Semmelweiss discovered that washing his hands in a "chlorinated lime" solution (calcium hypochlorite, closely related to bleach) between examining his post-partum obstetrical patients drastically cut the "childbed fever" death rate. "Childbed fever" killed so many mothers in that day that women were afraid to have their babies in the hospital. "Childbed fever" was rare in home births, but common in hospitals.
For this, Semmelweiss was hounded, cursed, and ostracized. He ended up in an insane asylum, where he was beaten to death by a guard.
Because, as everyone knew, "childbed fever" was caused by bad air, or was simply a curse women had to live (or die) with. That was the "settled science" of Semmelweiss' day.
Sound familiar?
“At the time, few in the medical community took him seriously, disbelieving that these invisible so-called “germs” existed.”
And so it goes today...
...and the $15 Band-Aid :)
As soon as I read the title of the article/post, the first thing that popped into my head was Dr. Joseph Lister. His is a fascinating story.
Very interesting, thanks.
He was one of the first to use both antiseptics as well as anesthesia in his surgeries. Not so surprisingly, his patients found that his surgeries not only didn't hurt, but THEY SURVIVED! This helped lead to the popularity of the Mayo Clinic today.
An interesting display there was the microscope Dr. Mayo bought to aid in his analysis and record keeping. (Mayo keeps detailed patient records of outcomes, allowing doctors to look back at successful, as well as less successful procedures.) The microscope cost $600. Dr. Mayo mortgaged his house for ten years in order to be able to make the purchase.
But, I have it on good authority (Facebook) that germs and viruses were designed back in the Dark Ages specifically to target and kill of American Indians. Why else would such nasty things be invented way back then!
Sarc/off