Leaf Kicking

I've just got in from a lovely walk with the dogs through one of my local heaths.    I love Autumn so much, the colours, smells and the whole 'will it, wont it rain' challenge when dressing for a walk.

Kicking through the leaves made me think about decomposition and in particular, the work of The Body Farm.  The university is in Knoxville, USA and since 1971 has been studying all aspects of decomposition under the tutelage of Dr Bill Bass.   A few years ago, we were very lucky to have a lecture from one of his colleagues at Keele University as part of our BIE Educational Weekend.    

Maggot season has mostly finished for us now.   In the summer months we regularly have cases of maggots where the deceased unfortunately has been exposed to flies.   In colder months it is less so.   Maggots have a knack of emerging from nostrils and mouths, just like something from a horror film.   I abhor them.  Few things turn my stomach, as you can imagine, but snot and maggots manage to make me clench my gut everytime.    I have to remove every last one of them if there is to be any sleep for me that night.   Knowing that a family may need to say goodbye and that at any time a maggot could wriggle its way through the skin is my idea of hell.    We all joke of how we are 'merely maggot food' but that isn't something that needs to be witnessed first hand.

Before, during and after embalming, I use my forceps to pull away any maggots I can see.   Then I use something called 'Dry Wash' and inject it through the nostrils and use my suction tube in the mouth to flush the area through.   A friend of mine once told me that her father taught her how to do that with water to clear her nasal passages every morning!   Ewww....

Dry Wash has a good effect in killing maggots and not damaging the tissues of the deceased.  Often a maggoty case has had a post mortem so I am able to see right up through the throat from inside the open trunk and can get a clear view of any that may remain.  Washing and cleaning and plucking maggots away.  In any event, it really need constant vigilance.   Colleagues are warned to check constantly and certainly be in attendance during the viewing, ready to discreetly pounce with forceps and a tissue should something wriggle its way to the surface.    Ultimately, ensuring a peaceful goodbye is absolute.

Enjoy your Sunday lunch my friends!