What is that stuff morticians use?

132027 Views 46 Replies 36 Participants Last post by Illini Warrior, 7 mo ago

mangyhyena

Discussion Starter · Apr 27, 2010

What is that stuff that morticians use to cut down on the smell of cadavers, the cream you always see them dab under their noses on TV?

Would this stuff work if you and your family wind up going through an area with a lot of decaying bodies laying around? I don't give a crap about myself because I'd just deal with the smell. But I'm thinking of my wife and young children. Anything to make things easier on them might be a good idea.

Does it work? What is it and where do you get it?

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MikeK

· #2 · Apr 27, 2010

Usually Vicks rub. The aroma of it is supposed to overload your olfactory sense and cut down on what you can smell. In reality, it usually just opens your sinuses and nostrils so that you can get a deeper whif of it! LOL

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hank2222

· #3 · Apr 27, 2010

burn some coffee grounds in the air also makes the air smell more like a burned coffee than the dead body ..i seen guys fire up really cheap cigars to help kill the smell

BrowserCat

· #4 · Apr 27, 2010

You know, those face masks people use while sanding and doing things with chemicals might work better. I've used mine when sanding mud and no dust, no smell, no problem.

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mtncharlie

· #5 · Apr 27, 2010

In a pinch, use a gasoline soaked rag(only a couple of whiffs , you're not trying to get a cheap thrill), that will overpower your olfactory bulb, and kill your sense of smell enough so it is bearable. Had to do that a couple of times on Search & Rescue.

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wind

· #6 · Apr 28, 2010

Actually its not to kill the smell.

I'm assuming you saw "Silence of the lambs" recently, when Scott Glenn and Jodie Foster both wiped a dab of white gel under their noses to examine a corpse pulled from the water.

My dad was a cop, we lived near Lake Michigan in WI. They had alot of "pulls" from the lake as well as other rivers and lakes of water.

Some of these bodies would be in the water a long time, like weeks.

The bodies were only dicoveder when they decomposed,filled with gas and floated to the surface.

Its not like the movies, where a guy gets shot and floats in the water, they sink as soon as water enters the body.

So the body is in an advance state of decomposition.

The body decomposition is so great the skin cells litterealy disolve into micoscopic air-borne particles.

If these particles get into your nasal passages they can remain there for weeks.

So you smell the rotting flesh of a water pulled corpse for a few weeks.

Not fun.

Vaseline or vapo rub will work, anything to catch particles.

My dad used to carry a pack of Menthol ciagarettes with him, if he ever got a body-in-water call, he'd snap off the filters of two of the cigarettes and stick them up his nostrils.

He looked funny walking around the crime scene but it beat the alternative.

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AlaskanTaterTot

· #7 · Apr 28, 2010

The newest example of this problem was in Haiti. toothpaste became a huge commodity . they would smear it on their upper lip to help ward of the smell of dead people. they were also seen using fresh herbs.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/19/2795884.htm

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dylanM

· #8 · Apr 28, 2010

In the surgery rooms they use peppermint oil on the scrub masks to cut the smell.

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IceFire

· #9 · Apr 28, 2010

When I worked at the vet clinic on base over in Germany, one of my job functions was to do the "dead dog run". (In Germany, by law, your deceased pets are considered "recyclable refuse"...NO exceptions!) So, we would have to load up the deceased animals (we kept them in a chest freezer in biohazard bags until we had a full load, as it was some distance away) and take them to the "Tiermehlfabrik" (Animal meal factory). The smell from all the decomposing animals (pets, livestock, remains from the butcher shops, all in various stages of decomp) was...stomach churning, to say the least, particularly in summer. Anyway, what we would do was take surgical masks, spray them with perfume, then put them on. It helped. A LOT!

rapiddagger

· #10 · Apr 28, 2010

Used to work with a guy that did graves registration back in "Nam, he swore by Vics vapor rub, or old Ben-Gay if that was all that was around.

bert the turtle

· #11 · Apr 28, 2010

For the especially hideous case in the OR we'll put oil of wintergreen on the surgical mask. It helps some.

|eric|

· #12 · Apr 29, 2010

dustmask and breath with mouth ?

AlaskanTaterTot

· #13 · Apr 29, 2010

dylanM said:
In the surgery rooms they use peppermint oil on the scrub masks to cut the smell.

lol they performing surgery on dead people?

SgtBooker44

· #14 · Apr 29, 2010

For years I always made sure I had at least one cigar in my patrol bag. In later years I used a pipe and an aromatic tobacco, Black Cavendish was (still is) my favorite.

LaciRich

· #15 · Apr 29, 2010

It is a menthol rub, I believe they buy it from medical supply stores. Like Vick's Vapo-Rub, except medical grade. The only time they use it is if the body has been through a certain level of decomp first.

I had to run with the coroner for class once. I believe the one they use is a cream, and not a gel.

SSFD 21

· #16 · Apr 29, 2010

I was a Deputy Coroner for about 7 years, Vicks Vapo Rub is where its at.

And for those advocating mouth breathing, remember this, all smells are particulate based.

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packn_rn

· #17 · Apr 29, 2010

I was a Deputy ME for a short spell, they was a commercial product called "carrion", I'm not sure if they're still around. vicks was the normal stuff

dylanM

· #18 · Apr 29, 2010

AlaskanTaterTot The two hospitals I worked at when they do gangrene cases, some bowel surgery, some burn cases have had a horrible smell. Thats when they pull out the peppermint oil.

Gallo Pazzesco

· #19 · Apr 29, 2010

LaciRich said:
It is a menthol rub, I believe they buy it from medical supply stores. Like Vick's Vapo-Rub, except medical grade. The only time they use it is if the body has been through a certain level of decomp first.

I had to run with the coroner for class once. I believe the one they use is a cream, and not a gel.

You're close ... my cousin is a mortician/county coroner. I've actually got a jar.

It's menthol camphor ... the one I was given is made by Watkins and it is much stronger than your standard Vicks. I used to be on the recovery dive team - we recovered bodies in our local lakes and rivers. My Dad was on it for two decades before I was asked to join. It's the same thing everyone used here, and down in Georgia to the best of my knowledge.

The jar I was given says "Jr" on it ... evidently it is the small jar.

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Kroenen117

· #20 · Apr 29, 2010

I just use my (cheaper than dirt ) gasmask that lost its filters. works fine and i never fog up the mask the way its designed.. i dont smell the smells and i dont get uncomfortable.

all the rub on creams and other things sound like a great idea!

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