As a former medical lab tech and nurse, I believe that the good doctor is one of the great heroes of human history. That he suffered for his efforts seems to be a recurring theme over the centuries.
I remember watching a documentary a long time ago about medicine and germs. One of the episodes covered was about the invention of surgical gloves. Apparently the doctor who invented them did so because his favorite surgical nurse was allergic to the antiseptic used to fight infections during surgeries. He invented the gloves so she wouldn’t have a reaction but it turned out to have better results with the gloves than without so the doctors moved from an antiseptic to aseptic environment. The doctor also ended up marrying the nurse so it worked out for everyone.
amcalabrese1 I understand that, at that time, they used to mist a dilute solution of (iirc) phenol over the operative field. No wonder hands got irritated!!
My grandfather had an older half sister. Just after she was born her mother died because her doctor didn't wash his hands after performing an autopsy on another woman who had died of an infection after giving birth. This was in 1910 or so, but the doctor was "old school" and didn't but the germ theory of disease. No telling how many people he killed with his ignorance.
Reminds me of how Rogue Waves and Humboldt squids were regarded as “sailor’s tales” until they were actually observed and detected. It’s one thing to investigate and not find anything. It’s a whole other deal to dismiss it entirely. Sailors spend lots of time at sea. They may misinterpret a few things, but they see many things. Maybe it’s wise to listen.
Dylan Higgins And yet eyewitness testimony/evidence is considered unreliable, unless several eyewitnesses report the same things and their accounts corroborate each other.
@@leemaxwell1912 Evidence shows that eyewitness testimony can be unreliable. That doesn't mean that it should be discounted completely, but treated with a degree of scepticism and checked in other ways where possible.
Thank you, History Guy, for this episode. I am quite familiar with Dr. Semmelweis and his work. My bachelor's degree is in microbiology. One of my professors was a German immigrant who covered the tragedy of Dr. Semmelweis during one lesson in our pathogenic microbiology course. I am glad to see Dr. Semmelweis' story get much wider attention through your remarkable and delightful program.
So many thoughts on this. When experts become entrenched--not only in their beliefs but also in the funding mechanisms--it makes for bad science. Hubris stalls progress. "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." I had never heard of Semmelweis, but he saved millions of lives, and for that he is piece of History the deserves to be remembered. Thank you, Lance.
@@davedavedave52 Entrenched? Entrenching is a long process and its still a new theory being actively studied with new information, so no. Are they concerned about funding? Maybe, but the theory does not increase or decrease the funding. If they are concerned about funding, they can easily join a project that is. So the question is, are their jobs in danger, and the answer is a clear no. If they want more money, oil industry always needs more climatologists to support their cause and they always have more of it.
Its not only the experts who become entrenched, but common people. There are two reasons usually: being stuck in habit, and not wanting to believe. For a layman, sticking to a habit of seeing things in one way is easier. Having no understanding of of the original theory, or the new one, and probably seeing several other explanations, its most likely the most popular theory is right, as understanding the arguments is not possible to support any theory. As for doctors, History Guy is right. If you heard you have killed hundreds of people, personally and with your own hands, unless you are exceptionally strong individual you will not want to believe. Besides, "corpse particles or miasma" are stupid explanations. True, in other way, but as a theory itself its foolish. Oh, and he didnt save millions of people. Hundreds of millions. 😀
Here's another factor. "Expert" doctors then (and now) were often anti-Christian, and did not want to advocate practices that agreed with the Bible's practices about cleanliness. Quoting from Numbers 19 v 14 -18: "when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days. Anyone.. who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death... will be unclean for seven days. For the unclean person, put some ASHES from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them [the ashes]. Then.. take some hyssop, dip it in.. and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there." A vital ingredient of soap is ashes, and ashes are also a strong base, and kill pathogens.
Hands down one of the most important history lessons, top 5 in the least. The lesson that can be learned from this is perhaps the most important of all. I hope youtube pushes this to the top of every recommended list they have and this becomes your most viewed video. Thank you for making such great videos. I look forward to watching each and every one.
@@samsignorelli My point is that Major Winchester's "Doctors are Gentlemen" pose is funny because his behavior demonstrated that he was arrogant. Sure, his character is portrayed somewhat sympathetically so he isn't just a marionette, but that doesn't take away from why the character is poignant and funny.
Yes in hindsight. At the time either theory was about as good as the other. The solution he used for washing was the same solution used to kill the odors (miasma) of the cadavers. Now we know it was neither cadaverous particles nor miasma. His method worked because it created cadaverous particles, it killed living things making them dead as a cadaver.
"Cadaverous particles" is not really wrong, just imprecise. A way to say "some kind of tiny substance coming from the cadavers", which was absolutely correct. He was being quite scientific in not going beyond his observations. Sort of like how we use the term UFO and dont immediately jump to "extraterrestrial space ship", or "advanced Chinese aircraft".
Don't assume that you would have been enlightened enough to know which one was right at the time. Think about it from the other perspective. Semmelweis was essentially arguing for miasma theory himself. It was already well known that dirty hands spread disease. Hand washing has been a widespread practice for all of history. Semmelweis was arguing that washing _with soap and water_ was not enough because soap and water isn't enough to wash away the stink of a cadaver. Even though the hands look clean and feel clean, they still stink. _Semmelweis_ was arguing for miasma theory. _Semmelweis_ was saying that bad smell is evidence of invisible, intangible particles that cause disease. His theory was that you needed to wash with bleach to remove the stink, and then your hands would be truly clean. As it turns out, he was correct. But don't assume that you're smart enough to know who will be the next Semmelweis.
Died a joke, never knowing that he would be vindicated posthumously. This seems to happen often in history. Some of the people we look back on as giants, died as unknowns in their time. This is almost common sometimes in art and invention.
Nothing To See Here I left work a few weeks ago after someone laughed at me for spraying rubbing alcohol on the doorknobs. I won’t spread any disease because of the willfully ignorant.
Many years ago I read the story about "Germ Theory" and how contentious the debate was over something that doctors couldn't see with the naked eye. Becoming a doctor was similar to becoming a priest, there were certain facts that were considered sacred, and the idea that a doctor's hands were always clean was one of them, The factor that moved the theory into factual science was the invention of the microscope. Anton van Leeuwenhoek built a microscope that enabled doctors to see micro organisms but no doctor in the 18th century thought that what they were looking at caused disease. It wasn't until the work of Pasteur and Lister was coupled with the microscope, that Germ Theory really took off and the washing of hands and sterilization became common place.
I have a 4th cousin who is an MD. Before that, my great grandfather, great uncle, great great grandfather, great great great grandfather, etc. were all medical doctors and baptist ministers. I guess if their skills as doctors weren't good enough they could still offer nice funeral services. I have my great grandfather's diploma from the 1880s and hygiene is penned in on a blank for new sciences with a fountain pen as a brand new science in medicine. Electromyography is another science that is penned in with India ink, and signed by the head instructor. The head of each department signed the diplomas back then, and then the president & dean of the university signed the main lines on the diploma, so it has 20-25 different signatures on it. My great great grandfather was also a doctor too, and my great uncle (first son of my great grandfather) was a doctor. My great grandfather became overly obsessed with germ theory around 1919 and would only take monetary payment in silver or gold coin, and he put all of the coins into jars of methyl alcohol. My great great grandfather on my grandmother's side died in 1919, from the Spanish flu. In the 1960s it was more common for a doctor to only wash his hand after he had performed numerous surgeries, rather than before or in between surgeries. I assume my great great grandfather went to a medical school, but go back to my great great great grandfather, and it's likely he did an apprenticeship to become a doctor. I have an old tintype of my great & great great grandfathers together. The diploma from the 1880s is actually on real vellum too.
NeuesTestament I know. Both my parents were born at home with midwives (early 1930s). I have a cousin who was born at home in 1951 though with a doctor. My wife and her 4 siblings were born at home between 1967 and 1977. But their father was a doctor and delivered them all.
My identical twin uncles were born in a hospital, because they were a high-risk birth. This was in 1920 and it was highly unusual. By the time I was born in 1948 it was routine, as was anaesthetising women giving birth, forcing many forceps deliveries. My kids were born in 1981 and 1984. We planned to have both deliveries at home. The first was breech and we wound up in the hospital. The second was a set of triplets. When the MD who was going to deliver the baby found out he just laughed and sent us up to Iowa City (we lived 60 mi away) where they had people who had seen triplets before.
6:45 Actually his theory *WAS* correct. He theorized that some kind of particle was being transferred from the dead to the living, where it cause the living to join the dead. This was, in fact, what was happening. He had no idea what those particles might be and didn't really care. His goal was to save lives. By having his students wash their hands he was hoping the particles would be removed and thus not reach the living patients. It turned out he was correct. The particles were later identified as bacteria, but that was left to others. His job was not to identify the participates, his job was to stop them reaching the living.
To me, the crime of the orthodox establishment was the outright refusal to even consider it. Can't hurt; might help--why not try? The evidence of efficacy would have then been overwhelming, and many more lives would have been saved. The "particles" themselves don't need to be identified to prove handwashing effective.
@@joesterling4299 Absolutely, they even would not have to tell anybody why they tried, just give it a go and see if it helps. The thing is some of them didn't want to try because then they would have discovered that they themselves had caused so many casualties. There was a german doctor who did listen, and with success, but he took his own life out of grievance that he himself had been the cause... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Adolf_Michaelis
May I recommend a book "The Doctor's Plague by Dr Sherwin B Nuland, ISBN 0-393-05299-0 Which is about Dr Sammelweiss and examines the reasons why he was unable to get people to listen to him--
Thanks HG for the timely focus on a subject too long ignored by all of us. Your channel is a welcome and educational distraction in these difficult times. I will remember and follow Ignaz Semmelweis' sage advice.
You are really hitting all the points on my: "Knowledge to take with me on my time machine to the past" list lately. So far: How to make aspirin. How to make soap. How to make penicillin. How to make high proof alcohol (knew that one already because...reasons) Next up: How to make a modern functioning microscope. How to make a good flea bomb (for the plague years) *Also, How to make a time machine....would be quite helpful.
Inventing a time machine is easy. After you invent it, simply go back in time to teach yourself how (along with some appropriate lottery numbers if funds are needed for the parts).
I would assume they already knew how to make high proof alcohol. It's just knowing that alcohol is an antiseptic makes the difference. (You have to use it EXTERNALLY).
You manage to find these obscure but very important people & events that shaped our lives, you are my history hero! Thank you for a powerful, entertaining handwashing lesson 💚💚
How painfully ironic that those who most needed to listen to his ideas did in fact wash their hands- of him. It reminds me of a phrase we were taught in medical school: Arrogance leads to asystole. In other words, being a pompous ass can kill your patients.
Dear History Guy, Your warm enthusiasm for your sponsor feels so sincere and is wonderful to watch. It is short, light and funny. I don't think I have ever enjoyed an advertisement on RUclips quite as much! Thanks!
I remember seeing a program on PBS about his man years ago. I'm glad History Guy made a video about him. A few lessons to learn from this story. Pride, and hubris must be checked. The manner of the messenger is just as important as the message, and strong correlations must be payed attention to.
Are you sure that wasn't just because he had been cutting up and then stitching up corpses all day and really wanted a sandwich ? Inquiring minds want to know.
As a healthcare professional for 35 years, I am astounded at this piece of forgotten history, especially as we fight for our very survival. Please keep up the amazing work you do to inform the world.
HG I love your channel. Your educational lessons make my day and brighten my mind. You do a real service to the masses and I recommend you to everyone and forward your lessons to anyone who will watch and join you. Great job!
If there's anything we've learned over the past 2 years, it's that this mindset is still very much a part of the medical community today. Anyone who doesn't tow the popular line is slandered into obscurity and silenced.
I can't soeak highly enough about the importance of learning. The History Guy lets us enjoy History like never before. Fun, exciting episodes of adventure, daring wrapped in Facts From History That Deserves To Be Remembered
Even this past week I told someone entering my dwelling to go wash their hands. And why OH why are adults having to be told this in the 21st century? THANKS for this video HISTORY GUY it really is worth being remembered. And stay healthy.
Questioning a new scientific theory is one thing, and that's acceptable, laudable, and necessary for society. Questioning an empirical demonstration of a better way of doing things because it upsets the paradigm is foolish and detrimental.
Example... This universe is a sim. Scientific proof already exists that it is. A lot of it. A whole lot of a lot. Which definitely upsets the established paradigm from which simbots are deriving their personal cutie-pie points. With the result that victimization by the sim continues on and on and on.
Simbot... simulation-generated biological robot that mindlessly perpetuates the universe sim agenda and status quo. No matter how horribly wrongful and destructive the universe sim agenda and status quo might be.
When I was a child in the 1960’s, I read a book about him, The Cry and the Covenant. I Have never forgotten. I wish you would do a piece on Dr. Thomas Mütter, a physician and plastic surgeon in Philadelphia in the first half of the 19th Century. There is a marvelous book about him, Doctor Mütter’s Marvels. Great story of a man worth remembering.
Thank you for your video on my famous ancestor who has been in the media a lot lately! And also in reference to correct pronunciation of words in the beging much respect for the right pronunciation of Semmelweis 😀
Hi Peter, following the History Guy’s last item on soap I made the 3rd comment & asked him to checkout Ignaz Semmelweis as I had read a simple but interesting article on him in The Awake magazine no 3 pages 8-9 2016. I am delighted that HG covered your relatives outstanding achievements so well ! Take care we are all in this together !
They did it for a good reason. They didn't want "superstition" to suddenly become a thing. It is one of those things. What he needed to do is work in some bullshit way that the medical community accepts it lol
This video made me think of William Stewart Halsted, M.D.. He traveled around Europe and no doubt knew of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis and Dr. Lister. He is the one that brought antiseptic technique to the operating room and stopped surgeons such activities as smoking while operating and started wearing gloves while operating. Surgeons opposed this. He developed the medical record and internship/residency training programs. He is one of 4 doctors that founded the John Hopkins Hospital
I read about Semmelweis years ago, probably in the Reader's Digest. His biggest problem was that he didn't have a nice bedside manner. It also said that he predicted his demise because he had cut himself and did not clean the wound so he would die from the infection, which he then told to all the skeptics who wouldn't believe him. Until he died...DLJ
The first time I heard about this guy was actually from Mike Rowe's podcast where he would tell little 5 to 8 min story's about someone famous in history and only at the end reveal who it was.
People who become set in their ways, especially "professionals", hate to be told they are doing something the wrong way. Especially by somebody who is junior to them. Thank you, Doctor Semmelweis, for the many thousands of lives you have saved.
I guess you had to be a doctor to learn to wash your hands. By the time I was in 1st grade I was a veteran. Especially with my drill instructor I called Mom! I miss my mother!
I miss mine too! She worked in a hospital, and in the 60s, we went through tons of phisohex, a strong, possibly carcinogenic cleanser. She used it all day, every day, and bleach. Our towels lasted about two months. We always teased her, but of course, I grew up as a bleach queen too...it finally paid off when this pandemic hit and I was already stocked up with a years worth of bleach, alcohol, kennel sol (for the dogs!), triple antibiotic soaps and spray bottles filled with 91% alcohol to spray randomly whenever I felt the need...it's something I've tried to control, because i know it's mostly anxiety based, but oddly, now that there is actually danger, I'm completely unafraid...I'm the one that has to go to the store, etc. because my husband is very high risk with asthma and chronic bronchitis (don't smoke, kids!)... I figure after a lifetime of inhaling bleach fumes, my lung membranes are like rawhide...
Well i thought you did a great job in this video of semmelweising this mans great contributions down to a concise 14 minutes. Bravo History guy, another germ free nugget of history, an for particles sake wash those hands!
We tend to forget that as recently as the mid 19th century medicine was just a protoscience. Unfortunately many practices of those times remain as "alternative medicine."
A few years back, before a procedure, I was obliged to sign a paper which included the statement that "medicine is not an exact science". I questioned this, but signed.
@@timkennedy1192 However, there's a difference between not being certain about the outcome when you base your judgment on established science, and proceeding under non-scientific methods.
Just My Opinion Here: Thank you for this timely and important video. I very much enjoyed the content and the detailed examination of this important topic. However, I struggled mightily to keep up at times as you spoke so incredibly fast. Also, you frequently did not enunciate words that were critical to the point you were making. My observations are meant as informational and are not derogatory. Thank you.
One of my heroes. I always remember an article about him in which the title was - And they never even thanked him. And this was only 200 years ago, imagine that!
Excellent (and timely) presentation. One wonders if Florence Nightingale was aware of Semmelweis' ideas on hygiene before she lead her nurses to care for the British/ Allied sick and wounded of the Crimean War in late 1854...
I’m telling you that you should do a video on the push back by the medical community on adoption of the stethoscope it took 30 years for it to be adopted because doctors said “it would separate us from our patients”. Or do a video on the push back by the medical community in adopting written medical records because doctors said “it was a right of passage to keep as much information on a patient in your head”. Seriously these topics are right up your ally.
There is a great lesson here about blindly following conventional medical theory just because everyone thinks it is correct. Don't be afraid or discouraged when challenging something you believe is wrong.
First a note-Young Semmelweis looked like CBS News’ Steve Hartman. 🤭 And, The History Guy presentations are always interesting, many on topics rarely made known to the public. Thanks for your knowledge imparted to your viewers, especially during these days of the CoViD19 pandemic! 😓
What he should have done was simply point out that when doctors washed their hands, death rates went down. When they didn't, death rates went up. never mind the reason, just action and effect. But I suppose doctors don't think in terms that simple.
quick question: are you working in a technical field? (Usually such an approach is found in that field... => this helps, let's do it that way, we can find out why it helps when we have time to do so...)
@@nirfz Actually, I'm retired. But when I worked, I always seemed to have more work to do than time to do it. The solution was to find the shortest route to the finish, never mind the details. I'm a simple man, I like simple solutions.
That was exactly what he did. He showed other "doctors" stats of clear plummet in death ratio when his team washed their hands. They just refused to ackownledge it, because back then. doctors were pure, clean, and "not part of the dirty poor commonfolk". This was the problem.
@@ShadowViewsOnly Didn't he also explain why they needed to wash their hands? Perhaps he gave them too much information. Just show the numbers and let them figure it out.
Merci, Monsiougner le Historienne. Almost flawless. "Von " meaning "of" in German sounds "fon" and not von. The latter would look like "won". Merci, mon pleasier.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Although there was a case a few years ago on the US west coast with a surgeon who refused to wash his hands even when chastised by his nurses, with the result that several patients died of infection or transmitted disease. It was big news at the time and resulted in a large lawsuit against the hospital for failing to remove the doctor after ignoring staff reports of his malpractice.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Actually, we STILL have to get EVEN medical professionals to practice what they preach: freakonomics.com/2012/01/24/how-to-get-doctors-to-wash-their-hands-visual-edition/
Dear Mr History Guy! My personal knowledge of this came from grandmother, she was a midwife here in Sweden. My grandmother was born in 1888 and was when she took her exam the youngest midwife in Sweden. She taught me how to was my hands including leaving the bar of soap in the running water. In these days of washing hands, my thoughts go every time to my beloved grandmother. Yes, she told the story that you today have on your RUclips channel.
Please do an episode on Dr. Paul Ehrlich. He is another long forgotten figure in medical research who developed the first effective treatment for syphilis. Thanks to the Nazis his name and work were largely erased from German history because he was Jewish, despite his winning the 1908 Noble Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Edward G. Robinson portrayed him in the 1940 movie "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet".
Love this! I work in medecine and am fighting against a SemmelWeis Reflex by my peers and leaders. Thank you for your carefully studied and wonderfully worded presentation.
As a new devotee, I must admit I haven’t viewed all quite yet! However, I’m VERY curious as to why your tie is tied that way?! Have you done a piece on the history of ties and why yours is tied in such a manner? Thank you!.... Haha 😆 Never mind, just saw pic w/ his tie tied that way! Got it!
My class in zoology in community college was the hardest course I took there, the professor was great but demanding [I actually had to read the textbook and study] and he showed us some video about this, a fascinating story, I couldn't believe he faced so much opposition from other so called medical professionals but unfortunately that's what seems to happen when someone dares to go against the grain, god forbid those arrogant jerks have to admit they were ignorant and making a mistake, no we must continue and let patients die
Worldwide, sepsis is the cause of death in about 1400 people each day. Many of these people develop sepsis from infections acquired as patients while in a hospital. Infections acquired in the hospital are called nosocomial infections. They are the most common complications of hospitalized patients, with 5-10% of patients in acute care hospitals acquiring at least one infection. Nosocomial infections occur in 2 million patients per year in the United States, causing 90 000 deaths and resulting in $4.5-5.7 billion in additional patient care costs. Semmelweis had a bowl of his antiseptic placed in the maternity ward for the trainees to use. All the students that examined the women on on side of the ward, washed their hands. Not all the students examining the other side did. The results were a striking demonstration of what hand washing could achieve.
Eastern Europe is cool I wish I knew more history about it. Lots on WW2 and WW1 and of course US history and some on western Europe. I should add I'm an American for you reading this so we don't get much other then like old world history and mostly US history in school.
As a former medical lab tech and nurse, I believe that the good doctor is one of the great heroes of human history. That he suffered for his efforts seems to be a recurring theme over the centuries.
if only doctors and nurses would have learned from this and stop with that terrible behavior of turning down new information that is proven effective
@@678friedbed There are Idiots and Idiotic So called Doctors at
I always find Dr Semmelweis' story tragic no matter how many times I hear it.
Same!
It's a perfect example of what's known in medicine as "clinical inertia".
I remember watching a documentary a long time ago about medicine and germs. One of the episodes covered was about the invention of surgical gloves. Apparently the doctor who invented them did so because his favorite surgical nurse was allergic to the antiseptic used to fight infections during surgeries. He invented the gloves so she wouldn’t have a reaction but it turned out to have better results with the gloves than without so the doctors moved from an antiseptic to aseptic environment.
The doctor also ended up marrying the nurse so it worked out for everyone.
That was Dr. Halsted
catranger01 Yes.
amcalabrese1 I understand that, at that time, they used to mist a dilute solution of (iirc) phenol over the operative field. No wonder hands got irritated!!
My grandfather had an older half sister. Just after she was born her mother died because her doctor didn't wash his hands after performing an autopsy on another woman who had died of an infection after giving birth.
This was in 1910 or so, but the doctor was "old school" and didn't but the germ theory of disease. No telling how many people he killed with his ignorance.
Reminds me of how Rogue Waves and Humboldt squids were regarded as “sailor’s tales” until they were actually observed and detected. It’s one thing to investigate and not find anything. It’s a whole other deal to dismiss it entirely. Sailors spend lots of time at sea. They may misinterpret a few things, but they see many things. Maybe it’s wise to listen.
Release the Kraaken!
I’ve seen many strange things in the oceans! Many
Dylan Higgins And yet eyewitness testimony/evidence is considered unreliable, unless several eyewitnesses report the same things and their accounts corroborate each other.
Lee Maxwell - you mean like video footage from an F-18 off the coast of San Diego?
@@leemaxwell1912 Evidence shows that eyewitness testimony can be unreliable. That doesn't mean that it should be discounted completely, but treated with a degree of scepticism and checked in other ways where possible.
Thank you, History Guy, for this episode. I am quite familiar with Dr. Semmelweis and his work. My bachelor's degree is in microbiology. One of my professors was a German immigrant who covered the tragedy of Dr. Semmelweis during one lesson in our pathogenic microbiology course. I am glad to see Dr. Semmelweis' story get much wider attention through your remarkable and delightful program.
So many thoughts on this. When experts become entrenched--not only in their beliefs but also in the funding mechanisms--it makes for bad science. Hubris stalls progress. "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." I had never heard of Semmelweis, but he saved millions of lives, and for that he is piece of History the deserves to be remembered. Thank you, Lance.
Are the scientific experts that expound Global warming theory, entrenched, and concerned about funding?
@@davedavedave52 Entrenched? Entrenching is a long process and its still a new theory being actively studied with new information, so no.
Are they concerned about funding? Maybe, but the theory does not increase or decrease the funding. If they are concerned about funding, they can easily join a project that is. So the question is, are their jobs in danger, and the answer is a clear no.
If they want more money, oil industry always needs more climatologists to support their cause and they always have more of it.
Its not only the experts who become entrenched, but common people. There are two reasons usually: being stuck in habit, and not wanting to believe.
For a layman, sticking to a habit of seeing things in one way is easier. Having no understanding of of the original theory, or the new one, and probably seeing several other explanations, its most likely the most popular theory is right, as understanding the arguments is not possible to support any theory.
As for doctors, History Guy is right. If you heard you have killed hundreds of people, personally and with your own hands, unless you are exceptionally strong individual you will not want to believe. Besides, "corpse particles or miasma" are stupid explanations. True, in other way, but as a theory itself its foolish.
Oh, and he didnt save millions of people.
Hundreds of millions. 😀
Here's another factor. "Expert" doctors then (and now) were often anti-Christian, and did not want to advocate practices that agreed with the Bible's practices about cleanliness. Quoting from Numbers 19 v 14 -18: "when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days. Anyone.. who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death... will be unclean for seven days. For the unclean person, put some ASHES from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them [the ashes]. Then.. take some hyssop, dip it in.. and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there." A vital ingredient of soap is ashes, and ashes are also a strong base, and kill pathogens.
@@FLPhotoCatcher Yes, its true, they are out to get you. Quick, get off the internet before they track your location!
Hands down one of the most important history lessons, top 5 in the least. The lesson that can be learned from this is perhaps the most important of all. I hope youtube pushes this to the top of every recommended list they have and this becomes your most viewed video. Thank you for making such great videos. I look forward to watching each and every one.
Doctors are Gentlemen... such arrogance, but still embeded in the behaviour of some of the Doctors I am working with these days.
Certainly the rub of the obviously not so gentlemanly Major Winchester in MASH.
@@RockinRobbins13 Winchester could be taught, however.
A major benefit of working with Nurse Practitioners.
@@samsignorelli My point is that Major Winchester's "Doctors are Gentlemen" pose is funny because his behavior demonstrated that he was arrogant. Sure, his character is portrayed somewhat sympathetically so he isn't just a marionette, but that doesn't take away from why the character is poignant and funny.
Robert Ewalt Carry on Nurse
The "cadaverous particles" were derided as superstition, but the counter argument of "miasma" was pure superstition.
Yes in hindsight. At the time either theory was about as good as the other. The solution he used for washing was the same solution used to kill the odors (miasma) of the cadavers. Now we know it was neither cadaverous particles nor miasma. His method worked because it created cadaverous particles, it killed living things making them dead as a cadaver.
"Cadaverous particles" is not really wrong, just imprecise. A way to say "some kind of tiny substance coming from the cadavers", which was absolutely correct. He was being quite scientific in not going beyond his observations.
Sort of like how we use the term UFO and dont immediately jump to "extraterrestrial space ship", or "advanced Chinese aircraft".
Don't assume that you would have been enlightened enough to know which one was right at the time. Think about it from the other perspective. Semmelweis was essentially arguing for miasma theory himself. It was already well known that dirty hands spread disease. Hand washing has been a widespread practice for all of history. Semmelweis was arguing that washing _with soap and water_ was not enough because soap and water isn't enough to wash away the stink of a cadaver. Even though the hands look clean and feel clean, they still stink. _Semmelweis_ was arguing for miasma theory. _Semmelweis_ was saying that bad smell is evidence of invisible, intangible particles that cause disease. His theory was that you needed to wash with bleach to remove the stink, and then your hands would be truly clean. As it turns out, he was correct. But don't assume that you're smart enough to know who will be the next Semmelweis.
Washing your hands isn't superstition it's a fact.... you take a bath or shower 🚿 don't you remember the saying: Cleanliness is next to godliness
@@garycarpenter2980
"Washing your hands isn't superstition it's a fact."
"Cleanliness is next to godliness."
Make up your mind.
cadaverous particles is a good death metal band name.
I'm already body slamming...
Perfect band name!
No longer fun to mock death now that we've got coronavirus; death metal is just juvenile.
yawn. your 'decorum' policing is just sad.
@@nora22000 I hesitate to ask what you're into. I sure it's something banal and insipid. And, no, i'm not a DM enthusiast.
🤘
Died a joke, never knowing that he would be vindicated posthumously.
This seems to happen often in history. Some of the people we look back on as giants, died as unknowns in their time. This is almost common sometimes in art and invention.
Nothing To See Here I left work a few weeks ago after someone laughed at me for spraying rubbing alcohol on the doorknobs. I won’t spread any disease because of the willfully ignorant.
Many years ago I read the story about "Germ Theory" and how contentious the debate was over something that doctors couldn't see with the naked eye. Becoming a doctor was similar to becoming a priest, there were certain facts that were considered sacred, and the idea that a doctor's hands were always clean was one of them, The factor that moved the theory into factual science was the invention of the microscope. Anton van Leeuwenhoek built a microscope that enabled doctors to see micro organisms but no doctor in the 18th century thought that what they were looking at caused disease. It wasn't until the work of Pasteur and Lister was coupled with the microscope, that Germ Theory really took off and the washing of hands and sterilization became common place.
I have a 4th cousin who is an MD. Before that, my great grandfather, great uncle, great great grandfather, great great great grandfather, etc. were all medical doctors and baptist ministers. I guess if their skills as doctors weren't good enough they could still offer nice funeral services. I have my great grandfather's diploma from the 1880s and hygiene is penned in on a blank for new sciences with a fountain pen as a brand new science in medicine. Electromyography is another science that is penned in with India ink, and signed by the head instructor. The head of each department signed the diplomas back then, and then the president & dean of the university signed the main lines on the diploma, so it has 20-25 different signatures on it. My great great grandfather was also a doctor too, and my great uncle (first son of my great grandfather) was a doctor. My great grandfather became overly obsessed with germ theory around 1919 and would only take monetary payment in silver or gold coin, and he put all of the coins into jars of methyl alcohol. My great great grandfather on my grandmother's side died in 1919, from the Spanish flu. In the 1960s it was more common for a doctor to only wash his hand after he had performed numerous surgeries, rather than before or in between surgeries. I assume my great great grandfather went to a medical school, but go back to my great great great grandfather, and it's likely he did an apprenticeship to become a doctor. I have an old tintype of my great & great great grandfathers together. The diploma from the 1880s is actually on real vellum too.
Neither the first nor the last medical innovator to be reviled in his lifetime, the Semmelweis museum is worth a visit if you are in Budapest
It's amazing how the egos of so few have affected the lives of so many. I guess that will never change...
Douglas B - nope, because we’re only human. 😉
Trivia that deserves to be remembered: The 1st president born in a hospital was Jimmy Carter; October 1, 1921.
*1924
NeuesTestament I know. Both my parents were born at home with midwives (early 1930s). I have a cousin who was born at home in 1951 though with a doctor.
My wife and her 4 siblings were born at home between 1967 and 1977. But their father was a doctor and delivered them all.
The previous ones were all born in log cabins...😆😆😆
Tubmaster 5000 Drinking hard cider.
My identical twin uncles were born in a hospital, because they were a high-risk birth. This was in 1920 and it was highly unusual. By the time I was born in 1948 it was routine, as was anaesthetising women giving birth, forcing many forceps deliveries. My kids were born in 1981 and 1984. We planned to have both deliveries at home. The first was breech and we wound up in the hospital. The second was a set of triplets. When the MD who was going to deliver the baby found out he just laughed and sent us up to Iowa City (we lived 60 mi away) where they had people who had seen triplets before.
The History Guy is a RUclipsr that deserves to be remembered.
6:45 Actually his theory *WAS* correct. He theorized that some kind of particle was being transferred from the dead to the living, where it cause the living to join the dead.
This was, in fact, what was happening. He had no idea what those particles might be and didn't really care. His goal was to save lives. By having his students wash their hands he was hoping the particles would be removed and thus not reach the living patients.
It turned out he was correct. The particles were later identified as bacteria, but that was left to others. His job was not to identify the participates, his job was to stop them reaching the living.
To me, the crime of the orthodox establishment was the outright refusal to even consider it. Can't hurt; might help--why not try? The evidence of efficacy would have then been overwhelming, and many more lives would have been saved. The "particles" themselves don't need to be identified to prove handwashing effective.
@@joesterling4299 Absolutely, they even would not have to tell anybody why they tried, just give it a go and see if it helps. The thing is some of them didn't want to try because then they would have discovered that they themselves had caused so many casualties. There was a german doctor who did listen, and with success, but he took his own life out of grievance that he himself had been the cause... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Adolf_Michaelis
@@joesterling4299 What's that? The Orthodox establishment is actively silencing new and important breakthroughs? Someone call the press!
Sorta, let’s call it a rough first draft.
He wasn’t wrong.
My aunt was a midwife and she delivered over 3,000 babies in her 98 years!
She was a midwife for 98 years!?! That's impressive...!
Ups or Fedex?
@@alex0589 Wells Fargo Stage Coach!
@@douglasherron7534 Not her whole 98 years but I think from her late teens!
@Joe Al Damn skippy
May I recommend a book "The Doctor's Plague by Dr Sherwin B Nuland, ISBN 0-393-05299-0
Which is about Dr Sammelweiss and examines the reasons why he was unable to get people to listen to him--
@tzipporah batami no. It was because of his passion and empathy towards women's fate.
@tzipporah batami he was not jewish
Thanks HG for the timely focus on a subject too long ignored by all of us. Your channel is a welcome and educational distraction in these difficult times. I will remember and follow Ignaz Semmelweis' sage advice.
You are really hitting all the points on my: "Knowledge to take with me on my time machine to the past" list lately.
So far: How to make aspirin. How to make soap. How to make penicillin. How to make high proof alcohol (knew that one already because...reasons)
Next up: How to make a modern functioning microscope. How to make a good flea bomb (for the plague years)
*Also, How to make a time machine....would be quite helpful.
Inventing a time machine is easy. After you invent it, simply go back in time to teach yourself how (along with some appropriate lottery numbers if funds are needed for the parts).
He's done a great job of creating a pandemic themed playlist.
Uncle Rico and Kip have one they'll sell you for cheap.
So I'm not the only one with that list!! Good to know!! Gunpowder, metal smithing, on and on..
I would assume they already knew how to make high proof alcohol. It's just knowing that alcohol is an antiseptic makes the difference. (You have to use it EXTERNALLY).
You manage to find these obscure but very important people & events that shaped our lives, you are my history hero! Thank you for a powerful, entertaining handwashing lesson 💚💚
How painfully ironic that those who most needed to listen to his ideas did in fact wash their hands- of him. It reminds me of a phrase we were taught in medical school: Arrogance leads to asystole. In other words, being a pompous ass can kill your patients.
Dear History Guy, Your warm enthusiasm for your sponsor feels so sincere and is wonderful to watch. It is short, light and funny. I don't think I have ever enjoyed an advertisement on RUclips quite as much! Thanks!
I remember seeing a program on PBS about his man years ago. I'm glad History Guy made a video about him. A few lessons to learn from this story. Pride, and hubris must be checked. The manner of the messenger is just as important as the message, and strong correlations must be payed attention to.
Timely research and great story telling. Thanks.
He is still saving lives!
Even Dr. Frankenstein washed his hands prior to his Monsters assembled.
Imagine how grumpy the monster would be with an infection...
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Rrraaaahh!! STRAAAAIIINNS!!
It’s slive
Stephen Petersen gave ya the thumbs up. I was going to say, that was Young Frankenstein
Are you sure that wasn't just because he had been cutting up and then stitching up corpses all day and really wanted a sandwich ? Inquiring minds want to know.
Thank you for the lesson.
Thank you for this timely story, wonder if we are denigrating and shunning some modern day Semmelweis who may have some Covid clue.....
As a healthcare professional for 35 years, I am astounded at this piece of forgotten history, especially as we fight for our very survival. Please keep up the amazing work you do to inform the world.
I knew the story from a James Burke series in the 1980s. But it's fun to hear it anew, and communicated so well.
HG I love your channel. Your educational lessons make my day and brighten my mind. You do a real service to the masses and I recommend you to everyone and forward your lessons to anyone who will watch and join you. Great job!
If there's anything we've learned over the past 2 years, it's that this mindset is still very much a part of the medical community today. Anyone who doesn't tow the popular line is slandered into obscurity and silenced.
"Doctors are gentlemen, and a gentleman's hands are clean!"
- Dr. Charles Meigs.
Great story and presentation! Keep up the good work. I’m listening!
I can't soeak highly enough about the importance of learning. The History Guy lets us enjoy History like never before.
Fun, exciting episodes of adventure, daring wrapped in Facts From History That Deserves To Be Remembered
Doctors who think they know everything?!? GASP! What a shocker!!
A timely clarification of the present need indeed.
Cool, one of my favorite stories since the 70's when I was a Air Force Medic.
This was a sad story to me all the egos is terrible
Appropriate for the time. Thank you sir for another informative vid.
Even this past week I told someone entering my dwelling to go wash their hands. And why OH why are adults having to be told this in the 21st century?
THANKS for this video HISTORY GUY it really is worth being remembered. And stay healthy.
just watched the entire video... excellent!
Bravo! I appreciate this segment for its relevance. Everyone is acting out the Semmelwiess Reflex.
A man ahead of his times, but fitting in our time! Excellent episode sir!
Recognized hearing you on the radio and was pleasantly surprised! 🙌🏻
Great show!
Please work up a bit about Steve Fossett
Questioning a new scientific theory is one thing, and that's acceptable, laudable, and necessary for society. Questioning an empirical demonstration of a better way of doing things because it upsets the paradigm is foolish and detrimental.
Example... This universe is a sim. Scientific proof already exists that it is. A lot of it. A whole lot of a lot.
Which definitely upsets the established paradigm from which simbots are deriving their personal cutie-pie points. With the result that victimization by the sim continues on and on and on.
Simbot... simulation-generated biological robot that mindlessly perpetuates the universe sim agenda and status quo. No matter how horribly wrongful and destructive the universe sim agenda and status quo might be.
Kids, just say no to being used, abused, and victimized.
Just say no to being simbots.
When I was a child in the 1960’s, I read a book about him, The Cry and the Covenant. I Have never forgotten.
I wish you would do a piece on Dr. Thomas Mütter, a physician and plastic surgeon in Philadelphia in the first half of the 19th Century. There is a marvelous book about him, Doctor Mütter’s Marvels. Great story of a man worth remembering.
Thank you for your video on my famous ancestor who has been in the media a lot lately! And also in reference to correct pronunciation of words in the beging much respect for the right pronunciation of Semmelweis 😀
Hi Peter, following the History Guy’s last item on soap I made the 3rd comment & asked him to checkout Ignaz Semmelweis as I had read a simple but interesting article on him in The Awake magazine no 3 pages 8-9 2016. I am delighted that HG covered your relatives outstanding achievements so well ! Take care we are all in this together !
Sad to think that men of science would be so close-minded. That could never happen today, right?...
doesn't matter, even when they manage to all agree on something politicians and civilians dismiss them as hoax spreaders.
They did it for a good reason. They didn't want "superstition" to suddenly become a thing. It is one of those things. What he needed to do is work in some bullshit way that the medical community accepts it lol
@@neues3691 Of course.
No, not today.
**long sigh**
This video made me think of William Stewart Halsted, M.D.. He traveled around Europe and no doubt knew of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis and Dr. Lister. He is the one that brought antiseptic technique to the operating room and stopped surgeons such activities as smoking while operating and started wearing gloves while operating. Surgeons opposed this. He developed the medical record and internship/residency training programs. He is one of 4 doctors that founded the John Hopkins Hospital
I read about Semmelweis years ago, probably in the Reader's Digest. His biggest problem was that he didn't have a nice bedside manner. It also said that he predicted his demise because he had cut himself and did not clean the wound so he would die from the infection, which he then told to all the skeptics who wouldn't believe him. Until he died...DLJ
As a amateur historian, I find your shows very well done with clear and informative , entertaining topics-keep this up!
The first time I heard about this guy was actually from Mike Rowe's podcast where he would tell little 5 to 8 min story's about someone famous in history and only at the end reveal who it was.
Kind of like Paul Harvey with his "The Rest of the Story" radio segments! Lol.. they were always fun and educational
dabeast987 I really enjoy Mike’s podcast! A modern day Paul Harvey, to be sure!
People who become set in their ways, especially "professionals", hate to be told they are doing something the wrong way. Especially by somebody who is junior to them. Thank you, Doctor Semmelweis, for the many thousands of lives you have saved.
I guess you had to be a doctor to learn to wash your hands. By the time I was in 1st grade I was a veteran. Especially with my drill instructor I called Mom! I miss my mother!
This sudden wash hands learning was in the 1800s.
I miss mine too! She worked in a hospital, and in the 60s, we went through tons of phisohex, a strong, possibly carcinogenic cleanser.
She used it all day, every day, and bleach. Our towels lasted about two months. We always teased her, but of course, I grew up as a bleach queen too...it finally paid off when this pandemic hit and I was already stocked up with a years worth of bleach, alcohol, kennel sol (for the dogs!), triple antibiotic soaps and spray bottles filled with 91% alcohol to spray randomly whenever I felt the need...it's something I've tried to control, because i know it's mostly anxiety based, but oddly, now that there is actually danger, I'm completely unafraid...I'm the one that has to go to the store, etc. because my husband is very high risk with asthma and chronic bronchitis (don't smoke, kids!)...
I figure after a lifetime of inhaling bleach fumes, my lung membranes are like rawhide...
@@christineparis5607 I hope you don't smoke kids! Over mesquite?
@randall2020 a little bit of everyone did.
@@constipatedinsincity4424 😅😅😅
Well i thought you did a great job in this video of semmelweising this mans great contributions down to a concise 14 minutes. Bravo History guy, another germ free nugget of history, an for particles sake wash those hands!
Great topic. He saved the lives of uncounted people going forward.
Ambroise Paré would be another doc who deserves to be remembered.
We tend to forget that as recently as the mid 19th century medicine was just a protoscience. Unfortunately many practices of those times remain as "alternative medicine."
A few years back, before a procedure, I was obliged to sign a paper which included the statement that "medicine is not an exact science". I questioned this, but signed.
@@timkennedy1192 However, there's a difference between not being certain about the outcome when you base your judgment on established science, and proceeding under non-scientific methods.
Timely history lesson. Also your timely bow tie did not go unnoticed.
Just My Opinion Here: Thank you for this timely and important video. I very much enjoyed the content and the detailed examination of this important topic. However, I struggled mightily to keep up at times as you spoke so incredibly fast. Also, you frequently did not enunciate words that were critical to the point you were making. My observations are meant as informational and are not derogatory. Thank you.
One of the greatest hurdles in educated life is informing someone with a doctorate degree that they're not omnipotent.
And then getting kicked out of class when you inform said someone with a doctorate :)
gotta love the univs
So many people have died simply because so many other people think they know everything.
One of my heroes. I always remember an article about him in which the title was - And they never even thanked him. And this was only 200 years ago, imagine that!
Excellent (and timely) presentation.
One wonders if Florence Nightingale was aware of Semmelweis' ideas on hygiene before she lead her nurses to care for the British/ Allied sick and wounded of the Crimean War in late 1854...
That was great .thank you
Please do a video on the 1918 pandemic. Thanks
Frank Cherry ruclips.net/video/5tUQ7VHnB6c/видео.html
I love this class and he's my favorite teacher!
I’m telling you that you should do a video on the push back by the medical community on adoption of the stethoscope it took 30 years for it to be adopted because doctors said “it would separate us from our patients”. Or do a video on the push back by the medical community in adopting written medical records because doctors said “it was a right of passage to keep as much information on a patient in your head”. Seriously these topics are right up your ally.
I love this channel. Was one of my favorite subjects in school, and wish I'd had such a good teacher.
There is a great lesson here about blindly following conventional medical theory just because everyone thinks it is correct. Don't be afraid or discouraged when challenging something you believe is wrong.
It is not just medical theory- the "Semmelweis reflex" can happen anywhere.
I even like the advertisement on this one!
Ignaz Semmelweis would be proud of all the handwashing practices that were implemented during the pandemic.
First a note-Young Semmelweis looked like CBS News’ Steve Hartman. 🤭 And, The History Guy presentations are always interesting, many on topics rarely made known to the public. Thanks for your knowledge imparted to your viewers, especially during these days of the CoViD19 pandemic! 😓
These are the true heros of mankind!!!Amazing ..so few know about this hero...
Excellent!
Jenner and Small pox another hero.
Shalom
mitzvah golem Heroes leave a place of personal safety to help others, often at their own risk. He qualifies.
Even today, the same problem persists.
With respect to myopia, an absolute refusal to look at science, that shows that it is always preventable.
What he should have done was simply point out that when doctors washed their hands, death rates went down. When they didn't, death rates went up. never mind the reason, just action and effect. But I suppose doctors don't think in terms that simple.
quick question: are you working in a technical field? (Usually such an approach is found in that field... => this helps, let's do it that way, we can find out why it helps when we have time to do so...)
@@nirfz Actually, I'm retired. But when I worked, I always seemed to have more work to do than time to do it. The solution was to find the shortest route to the finish, never mind the details. I'm a simple man, I like simple solutions.
That was exactly what he did. He showed other "doctors" stats of clear plummet in death ratio when his team washed their hands.
They just refused to ackownledge it, because back then. doctors were pure, clean, and "not part of the dirty poor commonfolk". This was the problem.
@@ShadowViewsOnly Didn't he also explain why they needed to wash their hands? Perhaps he gave them too much information. Just show the numbers and let them figure it out.
Lovely hand-tied Bow tie here
Merci, Monsiougner le Historienne.
Almost flawless.
"Von " meaning "of" in German sounds "fon" and not von. The latter would look like "won".
Merci, mon pleasier.
Thank You!
Everyone needs to wash their hands
*here
Every one needs to wash THEIR hands ... can't anyone spell anymore ?
Ellesmere888 fixed It I think
cole edwin Especially those who have blood on their hands like Lady Macbeth.
THG: "Seems like common sense today". Over 150 years later and we still have medical professionals on TV telling us to wash our hands.
Yeah, but today we don't have to tell medical professionals that.
The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered I’m sure in 100 years they will be saying the same thing about things we’re doing now 😇
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Although there was a case a few years ago on the US west coast with a surgeon who refused to wash his hands even when chastised by his nurses, with the result that several patients died of infection or transmitted disease. It was big news at the time and resulted in a large lawsuit against the hospital for failing to remove the doctor after ignoring staff reports of his malpractice.
Wasn’t there a point where the catholic church was telling the masses not to bathe because dirt and grime was a gift from god?
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel
Actually, we STILL have to get EVEN medical professionals to practice what they preach:
freakonomics.com/2012/01/24/how-to-get-doctors-to-wash-their-hands-visual-edition/
Dear Mr History Guy! My personal knowledge of this came from grandmother, she was a midwife here in Sweden. My grandmother was born in 1888 and was when she took her exam the youngest midwife in Sweden. She taught me how to was my hands including leaving the bar of soap in the running water. In these days of washing hands, my thoughts go every time to my beloved grandmother. Yes, she told the story that you today have on your RUclips channel.
He came very close to germ theory - he didn't manage to realise that it was particles alone not necesarily from cadavers...
Semmelweis is the and is considered the father of hospital hygiene and disease control
Yuri Viera Who was the mother?
Arrogance and purposeful obtuseness are dangerous as hell.
Please do an episode on Dr. Paul Ehrlich. He is another long forgotten figure in medical research who developed the first effective treatment for syphilis. Thanks to the Nazis his name and work were largely erased from German history because he was Jewish, despite his winning the 1908 Noble Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Edward G. Robinson portrayed him in the 1940 movie "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet".
Love this! I work in medecine and am fighting against a SemmelWeis Reflex by my peers and leaders. Thank you for your carefully studied and wonderfully worded presentation.
Another excellent video to ease the isolation. Thank you Mr. History Guy.
As a new devotee, I must admit I haven’t viewed all quite yet! However, I’m VERY curious as to why your tie is tied that way?! Have you done a piece on the history of ties and why yours is tied in such a manner? Thank you!.... Haha 😆 Never mind, just saw pic w/ his tie tied that way! Got it!
Check out the fun reference to the good doctor by Brad Pitt's character in the movie "Twelve Monkeys."
m.ruclips.net/video/eb46yXP211w/видео.html
My class in zoology in community college was the hardest course I took there, the professor was great but demanding [I actually had to read the textbook and study] and he showed us some video about this, a fascinating story, I couldn't believe he faced so much opposition from other so called medical professionals but unfortunately that's what seems to happen when someone dares to go against the grain, god forbid those arrogant jerks have to admit they were ignorant and making a mistake, no we must continue and let patients die
Worldwide, sepsis is the cause of death in about 1400 people each day.
Many of these people develop sepsis from infections acquired as patients while in a hospital.
Infections acquired in the hospital are called nosocomial infections.
They are the most common complications of hospitalized patients, with 5-10% of patients in acute care hospitals acquiring at least one infection. Nosocomial infections occur in 2 million patients per year in the United States, causing 90 000 deaths and resulting in $4.5-5.7 billion in additional patient care costs.
Semmelweis had a bowl of his antiseptic placed in the maternity ward for the trainees to use.
All the students that examined the women on on side of the ward, washed their hands.
Not all the students examining the other side did.
The results were a striking demonstration of what hand washing could achieve.
Jeez! The price we pay for progress!
Eastern Europe is cool I wish I knew more history about it. Lots on WW2 and WW1 and of course US history and some on western Europe. I should add I'm an American for you reading this so we don't get much other then like old world history and mostly US history in school.
Back in the early '90's I saw an excellent play about Semmelweis in Stamford, CT. Tragic and heroic.
scientist were too often celebrities who would not have their fame, their salary, and their position on the pedestal in peril