What are some safe practices to follow when embalming?
Funeral directors, mortuary attendants, and anyone assisting in postmortem procedures must wear gloves, masks, protective eyewear, gowns, and waterproof aprons. Consider all body fluids and tissues as potentially contaminated. Please also see the OSH Answers documents HIV/AIDS in the Workplace and Needlestick and Sharps Injuries for more information.
- context Take extreme care to prevent cuts, lacerations and splashing of contaminated blood or body fluids.
- context Wear two pairs of intact disposable gloves. Remove punctured, torn or leaking gloves. Wash hands thoroughly. Put on two new pairs of gloves.
- context Wear safety glasses or goggles or a face shield (with safety glasses or goggles) when there is a chance of fluids splashing.
- context Carefully transfer the body to the table. Avoid putting undue pressure on abdomen and thorax. Slowly unwrap body. Carefully put body bag in disposal bin.
- context Disinfect the body with medical-grade disinfectant. Wash with a germicidal soap and rinse thoroughly. Keep water pressure low to avoid splashing.
- context Pack and cover open sores or lesions. Pack orifices with cotton soaked in sodium hypochlorite solution.
- context Use disposable shaving equipment.
- context Cover the face with a towel soaked in disinfectant if using an injector gun.
- context Cover rib ends with a towel if the body has been autopsied. Remove the viscera bag and put it into a second plastic bag for disposal.
- context Use an electric aspirator to aspirate body fluids. Cover draining port to avoid flashback.
- context Treat blood, body fluids and aspirated contents with a medical-grade disinfectant for 30 minutes before flushing directly into the sewer.
- context Saturate any spills of blood or body fluid immediately with medical-grade disinfectant. Then, wipe clean with disposable absorbent material, such as paper towels.
- context Wash the body with medical-grade disinfectant, rinse it, and towel dry it. Use disposable absorbent material to dry the body.
- context Wrap the body in plastic or plastic coveralls before dressing.
- context Discard rubber or wooden-handled instruments used to apply cosmetics. Discard unused cosmetics.
- context Leave the embalming area immediately should you receive a cut or needle puncture. Encourage the wound to bleed freely. Wash with soap and water. Treat with fresh disinfectant. Bandage. Get medical help immediately.
- context Wash eyes and skin immediately with running water should they be splashed with blood or body fluids. Seek medical advice.
- context Spit out immediately any blood or body fluids that may have splashed in the mouth. Rinse mouth with water. Seek medical advice.
- context Wash hands with a germicide after completing restoration procedures, after removing protective clothing and gloves, and before leaving the preparation room.
- context Report immediately suspect fluid exposure, or a needlestick or sharp injury to a designated person or health care professional.