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How Does the Body Change After Death? Early Changes and Why Body Temperature and Drying Matter: Introduction to Angel Care (1)

Writer: 株式会社ネクスト 編集部
株式会社ネクスト 編集部
2 days ago
6 min read

In this free three-part series, we explain the content of the Angel Care Seminar that we hold for medical and care providers. In Japan, “angel care” (enzeru kea) refers to the care given to a person’s body, and to their family, after death. When people hear the term, many think first of techniques such as how to pack cotton. Before techniques, however, this seminar explains how the body changes after death and what can be done in advance to respond to those changes, from the viewpoint of funeral and encoffining professionals.

Part 1 covers the early changes that occur after death, the two that matter most for care — body temperature and drying — and the kinds of bodies that change quickly. If you would like to learn the procedures in detail, please also see our eight-part series “Angel Care in Practice.”

Knowledge of the body before techniques

Angel care is care that arranges the appearance of the person who has died, so that the family can spend their time of farewell peacefully. The body begins to change little by little right after death. If you know which changes begin, when and where, it becomes easier to decide what to prioritize in the limited time available.

On the other hand, if you only memorize the steps without understanding how the changes work, you cannot adapt when the situation is different. In this series, we organize the knowledge that forms the foundation of angel care in three parts:

The early changes after death

The changes that appear right after death are called early postmortem changes. The main five are:

  • Livor mortis: when the heart stops, blood settles in the lower parts of the body by gravity, and areas such as the back turn purple

  • Rigor mortis: the muscles stiffen and the joints become hard to move

  • Fall in body temperature: the body temperature drops little by little toward the surrounding temperature

  • Drying: water is lost from the skin, the lips and the eyes

  • Clouding of the cornea: over time the dark part of the eye becomes cloudy, and the firmness of the eye (intraocular pressure) also falls

Of these, the four from livor mortis to drying are the changes that medical and care staff often see at the time of death. Clouding of the cornea becomes noticeable somewhat later.

In the seminar, rigor mortis draws the most questions (we cover it in detail in Part 2). For care, however, the two that matter most are actually the fall in body temperature and drying.

Drying: beard “grows” because the skin shrinks

You may have heard that a man’s beard keeps growing after death. In fact, about half of the reason the beard appears to grow is said to be that the skin dries and shrinks. As the skin shrinks, the hair that was below the surface comes out.

The effects of drying are not limited to the beard:

  • Eyes: the skin of the eyelids dries and shrinks, and the eyes become hard to close

  • Mouth: before rigor mortis begins, the mouth can still be closed, but when the lips dry and shrink, the lips become hard to close

Many people are unable to eat, or even drink, for some time before death. In other words, drying has often already progressed before death, and when it progresses further after death, these changes become more noticeable. This is why moisturizing early is important.

Body temperature: watch for bodies that change quickly

The higher the body temperature, the faster the body changes. Particular care is needed for people who had a fever before death or who had an infection. Because there are many bacteria in the body, changes progress very quickly.

Changes in the body begin where there are many bacteria. In general, the first place to change is the abdomen, and the area around the mouth also changes at an early stage. This is why nokanshi (professional encoffiners) carefully clean the inside of the mouth with alcohol: to reduce bacteria as much as possible. It is also why, when the body is cooled with dry ice, the abdomen is cooled before anything else (we introduce how to cool the body in Part 3).

Bodies that change quickly and need particular care include:

  • Bodies of people who had a fever or an infection: there are many bacteria in the body, so changes are fast

  • Bodies with sepsis: the bacterial infection is severe, so particular care is needed

  • Bodies of people who died of suffocation: changes tend to progress quickly

  • Bodies of people who died of a sudden illness: when a younger person, for example, dies suddenly, the body is well nourished, so bacteria multiply easily and changes are fast

Once discoloration begins, it cannot be stopped

It is not widely known, but once the skin begins to change color, it can hardly be stopped. The only way to stop it would be to freeze the body completely, and at present almost no funeral companies have facilities that can do so.

That is exactly why the first response, before changes begin, matters. Lower the room temperature, turn off warming devices, cool the body early and moisturize early. These first steps determine how the person will look until the farewell. We cover the environment in Part 2 and cooling in Part 3.

Key points of Part 1

  • In angel care, knowledge of how the body changes forms the foundation, before techniques.

  • The early changes are livor mortis, rigor mortis, the fall in body temperature, drying and clouding of the cornea. What matters most for care is body temperature and drying.

  • When drying shrinks the skin, the beard appears to grow and the eyes and lips become hard to close. In many people, drying has already progressed before death.

  • Bodies of people who had a fever, an infection, sepsis, suffocation or a sudden illness change quickly. Changes tend to begin in the abdomen and around the mouth.

  • Once discoloration begins, it cannot be stopped. That is why the first response matters.

In Part 2, we take up rigor mortis, which draws many questions, how to arrange the mouth, and how to create an environment that slows the changes in the body.

Introduction to Angel Care (three parts)

Read next: Angel Care in Practice (eight parts, published in Japanese on note)

For an overview in English, see our digest, Angel Care in Practice: A Complete Guide.

Related training textbooks (in Japanese)

Related articles

The original Japanese version of this article is published on note as part of our free three-part series “Introduction to Angel Care” (read it on note, in Japanese). On note, it is collected with our eight-part practical series in the magazine “Angel Care in Practice (11 parts)” (in Japanese).

This article summarizes general approaches based on Next Co., Ltd.’s Angel Care Seminar. In actual care, follow doctors’ instructions, your facility’s procedures, and the latest laws and government guidelines. For training requests or inquiries, please use our contact form.

This is an English translation of a column originally published in Japanese by Next Co., Ltd.

About Next Co., Ltd. We support companies in Japan’s senior care and end-of-life planning (shukatsu) market through research, business development and training. Our English textbook, Senior End-of-Life Planning Textbook, explains the market from the big picture down to day-to-day practice, including senior housing and care facility placement consulting. See the English edition | Buy on Gumroad | Contact us

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