History of Hand Washing: Ignaz Semmelweis
Imagine what life would be like if hand washing was optional among surgeons. Pretty scary, isn’t it? In developed countries, hand washing is heavily promoted for people of all ages and walks of life, but few people know the history of its beginnings.
In 1847 Hungarian-born physician Ignaz Semmelweis made striking observations which lead to the practice of hand washing in medical clinics. While working at an obstetrics clinic in Vienna, Dr. Semmelweis was disturbed by the fact that fatal childbed (or “puerperal”) fever occurred significantly more frequently in women who were assisted by medical students, compared with those who were assisted by midwives. Through meticulous examination of clinical practices, he discovered that medical students who assisted in childbirth often did so after performing autopsies on patients who had died from sepsis (of bacterial origin). After instituting a strict policy of hand-washing with a chlorinated antiseptic solution, mortality rates dropped by 10- to 20-fold within 3 months, demonstrating that transfer of disease could be significantly reduced by this simple hygienic practice.
http://infectiousdiseases.about.com/od/prevention/a/history_hygiene.htm
