AIBU to question why they put "Died of old age" on Prince Philip's death certificate?

[SolarLightxoxo]

I mean everyone dies of something surely? It's not like you come to a certain age and you just drop dead.

I certainly don't think it has anything to do with dignity

We disagree.

@Alsohuman

I certainly don't think it has anything to do with dignity

We disagree.

So a person who dies of a stroke at 90 is somehow less dignified than someone of the same ago who dies of an undefined cause which gets put down as old age because no one really knows what they actually died of and they're old and declining?

You can have a dignified death, we certainly all wish to have that. But that has nothing to do with not actually knowing the cause of it. And certainly what cause of death is put down for statistical purposes on the certificate doesn't matter. Dying of old age as opposed to anything else is really not something to be proud of.

You can't put a mechanism of death ie renal failure or heart failure as the only cause it has to be backed up by a cause of that mechanism eg ischemic heart disease. Frailty of old age used to be a much more accepted cause than or is now although it is still accepted in some cases as outlined by a PP. Our local coroner prefers 'senile corporeal degeneration' ...sounds good but basically means ' old body wore out'

but old age does not kill you. No one says 'Phew, I survived a bout of old age there' .

Yeah, that's exactly it - no one survives old age!

So, it does kill you!

@Seeingadistance

but old age does not kill you. No one says 'Phew, I survived a bout of old age there' .

Yeah, that's exactly it - no one survives old age!

So, it does kill you!

Age-related and degenerative illnesses and conditions kill you. Not old age in and of itself. It just means you don't know and the person was old and declining. It's not really a meaningful cause of death for statistical purposes (which is the main reason for recording cause of death).

I suspect many Covid deaths among the very elderly were really just deaths of old age.

I used to deal with death certificates daily and I saw many that said that the cause of death was old age. At that age, your body is worn out (I can't think of a nicer way to put it) so it seems fair IMO

@GlassBoxSpectacular

Ooops posted too soon!

I don’t understand that question: can people not wonder about things that don’t directly affect them?

You get that weird question on the first page on almost any thread like this. As if people should never discuss anything that doesn't directly affect or concern them personally. .

@Oyvavoy, I was unhappy about dementia on my mum’s death certificate. I’m allowed to feel that way, how dare you tell me I’m not?

My grandmother died of old age. She lay in bed and prayed to die, until she did. She continued to eat and drink and got quite irritated God was taking him time.

My Nan died last year and old age was put as the primary cause.

She'd had breast cancer for about 10 years. When admitted to hospital two weeks before she died, the thinking was that the cancer had spread to the liver. There's nothing to be done for secondary liver cancer. She was 86, very frail and she had multiple health conditions caused by the cancer such as diabetes. She was almost blind as her sight had deteriorated. To put her through invasive procedures to either confirm the cancer had spread or rule it out would not have been in her best interests.

I was able to arrange for her to spend her final days in her own home, surrounded by her family. She died very peacefully and with dignity.

Putting old age meant we avoided a post mortem. Is it possible she died of something else? Probably, but quite honestly, I'm glad she was spared invasive procedures and that, as a family, we were spared having to have a post mortem done.

Sometimes, people just get too old. Their bodies shut down. I reckon there are worse things to die of.

It’s really odd how many people seem to be uncomfortable about the idea of your body just wearing out, and insisting that there must be some other cause, with the implication that we should have been able to prevent it. The poster above who said “that’s the whole point, you can’t recover from old age” was spot on.
I think this says quite a lot about our expectations these days and is particularly interesting in light of the events of the past year and our response to them.

I think you were probably spared the Post Mortem because your Nan had been in hospital for two weeks.

A similar thing happened to my late DM - she had just been in hospital long enough for one to be avoided, or at least, so we were told by the Consultant.

What's wrong with it OP?

My grand dad died of old age at 97. He slowed down and slowed down and then he died. It's a pretty good way to go I reckon. Probably the best way. Not in hosp plugged up to machines, family know it's coming at some point.

At that age you still likely have stuff not right with loads of your organs- they are all old too!

Don't get the OP. What's the problem with dying of old age?

My Nanna died a couple of years ago and it was out down to old age which my mum totally agreed with. She was 97 years old.

I worked in the deceased accounts department for a major bank and we often had old age or frailty listed as cause of death

My gran died at 94. She woke up in the morning, had a headache so went back to bed to nap and never woke up. Her death was listed as old age

@NiceGerbil

What's wrong with it OP?

My grand dad died of old age at 97. He slowed down and slowed down and then he died. It's a pretty good way to go I reckon. Probably the best way. Not in hosp plugged up to machines, family know it's coming at some point.

At that age you still likely have stuff not right with loads of your organs- they are all old too!

Don't get the OP. What's the problem with dying of old age?

@NiceGerbil You would probably be best to read the whole thread. There have been a huge amount of points of view expressed both for and against the cause of death being listed as old age on the death certificate. I have found the thread both informative and interesting. Eight pages into the thread, I'm not sure that I can say anything else that hasn't already been said!

What an interesting read this is. Thanks for starting it Solar, we really should discuss death and dying more often.

Post-mortems in those who have simply expired do seem rather undignified. Departing in your sleep sounds like a great way to go - I know that a body is just an old overcoat really but why disturb someone who has met a merciful end.

I agree, this thread is interesting and we do need to talk about death more.

I find it odd that so many posters on here seem or like to believe that dying of old age is always 'gentle', or something to smile about. That's sadly not always the case, for patient or family.

We call it frailty at work

Figgyboa

My gran died at 94. She woke up in the morning, had a headache so went back to bed to nap and never woke up. Her death was listed as old age“

Condolences, Figgyboa.

Considering the myriad alternatives, that would be my choice. I do hope her (I trust?) peaceful end was a consolation X

My Nan's death certificate stated old age, well she was 105, what else could it say?

[quote Alsohuman]@Oyvavoy, I was unhappy about dementia on my mum’s death certificate. I’m allowed to feel that way, how dare you tell me I’m not?[/quote]
Of course you can feel how you like but the question is why does it matter to you? It's something which is used for statistical purposes and really not much else in normal circumstances. Why even let something meaningless upset you? There's more than enough emotion with the death of a loved one to get upset about what cause of death was recorded on the death certificate. Did they die with dignity? Pain free? Time to say goodbye? Was the death how they wanted? Those are the important questions rather than a statistical classfication.

It's not like you frame the certificate and put it on the wall to remember your loved one. Death registration is just an administrative process with cause of death recorded for statistical purposes. All old age means is that they were old and declining and don't really know what they died of.

@MargaretFraggle

I agree, this thread is interesting and we do need to talk about death more.

I find it odd that so many posters on here seem or like to believe that dying of old age is always 'gentle', or something to smile about. That's sadly not always the case, for patient or family.

Me too. When you look at the directions given to doctors on when to use it, the implication is that the person had been declining for years and wasn't in great health overall. I don't understand why an unknown cause of death is preferable to knowing the cause. Shouldn't the focus be on ensuring dignified deaths and treating preventable diseases to allow people to live healthy lives for as long as possible? I certainly wouldn't want to be an 80 year old who dies after years of declining health and no one actually knows what I died of. 80 isn't actually that old for women especially. And I sincerely hope to be robust in my 70s and not in such poor health that if I die of unknown causes at 80, that my death will just be attributred to 'old age',