Mortician reveals what funeral homes do to your body after you die

What happens to our bodies after we die is something many people will never have considered before.

But luckily, a mortician has answered some of people’s most burning questions about what funeral homes do to our bodies to prepare them for the funeral.

Whether it’s a question about bodily fluids, piercings or how they close a person’s eyes, nothing was off-limits for Victor M. Sweeney.

Sweeney is a licenced mortician and funeral director in Minnesota and answered people’s questions in a video for Wired.

In the clip, someone had tweeted, asking the question: “When someone dies, do you remove their poo, or are we all buried with an unpooed poo?”

Sweeney responded, explaining that each body is different and sometimes, due to pressure build-up in the abdomen post-death, a body can begin to poo while it is being prepared.

He continued: “Typically what I’ll do is I’ll actually flush out the bowels with a hose because the last thing you want to have happen is someone to start pooing, and then they continue doing it when you can’t control it.”

Mortician Answers Dead Body Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIREDwww.youtube.com

Another person asked if morticians remove people’s contact lenses when they are preparing them.

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Sweeney explained that he typically removes contacts when he does what’s called “set the features”. This, he said, involves closing the person’s mouth and eyes. He demonstrated the eye caps they use to close the eyelids.

He continued: “They’re essentially spiky contact lenses that fit over the eyes and will actually grip the eyelid when we pull it down over those little burs.”

Experts in other fields have revealed that watching Peppa Pig may make children behave badly and certain sleeping positions may reduce the risk of dementia.

Sweeney brought good humour to what could be a rather depressing subject, revealing that families can ask to have their loved one dressed however they want. He joked that he’s put more bras on than he has taken off in his lifetime.

In terms of other aesthetics, Sweeney explained that things like piercings and false nails will typically stay on the body if they look in good condition.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.