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Human body goes through incredible changes within hours of dying, hospice nurse explains
Several changes occur in the human body when it is no longer alive, and the process after death may come across as less shocking by learning about it.
Hospice nurse, Julie McFadden, who talks about the end-of-life process and deathbed phenomena extensively, has discussed in her recent video everything the body goes through when a person passes away.
Immediate changes in the body after death
Death impacts everyone differently. You can’t be prepared enough, even if you’ve sought grief counseling before losing your loved one.
However, being aware of the natural occurrences in the human body could reduce the trauma you may experience when someone you care about is no longer alive.
Julie says the human body relaxes once it loses life, causing the release of different body fluids through various openings. This is why dead people are made to wear diapers.
You may notice the body temperature drop gradually, even though the hospice nurse has seen a drastic reduction in some instances. This typically occurs within the first two hours.
When someone continues to lay in the same position after passing, the surface underneath their body turns “purple” or darker due to the accumulation of blood from gravitational pull.
They are ‘heavier’
The other common change you see is the stiffness of the body called rigor mortis. Occurring between two to six hours of death, the changes in the cells of the body stiffen the muscles.
The stiffening is first seen in the face affecting the eyelids, jaws, neck, and eventually spreads downwards to the chest, abdomen, legs, fingers, and toes.
Even though the body remains stiff for 24 to 36 hours, it eventually relaxes. But what most people don’t realize is that the body weight increases when it’s not breathing life.
“After someone dies, they become very very heavy. So cleaning them on your own after they die will be almost impossible,” the nurse adds. Even though the exact cause of heaviness isn’t fully understood, it could be the outcome of rigor mortis.
The last process called putrefaction – the decaying of the body- begins 4 to 10 days after death. The body tends to release gases creating a certain odor alongside discoloration of the skin.
Julie McFadden, a certified RN/BSN and author, believes in educating people about the dying process before theyre going through it with a loved one or themselves. She has been featured in several leading media outlets including Newsweek, New York Post, People, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and Daily Mail. Her YouTube channel boasts over 420,000 subscribers.
