The 7 Most Painful Diseases To Die From

Death is a natural part of life, and something we all have to accept. Some cultures are better at talking about it than others — Mexico's Day of the Dead, for example, is a holiday that lasts many days to celebrate people's ancestors and remind the living that their time, too, will come. With that said, there are certainly some ways of dying that are better than others. Human beings have evolved out of the food chain, so most people now imagine that their death may be peaceful — possibly at home, surrounded by loved ones.

But as recent developments in palliative care show, many people require special treatment in their final days in the form of therapy and medication to alleviate the pain of the condition that is sadly proving fatal. Some diseases are notorious for being a painful way to die, but hopefully, as medicine continues to advance, there will be new techniques for making death as painless as possible. Here are seven of the most painful diseases to die from, as well as treatments that are already available or in development.

Ebola is one of the most terrifying diseases out there. It's caused by a viral infection and is believed to have a mortality rate as high as 90% if left untreated. Ebola's messed up history begins with its discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976 and spread to other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. In recent decades, ebola has been one of the major public health issues on the continent, with 38 outbreaks causing more than 15,000 deaths.

Six different strains of ebola have been discovered, four of which affect humans. The disease is spread through body fluids such as saliva and sweat, and it reveals itself in two stages of symptoms. First is the "dry" stage, when the sufferer begins to develop aches, fever, and fatigue. Next comes the horrifying "wet" stage, when vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding become sustained. The disease is hemorrhagic, affecting the blood's ability to clot and leading to internal and external bleeding that leaves the sufferer in excruciating pain as it becomes more severe. Thankfully, an FDA-approved vaccine has been developed in recent years, making the disease preventable in areas where it once took many lives.

Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease, and 99% of the time, it's passed to a human sufferer via a bite from an infected dog. The fatality statistics are stark, with around 59,000 reported deaths per year across the globe. Rabies affects the brian and spinal cord of the infected, inflaming both, and it can show itself in two ways. The first is known as "furious" rabies, in which the sufferer acts erratically and energetically. This causes aggression in infected dogs, which in turn heightens the chance of the disease being spread to humans. "Paralytic" rabies, on the other hand, leads to loss of motor function and eventually a coma.

The disease is characterized by a burning sensation along with hydrophobia (an extreme fear of water). Attempting to drink water in the final stages of rabies often results in painful spasms, leading to a death characterized by agonizing thirst. Thankfully, two rabies vaccines are now available.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a disease that also affects the human nervous system. Developing in the brain and spinal cord, it leads to the weakening of muscles through the corruption of nerve cells, affecting the sufferer's ability to move and perform body functions. Symptoms include difficulty in using the hands and feet, slurred speech, and an increase in trips and falls. 

Though ALS doesn't affect the nerves in a way that causes pain directly, the gradual weakening of the body can be a source of great discomfort. As the disease progresses, the weakening of muscles can cause severe joint pain and also affect crucial body functions such as swallowing and breathing, which can be a source of severe pain. Thankfully, there are a range of treatments and pain relief options available to ALS sufferers, and great advancements have been made in palliative care in recent years.

Also known as Münchmeyer's disease, fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva is a rare disease affecting around 1 in 1 million people worldwide. It's caused by a mutation in the gene that controls natural bone formation. Whereas the functioning gene prevents the body from producing too much bone and cartilage, for fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva sufferers, mutation leads to the overproduction of such material in the joints, which become ossified and incredibly painful.

The disease is noticeable in childhood, discernible in malformed toes before affecting the neck and shoulders and spreading throughout the body as the sufferer grows. Ossification around the rib muscles can lead to pain and difficulty breathing. The disease shortens the lifespan of the sufferer, and a study published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery found that 40 was the median age of death for participants with fibrodysplasia ossificans. Of those, more than half died of cardiorespiratory failure.

Huntington's disease is a hereditary condition that affects the brain, leading to brain shrinkage and impairment. Symptoms typically present as the sufferer enters middle age (though the disease has also presented itself in juveniles), and they are distressing and become more noticeable over time. They include problems with memory and concentration, changes to personality and mood, as well as physical symptoms such as involuntary movements and movement inhibition.

Though pain has not been historically linked with Huntington's, a 2019 meta-analysis published in Pain estimated that around 41% of those living with Huntington's experienced painful conditions, which become more prevalent as the disease progresses. A 1988 study in Movement Disorders reveals that multiple sufferers reported intermittent pain akin to bee stings, some of which lasted just seconds, others minutes. Another described "lancinating pain," with migraines, headaches, and muscle and visceral pain also common. Pain has been linked to both high rates of narcotics use and suicide among Huntington's sufferers, and it is often treated professionally with opioids. 

The horror of flesh-eating bacteria, officially known as necrotizing fasciitis, sounds like something from an old B-movie, but unfortunately, the condition is entirely real. Thankfully rare, necrotizing fasciitis is a bacterial infection often developing through a break in the skin, such as a cut, insect bite, or surgical wound, and it tends to affect those with underlying health conditions. Early symptoms include fever and a red, warm patch of skin where the infection took hold, which is often extremely painful. Necrotizing fasciitis can quickly become severe, with ulcers and blisters on the skin that can change color, as well as nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. 

The final stages of untreated necrotizing fasciitis are characterized by excruciating pain, as the infection develops into sepsis, shock, and the sufferer develops fatal organ failure. If caught early, however, sufferers can be given antibiotics, or, in worse cases, emergency surgery to remove the bacteria before it has the chance to spread further. Treatment of this type is a race against time, often requiring numerous surgeries and blood transfusions.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death across the globe, killing more people annually than anything else apart from cardiovascular disease. And incidence is increasing, with higher cancer rates among people of all ages than ever before. Risk factors include genetics, as well as environmental factors such as pollution, smoking, and diet.

The word "cancer" is a broad term for the phenomenon of abnormal cells dividing uncontrollably, which can cause tumors that spread and adversely affect the systems of the body. It can develop almost anywhere, and some forms of it are known to be more painful than others. Bone cancer is particularly unbearable, with receptors in the bones reacting and transmitting pain signals as the osteoclasts — cells that break down bone — turn the bones acidic before digesting them. The process also leads to microfractures that can be agonizing. Pancreatic cancer is also notoriously painful, characterized as dull abdominal pain as the tumors press against the spine.

Thankfully, though cancer rates are increasing, modern medicine offers far better treatment for the diseases than in the past. Antibody treatments such as tanezumab work to inhibit nerve growth in cancer sites, vastly reducing pain among sufferers. At the same time, while rates of cancer are rising, survival rates have also vastly improved, and new breakthroughs, including a newly developed immune cell that "may treat all cancers," give cause for optimism.