad had had his eyes open because of declining brain and body function…he certainly couldn’t “see” what was happening around him. Besides, his eyes had had a glazed look.

The abstract continued with, “Total eye closure is usual in sleep, coma and in death.”

So there you have it…or at least until the next study comes along.

And here’s something else that’s interesting: “Incomplete eyelid closure pre-mortem and post-mortem is not uncommon in cancer-related deaths.”

Hmmmm…Dad had had cancer…

“I was wondering if eyes open at death is an indication that the deceased is fearful of the future, presumably because of past behaviors,” someone asked me recently.

“I don’t think so,” I replied. “And here’s why…” I continued, citing the details I’d read recently.

So, to all you surviving relatives out there, this is to reassure you that closed eyes at death isn’t necessarily associated with peacefulness and restfulness and opened eyes with discomfort or even fear.

What experience have you had with the dying…did they die with eyes open? Or closed?

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James