What You Need To Know About Mortuary Cleansing
Several steps are taken to pay their last respects when a person passes away. There are administrative steps that legalize the person’s passing and others that are more or less related to its preparation. The mortuary cleansing is one of these steps. It is crucial to carry it out according to specific rules. Here is the essential of all that is necessary to know on the mortuary toilet.
When Should the Body Wash Be Done?
After death, the body must be washed. However, waiting until the doctor establishes the death certificate is necessary. When death has occurred due to illness, the body must be quickly freed from medical equipment and prepared for cleaning. This can be said to be the first activity that marks the beginning of the funeral of a loved one.
Mortuary Grooming: Who Does It?
The family of the deceased has the monopoly of decisions. They are the ones who give the responsibility to someone to perform the grooming of the deceased. However, the place of death has much to do with this appointment.
When the death occurs in the home, a family member is designated to perform the cleansing. When the person dies in a hospital or retirement home, the people who work there are assigned to clean the person. This includes care staff such as nurses and caregivers.
In some cases, the family may decide to hire a body embalmer for this task. It is the family’s responsibility to call in the embalmer and arrange for him or her to come to the location of the body. Sometimes the mortuary or funeral home staff will do the washing.
Where Is the Mortuary Cleansing Done?
There is no one place where a body should be washed. When the responsibilities are entrusted to the family, the family’s home is the ideal place. However, if the death occurs in a retirement home or a hospital, the body’s grooming can occur there. All that is required is that the necessary equipment is available.
When the deceased’s family is attached to tradition or if the deceased was Jewish or Muslim, they may want the grooming to follow religious rites. In this case, it is done where the rites can be performed without difficulty.
In general, the mortuary rooms have the device to allow the religious to make their mortuary toilet for a more flexible continuity. After the cleansing, if the family wishes, care can be taken to preserve the body.
How Does a Mortuary Cleansing Take Place?
The cleansing of the deceased consists primarily of preparing him/her to be presented to the family or placed in the mortuary. Before the grooming, the deceased’s body must be completely free of clothing and jewelry.
The groomer then proceeds to clean the body with soap and water. It is important to close the eyes with cotton. It happens that on some bodies, there are wounds. They are either covered with bandages or a doctor is hired to suture them.
The natural orifices of the deceased are completely closed, and his jaw is also kept closed and tilted in a direction that prevents water from entering. It should be noted that all this is done with respect to the person that the deceased represented. All in all, it takes about three-quarters of an hour to perform a mortuary cleansing. It can then be prepared for burial or presentation to relatives. It all depends on the family’s plans.