What Is a Coma?

What do you think about when you hear the word coma (say: ko-muh)? Does it make you think of someone in a deep sleep, or the way you feel after eating too much Thanksgiving turkey? Does the word remind you of a TV soap opera, where it seems that at least one character is always in a coma?

A coma can be difficult to understand, especially because people sometimes jokingly use the words coma and comatose (say: ko-muh-tose, which means in a coma or coma-like state) to describe people who aren't paying attention or who are drowsy or sleeping. But a coma is a serious condition that has nothing to do with sleep.

What Happens When Someone Is in a Coma?


What Can Cause a Coma?

Comas can be caused by different things, including:

  • a severe injury to the head that hurts the brain
  • seizures
  • infections involving the brain
  • brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen for too long
  • a stroke


what is coma

How Do People Take Care of Someone in a Coma?




What Happens After a Coma?


Most people do come out of comas, however. Some of them are able to return to the normal lives they had before they got sick. On TV, someone in a coma usually wakes up right away, looks around, and is able to think and talk normally.

But in real life, this rarely happens. When coming out of a coma, a person will often be confused and can only slowly respond to what's going on. It will take time for the person to start feeling better.


Other people may need therapy to relearn basic things like tying their shoes, eating with a fork or spoon, or learning to walk all over again. They may also have problems with speaking or remembering things.


Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: October 2011

Kids Health

