I was asked recently to talk about how to handle death in a SHTF situation. I initially balked a bit because, to be honest, I’m probably the last person who should discuss this topic as I have very little experience with death or dealing with things that have died. About the closest I’ve been to anything dead recently is when my mother-in-law’s cat passed away and I had to bury her. That’s it!
In fact, nearly anybody who hunts or traps as a hobby is more equipped to discuss this topic than I am. That said, I’ll make a stab at the topic anyway because dealing with death is something I need to learn more about and I would suspect it’s something we WILL see a lot more of in a post-SHTF scenario. So, what to do with the remains of anything that has died? Here’s what I think…
When something dies I think there’s a tendency among people like me (those who are rarely around death) to place an immediate stigma about the body, be it a person, animal, or really anything larger than an insect for that matter. Of course, it’s a lot different situation when an actual person is involved for a variety of reasons, including paying due respects, religious concerns, emotional trauma, and more. I’ll ignore those reasons in this post and focus purely on what to do with the body after proper respects have been paid because a dead body–any dead body for that matter–becomes a looming health risk to the living fairly quickly.
First, when something dies the body no longer has control over various bodily functions and basically “let’s go” of any fluids remaining inside the body, specifically urine and feces; these alone could become breeding grounds and cause various health risks to anyone who contacts them. Not only that, but you could see bleeding for the mouth, nose, and really any orifice and even from the skin as I understand it. Obviously, therefore, you have the risk of blood-borne pathogens too. And, to make matters worse, there’s the possibility of still transmitting pandemic pathogens too. It’s a potentially giant mess.
With this in mind, you need to think about protecting yourself from direct contact. This includes appropriate gloves (e.g., nitrile gloves perhaps double-layered), as well as a face mask (e.g., N-95 at minimum but P-100 is better), goggles and not just glasses (and/or an entire face mask), maybe a hair net just to keep things in order, and probably something to plug your nose (e.g., a clothespin) to minimize unpleasant smells. You’ll also want to cover your body too, so a simple disposable painter’s coveralls (or an apron if nothing else) and disposable booties are good too. Basically, you want to completely cover yourself from head to toe and use stuff that you can later bury or burn… nothing fancy here.
Next, you need to dispose of the body and do so rather quickly. Usually 24-hours is the norm (if not embalmed). I think most religions dictate burial within 24-hours. I would suspect this is the case because over millennia people learned that beyond 24-hours a decomposing body poses health risks. Did they know that for sure? I doubt it, but I liken it to the knowledge that if they drank beer (as opposed to water) during the middle ages then people were less likely to get sick (because the beer was pasteurized). In other words, they may not have known why it worked, it just did.
I should also point out rigor mortis begins around 3 hours after death and fully sets in within 12 hours which would make the body difficult to deal with. That said, the muscles apparently relax after about 3 days but then you still have the decomposition concerns so I would bury a body sooner rather than later or at least get the body in a bury-able position before rigor sets in.
With regards to preparation do whatever your religion dictates. Otherwise, wrap the body completely in a heavy plastic or even a bed sheet and bury deep. Six feet is the accepted norm but there seems to be all sorts of variances in opinion, ranging from less than a few feet to 12 feet or more. I would suggest that more is better in this case but, to be honest, digging a six feet deep hole by hand large enough to fit just one body inside is a serious chore. My gut says that at least a few feet is necessary in order to avoid animals like raccoons from digging it up and maybe even to avoid other problems with bacterial contamination.
There’s also something to be said for where the body is buried. Like burying feces in an outhouse you’ll want to bury the body well away from any structure, water source, and food source. We’re talking hundreds of feet here because disease-causing bacteria can apparently travel that far and cause potential health risks.
You might also think that burning a body is a better/faster idea than burial. I couldn’t find a lot on the subject but it appears that it’s probably the least desirable option and I’m sure doing so would make one heck of an unpleasant stink.
In conclusion, bury deep and far away. Do it fast. Be safe and protect yourself from direct contact. Follow your religious beliefs. And, of course, be sure to pay your respects… unless the deceased happens to be a “bad guy” in which case they still need to be buried for your own good. If you happen to know a good deal about this subject I would appreciate being corrected or verified as necessary.
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