How to Tell if Someone Is Dead

If you've come across an accident and found someone seemingly lifeless, you may want to quickly ascertain if the person is dead or simply unconscious. This can determine your next course of action. Because the human body has several involuntary reflex mechanisms, there are a variety of ways to tell if someone is dead without hurting them.

Things You'll Need

• Mirror or piece of glass
• Flashlight
• Soft cloth

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Instructions

• 1

  Hold a mirror or piece of glass up to the person's nose and mouth for three minutes. The mirror or glass will fog up if the person is breathing. If no breath is apparent, go to the next step.

• 2

  Check for a pulse. Place two fingers to one side of the windpipe or to the underside of the wrist on the thumb side. Feel for a pulse.

• 3

  See if the pupils react to light. Shine a flashlight into the person's open eyes. The pupils will become smaller in reaction to the light if the person is not dead.

• 4

  Try to elicit a blinking reaction. Open the eyes and delicately move some cloth across the eyeballs. This causes an involuntary eye blink reaction if the person is not dead.

• 5

  Begin administering first aid or CPR compressions immediately if you are qualified to do so. Regardless, 911 should be called for assistance. Give the operator all the information you have ascertained about the situation.