A coma is a prolonged state of unconsciousness. During a coma, a person is unresponsive to their environment. The person is alive and looks like they are sleeping. However, unlike in a deep sleep, the person cannot be awakened by any stimulation, including pain.

What does it mean when you are comatose?

Someone who is in a coma is unconscious and will not respond to voices, other sounds, or any sort of activity going on nearby. The person is still alive, but the brain is functioning at its lowest stage of alertness.

Are comatose patients conscious?

As soon as patients open their eyes, they are said to “awaken” from the coma. This does not, however, mean that a person is conscious. Most patients who awaken from a coma soon recuperate. But a minority will succumb to brain death; a brain that is dead is completely destroyed and cannot recover.