CHAPTER 7

USE OF EMBALMING CHEMICALS

DILUTIONS

T

he application of the chemicals is influenced by:• the results the embalmer hopes to produce• variations between chemical makers

(remember a 36 index Dodge is not the same as a 36 index Royal Bond)

• how the chemicals react with the tissue

WORK PRACTICE CONTROLS WHEN USING CHEMICALS

W

ear gloves

F

lush chemicals that come in contact with the skin with cold running water

W

ear eye protection (eye glasses don’t count- however when wearing eye

glasses if you put goggles over them they cloud over.)

W

ear protective clothing

WORK PRACTICE CONTROLS WHEN USING

CHEMICALS

U

se a good ventilation system and wear a mask if necessary.

U

se cool water to dilute any spills and clean them up immediately.

D

o NOT use formaldehyde chemicals as an antiseptic.

K

eep a MSDS sheet on each chemical.

WORK PRACTICE CONTROLS WHEN USING CHEMICALS

R

inse all bottles 3 times before throwing them in the

trash.

K

eep the machine tanks covered at all times as well as the

fluid bottles covered. This will help reduce fumes.

D

on’t let formaldehyde and bleach come in contact.

P

our the fluids into a tank of water to reduce fumes.

PRESERVATIVE VASCULAR FLUIDS

I

ndex

C

olor

F

irming speed

D

egree of firmness

M

oisturizing qualities

S

pecial-purpose arterial fluids

INDEX

S

trong: HCHO index in the range of 28 to 36.

M

edium: HCHO index in the range of 19 to 27.

W

eak: HCHO index in the range of 10 to 18.

COLOR

N

oncosmetic: fluids that have no active dye and

don’t color the tissues.

C

osmetic: fluids that contain active dyes that

color the tissue.

FIRMING SPEED

F

ast-acting: fluid buffered to firm the tissues rapidly.

S

low-firming: fluids buffered to firm body tissue

slowly.

DEGREE OF FIRMNESS

T

he degree of firmness depends on the buffers

and chemicals contained in a fluid. The

degrees of firmness are:• soft• mild• hard

MOISTURIZING QUALITIES

H

umectants- some fluids have large amounts of chemicals

that add and retain tissue moisture. You would

use a humectant on an emaciated case.

N

onhumectants- fluids that don’t retain tissue moisture.

~You would use a nonhumectant on a case with edema.

SPECIAL-PURPOSE ARTERIAL FLUIDS

J

aundice fluids

H

igh-index fluids- they can be dehydrating and non-dehydrating.

T

issue gas fluids

F

luids for infants and children

SUPPLEMENTAL FLUIDS

Fluids that aid in the function of preservative

fluids

PRE-INJECTION FLUIDS

T

hey are injected before the preservative

arterial solution with the purpose of aiding

in blood removal and preparing the

tissues for the arterial solution.

CO-INJECTION FLUIDS

T

hey are added to the preservative vascular solutions

to help increase the penetrating and distributing

qualities of the vascular fluid and to help modify and

control the reaction of the preservatives.

INTERNAL BLEACH AND STAIN REMOVERS

T

hey are designed to help bleach blood

discolorations.• Sometimes these fluids can do more harm

than good. Be very careful when using them. Always have a trained technician close by until you are comfortable with them.

TISSUE GAS CO-INJECTION FLUIDS

T

hey are germicidal in nature and act on the

microbes that form the tissue gas.

EDEMA-CORRECTIVE CO-INJECTION FLUIDS

T

hey enhance the dehydrating effect of the

arterial fluids and help dry the

edematous tissues.

GERMICIDE BOOSTERS

T

hey are used for cases with infectious and

contagious disease in order to increase the

germicidal effects of the arterial fluid.

HUMECTANTS

T

hey help prevent dehydration and maintain

tissue moisture.

WATER (CONDITIONING)-CORRECTIVE FLUIDS

T

hese are used to help make hard water soft so

the arterial fluid can be more effective.

DYES

A

ctive dyes are added to bring color to the tissue.

Be careful with active dye. Some fluid companies

make very strong dyes and you only need a drop or

two, other companies you need several ounces. If

you’re not familiar with the chemical company

make sure you ask someone how much to use.

ARTERIAL FLUID DILUTION

I

ndex is the amount of formaldehyde measured in grams dissolved

in 100 milliliters of water.

T

he primary dilution is the dilution of arterial fluids prepared

by the embalmer.

T

he strength of the primary dilution is found by using an index

factor.

PRIMARY FORMULA

C= the Index V= the amount of fluid

C’=the strength ofsolution

V’= the total volume

PRIMARY FORMULAC= the indexThe bottles says its 25

V= the volumeThis is what weresolving for.

C’= the solutionWe want a 2% solution

V’= total volumeWe are going to use128 ounces of totalsolution.

FORMULA

C

X V= C’ X V’• plug in the numbers and get

2

5 X x= 2.% X 128

2

5x = 256

x

= 256/25

x

= 10.2 ounces

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

I

t means- we need to use 10.2 ounces of a 25 index

arterial fluid per 1 gallon (128 oz) of water in

order to embalm the body with a 2% solution.

A

1.5% to 2% solution is considered the industry standard

for properly embalming and disinfecting a body.

ARTERIAL FLUID TEMPERATURE

T

he majority of fluids you will be using are used

at room temperature.

DENSITY/SPECIFIC GRAVITY

D

ensity- relates to the concentration of the solute in the solution.

S

pecific Gravity- is the ratio of the weight of a given volume

with the equal weight of water.

H

ypotonic- a solution contains less of a dissolved substance

than is found in the blood.

DENSITY/SPECIFIC GRAVITY

H

ypertonic- a greater quantity of a dissolved substance than is

found in the blood.

T

he best embalming results come from a hypotonic solution.

I

f too much solution is used it is hypertonic and can cause

dehyrdation.

QUANTITY

W

hat are some factors to consider when

determining the strength and amount of

fluid to infect?

CHAPTER 6

T

he rest of this chapter is in my opinion a re-

write of chapter 6. For review know

when the various types of chemicals are

used.