Have you ever thought about what happens to your body when you die? Pooping after dying may seem unusual but there are plenty of odd things that happen after the heart stops beating.
If you’ve ever thought about this don’t be embarrassed. It’s natural to think about and there are many other curious people just like you.
In this article we’ll answer the question “Do you poop after you die?” and I’ll share what actually happens to all that liquid and waste in your body.
Do You Poop When You Die
Truth be told, you poop when you die. But it’s not the type of poop that you’re thinking of. There won’t be logs or a large amount of matter falling out your behind. It seeps out of your bum like a small leak in a pipe. And it’s likely to be only the waste in your rectum (end of the intestines), not all of the waste in your in your intestines.
The body will likely leak urine too if the bladder was full when death occurred, but don’t expect a spray of liquid to come out of the body. Here’s a list of other interesting things that happen when you die:
- Muscle spasms/twitches up to 12 hours after death
- Erection – the position at death will impact where blood goes
- Skin cells live for days after death
- Cracking, air passing, other sounds caused by rigor mortis
- Birth – it’s been documented to occur after a pregnant woman died
Does Pooping Happen Immediately
We tend to think that pooping or peeing will occur at the same time death occurs. If there is trauma, often experienced in war, people may lose control of their bowels while they are still alive or just at death. This is normal.
But in natural deaths, such as old age, the body won’t immediately defecate. It’s a slow process and each part of the body slowly shuts off. Yes, the various parts of our bodies stop working at different rates.
The heart is the first thing to stop, then comes breathing and blood circulation. The brain then shuts off due to lack of blood and oxygen. The muscles can still spasm 12 hours after death and eventually, once the muscles relax, we lose control of our sphincter – this allows some solid waste to leak out of the anus.
Relaxation of the bladder also allows urine to leak out of the body (the amount depends on how full the bladder was at the time of death).
Will All Food and Urine Flush Out Of Your System When You Die
If there’s only a small amount of urine and fecal matter leak out of your body at death, what happens to the rest of it?
At funeral homes, the workers will insert an aspirator in the abdomen and suck out the all remaining liquid and waste. It’s not pleasant to think about but it’s reality and the best way to keep the body looking okay without the body rotting and smelly.
Who Has To Clean Up Your Poop After You Die
I suppose it depends on where the individual dies. If death occurs at home in a bed, the homeowner will need to clean the sheets and mattress, though there may not be much to clean up if the body was found shortly after death.
If death occurs in a hospital, the nurses will clean up the sheets, and if death occurs in an accident, there will be a number of people who will clean up the area.
In most natural deaths the mortuary will deal with the body and remove all the liquid from the body.
Conclusion
Writing an article about death isn’t a pleasant experience. Who likes to think about death? Even worse, we’re talking about poo.
Regardless of the difficult topic, what happens to our bodies after we die is amazing. It’s crazy to think about our muscles twitching 12 hours after death, and it’s amazing to know that skin cells can live for days after we pass.
If you’re concerned about poo and urine after death, it’s not as bad as you’d think. It may leak out of the body as the muscles begin to relax/stiffen up due to rigor mortis, but don’t expect to find full-blown logs in the individual’s pants.
As the case with most natural deaths, you’ll likely have help and/or nurses to help with clean up. Otherwise, the mortuary will do their job and remove the majority of the solid and liquid waste.
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