A challenging life event is having some sort of physically traumatic event occur at your home or place of business. Not only is the incident itself truly unsettling, the aftermath of a physically traumatic event is deeply challenging. The difficult repercussions include everything from an emotional toll arising from the incident to the need to undertake trauma scene cleanup. In this regard, you likely might require some guidance as to when you should seek professional trauma scene cleanup assistance.
Overview of Trauma Scene Cleanup
Trauma scene cleanup is a type of biohazard remediation. What this means is that the potential for biohazardous materials at the scene of some type of incident exists. Biohazards are biological substances that have the potential for causing disease and illness in human beings, even potentially fatal disease and illness. The types of biohazards that can be present at the scene of some sort of traumatic incident include viruses and bacteria. The most common types of viruses and bacteria that potentially are found at trauma scenes in homes and businesses are:
- HIV
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- MRSA
These hazardous pathogens can be found in blood, bodily fluids, and other biological matter that can be found at the site of a traumatic incident.
Examples of Trauma Scenes
Trauma scenes at residences and businesses can arise from a variety of different types of circumstances. The most common types of situations that necessitate trauma scene cleanup include:
- Accidents
- Illnesses
- Assaults
- Fights
- Attempted Suicides
- Suicides
- Drug Overdoses
- Homicides
- Attempted Homicides
- Other Violent Crimes
Overview of Professional Trauma Scene Cleanup
An experienced trauma scene cleanup company undertakes a safe, thorough, comprehensive remediation (cleaning and sanitization) of the location of a traumatic incident. The primary elements of a trauma scene cleanup are:
- Removal of biological matter (blood, bodily fluids, other biomatter)
- Cleaning of contaminated area
- Sanitization of contaminated area
- Deodorization of the premises
Situations in Which Personally Undertaking Trauma Scene Cleanup Is Never Recommended
There are certain types of incidents in which a home or business owner undertaking trauma scene cleanup on his or her own is never recommended. These are suicides and homicides. Attempted suicides, other violent crimes, and drub overdoses resulting in death are also typically included on this list.
One reason why personally undertaking these types of trauma scene cleanups is never recommended is because these situations to provide challenging remediation scenarios. In addition, these types of incidents result in significant and even overwhelming emotional responses on the part of loved ones. Enhancing the already profound grief and other emotions that typically are associated with these types of loses by personally undertaking trauma scene cleanup rarely is considered a wise proposition. A loved one has enough to face in the way of emotional challenges without adding even more to the mix.
As an aside, there are situations in which certain types of incidents of the nature of those discussed here occur when an individual is alone. Once in a while, the remains of a person who dies a traumatic (or other type of death) are not immediately found. This type of scenario is known as an unattended death. When such a death is discovered, a family member or other untrained individual should never attempt to undertake a cleanup or remediation without professional assistance.
Situations in Which Personally Undertaking Trauma Scene Cleanup Is Possible
Beyond the types of situations just discussed, there are other types of incidents or occurrences in which personally undertaking trauma scene cleanup may be possible. Generally speaking, these are situations in which the person who was the subject of the traumatic event did not die or in which the incident was not extremely traumatic in and of itself. Examples of situation in which personally undertaking trauma scene cleanup might be possible include the aftermath of fights, certain accidents and drug overdoses not resulting in death, and certain illnesses that did not result in death.
Many of the same actual trauma scene cleaning challenges to exist in these types of situations. However, the emotional aftermath following these types of incidents or occurrences typically is not as profound and pervasive as what is associated with the situations described previously (suicide, homicide, and so forth).
Nonetheless, even in a situation in which personally undertaking trauma scene cleanup is not generally discouraged, professional assistance should still seriously be considered. Due to the risks associated with trauma scene cleanup, and the absolute necessity that it be thoroughly undertaken, professional trauma scene cleanup is still likely to be the recommended course of action.
By engaging a professional, a home or business owner can rest assured that the remediation process is safely undertaken. Moreover, a home or business owner can rely on a conclusion of the cleaning or remediation process that results in a residence or commercial property being restored to a fully habitable or usable condition.