A death that occurred naturally may prompt you to offer a viewing of your deceased relative. A viewing provides family and friends with an opportunity to say goodbye to the person who has passed. This is an important part of the grieving process. The viewing arrangements that you make will involve choosing to have the individual embalmed or to omit this process.
Embalming
During the embalming process, blood is drained, and chemical preservatives are injected into the veins of the deceased. Rigor mortis (the stiffening of the muscles and joints) will occur a couple of hours after a person dies. Rigor mortis cannot be avoided, but embalming will aid with delaying the onset of decomposition.
Decomposition may begin a few days after a person passes. Noticeable signs of preliminary decomposition may include discoloration of the skin, changes in the structure of the body, and an unpleasant odor. If embalming is conducted, an individual's body will stay preserved during the days that lead up to the viewing. This will provide ample time for family members to prepare a service without needing to worry about their loved one's body not being in suitable shape for viewing.
Embalming is a service that will cost money. The fee will typically be added to the other costs that a funeral home will be charging the person who is responsible for planning the viewing. The cost may include cosmetic applications, hairstyling, and dressing the body. These steps are performed immediately before a public viewing.
Not Embalming
Embalming is not a mandatory procedure. A client who is planning a loved one's viewing or funeral service can choose to omit the embalming process. If embalming won't be conducted, there may be a small timeframe in which a viewing should be held. A funeral director will discuss this with a client. Some funeral homes offer alternate preservation methods that are comparable to having a person embalmed.
If refrigeration units are located within a funeral home, they may be used to temporarily store the bodies of deceased individuals. Preserving an individual in this manner will increase the amount of time that family members have to prepare a viewing.
Having a body stored in a refrigeration unit will likely not cost as much as an embalming process. Prior to a viewing, efforts will be made to ensure that a deceased person looks like they did when they were alive. Personal clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics can aid with improving the appearance of an individual.
For more information, contact a funeral home in your area, such as Carter Funeral Home, Denbigh Chapel.
After losing a loved one a few years ago, I could tell that there were some things we needed to do in order to plan for future events. I was really nervous about the idea of being faced with losing a family member who had an income, so we started going through and working on taking care of future plans. We were able to find a great funeral home that offered exactly what we were looking for, and we talked with them about our wishes. After we had all of our arrangements made, I was amazed with how much happier I felt. Read more on this blog to learn about funeral homes.