Ignaz Semmelweis: The Father of Hand-washing

 

 Ignaz Semmelweis: The Father of Hand-washing

We’ve all felt grateful at some point, maybe for our health, the money we have, or the life we’re fortunate to live. But have you ever felt grateful for the knowledge you have? 

Something as basic as hand washing feels like common sense today, yet there was a time when it wasn’t. One man dedicated his life to making this simple act known 

  Hand-washing is a common practice in modern                  households, but it was not so common during the 19th     century.

Semmelweis’s Medical Journey

Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician born in 1818 in a modest household. He decided to pursue medicine and was awarded his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1844 from the University of Vienna.Semmelweis specialized in obstetrics, a branch of medicine that focuses on the care of women during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the female reproductive organs.

He was appointed as an assistant to Professor Johann Klein at the First Obstetrical Clinic of the Vienna General Hospital. During that time, there were two wards in the hospital for childbirth, the midwives’ ward and the physicians’ ward. Physicians were gaining more prominence due to their new, fancy modern techniques for delivering babies.

A Shocking Discovery

Semmelweis noticed something unusual in his hospital. He observed that infant mortality was extremely high in the physicians’ ward, even with their modern techniques, whereas the midwives’ ward had significantly lower mortality. Infants were dying due to childbed fever.

Childbed fever was caused by certain bacteria being introduced into the vagina by birth attendants. For physicians, the mortality rate was as high as 18% and never dropped below 13%, while in the midwives’ ward, it was as low as 2%.

He noticed that this trend wasn’t limited to his hospital, it was the same across hospitals in America and Europe. He was in agony after seeing such ridiculous and horrifying data.

The Handwashing Hypothesis

He then tried to answer the “why” behind these numbers, and after years of research, he discovered that doctors would operate on pregnant women immediately after performing autopsies,without washing their hands. The “Germ Theory” was not well established at that time.

Semmelweis developed a hypothesis: pathogens from corpses were being transmitted to pregnant women through doctors who didn’t wash their hands before delivering babies.

So, he made it mandatory in his hospital for all doctors to wash their hands with a chlorine solution after conducting autopsies and before treating pregnant women.

With this simple practice, the infant mortality rate in the physicians’ ward dropped from 18% to just 2%, equivalent to that of the midwives’ ward, making the Vienna General Hospital one of the best hospitals for childbirth.

Semmelweis presented his findings and research in front of the Medical Council, but they rejected it. They could not believe that such a simple act like washing hands could reduce infant mortality. They began exploring other reasons, such as hospital ventilation.

During the 19th century, the “Miasma Theory” was widely accepted. It suggested that diseases were caused by unhealthy or polluted vapors rising from the ground or decomposed material — in simple terms, “bad air.”

Some doctors refused to believe Semmelweis’s hypothesis because it implied that they were unclean. Others even mocked him, saying, “A doctor is a gentleman, and a gentleman’s hands are always clean.”

The Medical Council kept rejecting his findings, claiming that Semmelweis didn’t have an accurate explanation for “why” his hypothesis worked. Germ theory wasn’t established well enough at the time to back his claims with concrete evidence.

Downfall and Tragic End

Semmelweis stuck to his beliefs. Because of this, he was fired from the hospital. Afterward, he began lashing out at critics in public letters. By the mid-1860s, his behavior had become annoying and embarrassing to his associates. He also began drinking excessively and spending more time with prostitutes than with his family.

Due to his inappropriate and abnormal behavior, he was sent to a mental asylum. There, he was badly beaten by guards while attempting to escape. He died from sepsis caused by the open wounds inflicted during the beating, just two weeks after being admitted.

Later, Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister, and other pioneers of germ theory provided evidence that explained how germs spread infections. Their work filled in the missing “why” in Semmelweis’s theory, changing the medical landscape by the late 1800s.

The story of Ignaz Semmelweis offers a powerful lesson: dismissing scientific discoveries because of social resistance or pride can have deadly consequences

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. History is full of cases where brilliant minds were rejected simply because their ideas didn’t fit with what people wanted to believe. Galileo was punished for saying the Earth moves around the Sun. Gregor Mendel’s work on genetics was forgotten for years. Barry Marshall, who said bacteria cause stomach ulcers, was laughed at, until he proved it by drinking the bacteria himself

Semmelweis is now known as the “Pioneer of Antiseptic Policy.” Several universities and medical institutes are named after him.

There is even a “Semmelweis Klinik,” a hospital for women located in Vienna, Austria.

The Hungarian government issued a postage stamp in his honor almost a century later.

But perhaps the most powerful tribute to his legacy is the phrase “Semmelweis Reflex.” It refers to the tendency to reject new evidence or knowledge because it contradicts existing norms or beliefs.

Conclusion

Semmelweis’s observations and theory were rejected in his lifetime, but later scientific advancements and the acceptance of germ theory confirmed that he was absolutely right.

Although he never lived to see the impact of his work, he eventually received the recognition he deserved. Today, he is remembered not just as a doctor, but as a pioneer who saved countless lives by introducing a simple yet powerful practice — hand washing..

His story teaches us a valuable lesson: standing up for the truth isn’t always easy, especially when it goes against popular beliefs or challenges those in power.

But if you truly believe in what you’re doing, and if it’s backed by reason and evidence, then you must stand firm, no matter the resistance. In the end, it’s not just about being right, it’s about having the strength to hold on until the world is ready to understand.