History of Handwashing

PK Mukherjee

IMG

On the momentous day of 15 May 1850, in the lecture hall of the Vienna Medical Society, Hungarian physician Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis stepped up to make an announcement. Before this, many groundbreaking discoveries in medicine were announced from this hall. But this time, Semmelweis wanted to share a very important piece of advice with his doctor colleagues, which contained just three words: Wash your hands!

During the COVID-19 pandemic, everybody was also advised to wash their hands with water and soap or sanitise them using an alcohol-based sanitiser. We are now fully aware of the infection caused by bacteria and viruses, thanks to Louis Pasteur for the “Germ’s Theory of Disease” he developed in the nineteenth century. Doctors wash their hands before examining a patient or carrying out an operation to prevent the spread of infection. However, surprisingly, the physicians did not realise the lifesaving power of this simple act until 1847. Strange as it might sound today, it was a fact of the day. Ignaz Phillipp Semmelweis, the physician, introduced the practice of handwashing to physicians…read more on NOPR