Kissing the deceased at a funeral isn't exactly out of the ordinary despite it seeming a bit strange in practice, as many people would want to give one last expression of love to the recently passed away, but you might want to steer clear after hearing about the worrying health risks.
It's not exactly a secret that our bodies can get a bit gross once we die, as while our brains can stay 'alive' for a short while after death – leading to some rather horrifying consequences – our bodies quickly begin to decay.
Disgusting simulations show exactly how long it takes for dead bodies to decay and become skeletons, but you'd be surprised how willing many people are to embrace the dead at their funeral, especially in the event of an open casket.
One TikTok famous doctor has made many realize why this, understandably, might not be the best idea though, as a new warning has been issued towards anyone looking for one final smooch.
Advert
Why should you avoid kissing dead people?
Outside of the obvious oddities when it comes to kissing someone that has passed away, Dr Viktor Ivanovik has revealed that you're putting yourself at risk of dangerous illnesses when going in for a peck at a funeral, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Revealing the horrifying facts to his 1.2 million strong TikTok audience, Dr. Ivanovik illustrated that you could be coming into contact with incredibly dangerous bacteria that leads to losing your sense of smell and even cardio-respiratory issues down the line.
Advert
"Do not kiss the deceased on their final journey, especially in the summer or in a room where the lifeless body is placed if there is no air conditioning," Dr. Ivanovik explained.
He adds that kissing can be safe if the body is kept in an air conditioned morgue at an appropriate temperature, but otherwise it's not worth taking the risk.
Other experts have called Dr. Ivanovik's claims into question though, with internist Dr. Stuart Fischer offering a wildly different interpretation of proceedings that gives the all clear to funeral kissers out there.
"In any given person, there are many different types of good bacteria, but they all serve a purpose," argued Dr. Fischer. "It would be like having 100,000 secret service agents to guard someone.
Advert
"In other words, the bacteria would be outnumbered, and they would die quickly because the immune system of the supposedly newly infected person."
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also echoed this sentiment, adding that there "is no evidence that corpses pose a risk of epidemic disease," and that makes sense as we would see a significant number of funeral-related health conditions and deaths if Ivanovik's claims were true.
There's definitely a chance that the dead body does in fact hold this dangerous bacteria, but your body does more than enough to fight it off so that it poses virtually no threat to your health. It might still make you think twice about going in for a kiss at your next funeral though.