Verified answer

Being in water for any length of time, will cause the skin to wrinkle and after that the longer time, deterioration of the skin happens.

The skin is probably blue at that point, and make-up will be hard to correct.

You know how it is when you are swimming for more than an hour and your skin gets all wrinkly? Well, think of what would happen if you spent 3 days in water.

You really don't want to see that. Remember him the way he was.

First of all I'm so sorry for your loss.

I would think that maybe the body would soak up water. I don't mean to be gross or any thing like that. If there are fish, they may have gotten to the body and did some damage to the body.

When the body is in the water it may absorb some of the water, due to being in the water. I would think that it would take more than 3 days for a lot of damage to be done. But there would most certainly be some damage so that a closed casket would be required. If the body was loose in the water and not in a car it may bump against rocks and that could cause cuts and bruising of a sort.

Please remember the person as they were in life as that is the best thing that you can do. That will pay the most honor to them by remembering them the way that they were in life. God bless you and your family, and again I'm so sorry for your loss.

My aunt died kind the same way and it took a few days 2 recover body from water,she had an open casket ,but I guess the people that do the makeup did alot of work,not sure I was young,but my mom said that the fish and what not in water had already started on her(without being 2 graphic) she drowned in the ocean,but just like when u have been in the pool or bath 2 long ,look at ur fingers and toes,they discolor and the skin starts 2 become distorted,think of that on a larger scale (wait dont think of that) a closed casket is the best in this situation,and go look at smiley pics of him ,2 get that image embedded in ur mind,not a scarey 1,sorry 4 ur loss.

Unfortunately his body will be bloated and his skin would be very pale-white looking if not already breaking down with sores. You would not want to remember him looking this way, remember him the way he was before he died. I think a closed casket is proper in this case. My mom died and she had a heart attack and with all the CPR they did, she was also very bloated looking, we had a closed casket and a nice picture of her beside it for people to respect and say goodbye to. I am so sorry for your loss......it is very difficult losing a parent. Right now it seems like it will never gt better but each day you will heal just a tiny little bit until it is okay to move on. I have and my mom would have wanted that just like your dad would not likely want you to be unhappy either. People only die one day...they lived so many days....celebrate his life. God bless you and your family

It bloats and distorts badly

there is discoloration, distortion of features, and hemorrhaging, which means the blood that is in the body pools in parts of the body and leaves ugly bruises. It is not an attractive thing to see.

Much better for you to remember what he looked like when you were happy together than to think about him as he is now.

If you want to know the exact stuff that happens to the body, take a look at this PDF file on drownings. I suggest starting on page 6 for the specifics of drownings. It is very technical, as it is meant to inform forensic specialists on how to diagnose drowning victims from other violent deaths. But I think technical is much better than graphic explanations. Science has a tendancy to take the emotion out of it. Kind of allows you to distance your feelings from the actual events.

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/forensicmedicine/notes/wat...

My dad died of cancer. Hated it. But I also wanted to know more and felt better when I knew exactly what had happened to him. And it was also a closed casket.

To start off, I'm very sorry for your loss, i hope you family is dealing with it okay. After a body has been under water for a period of a week or so the skin condition will change drastically. Seeing as your father was only in the water for 3 days, not much would have changed, apart from slight colour disfiguration. Also the TYPE of water he was in can change his appearance. For example if he was in Algae contaminated water: Swamps, Lakes etc. There is a lack in Oxygen meaning that his body would have been fully preserved, there would be barely any change apart from a slight "Muddy" colour. However in a fresh water area: Sea, River etc. He would have just had slight colour disfiguration. 3 days in water doesn't change alot like i said, overall it comes down to Paleness of skin and bloating.

Again, i'm very sorry for your loss. I hope this helps.

Without being too graphic...(at least I'll try)...the body will "bloat"..meaning that it swells up...and the skin will be very discolored...and may begin to peel away..should any animals have gotten to the body, some could be eaten away...it is not a pretty sight..and is not something an embalmer could cover with makeup to make the body presentable..

Is this YOUR Dad? If so, my heart goes out to you...remember him as he was in life...I'm sure that would be the way he would want to be remembered...do not dwell on the specifics of "how" he looked at death...it is not a healthy thing...

if your on about the memorial service last night with the coffin, Michael Jackson was buried earlier on this afternoon in a private funeral so the casket which was in the memorial was just a empty coffin. If the hospital pronounced him dead, then he is dead, its not like his hiding in your bins right now with Elvis and Lisa Presley. That would be funny though Plus he couldn't retire during a concert in which he organized and decided to do. Hope this helps...

have you ever seen the the movie walking dead, yes i did demand to see my daughter, their skin starts to fade and the hair starts coming out just like a dead animal, the deterioration is great the odor was covered some way, the body swells because they only put water in them, the skin darkens almost like holes where the eyes should go, believe it their is no field day and yes i did get my daughters last photos, my grand child could pass as her moms twin i am raising her being the next of kin, best know it is hard some times i can not even look my grand child in the face yet i love her to death, when she was going through the hard times, i would tell her if you want to see your mom look in the mirror.

By being in water for 3 days; it puffs a person up so they look bigger and sort of water logged. It's not a pretty site.

I'm sure if some of the immediate family insisted on seeing him; they would have a private showing for them.

But, it won't be a pretty site. It may be hard to forget what was seen.