Do people who are in a coma for a long period of time age as a person who isn't in a coma?

Answer 1

Yes, your body functions just as it would if you weren't in a coma. The only thing that is different is that your brain does not have the ability to realize that time has passed. There have been people who have gone into a coma while young and woken up years later with having gone completely through puberty. It is a really amazing thing to think about. The body functions on its own without an awake individual to power it.

Answer 2

They age one day for each day.

But, they look much worse, as there are many, many complications to lying in a bed not moving for long periods of time. Movement helps move lymph, which helps fight infection. It keeps muscles, even facial muscles, toned, and that has a great deal to do with how old we look.

People in comas can live for a long time, but their bodies do not usually do real well. If they cannot eat, they are fed by feeding tube. They are often catheterized and have IVs. All of these are more ways for infection to gain entrance, as are bed sores. None of these are real good for the human body over the long term.

Even people who are paralyzed can have a lot of medical problems because they cannot move or feel their bodies.