IGNAZ SEMMELWEIS

March 16, 2020

Ignaz Semmelweis is regarded as the first doctor to recommend ‘wash your hands’ by scrubbing hands with soap and water as one of the most effective methods to stop the spread of several illnesses including COVID-19.

About:

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818 – 1865) was a Hungarian physician and scientist, now known as an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures.
Described as the "saviour of mothers", Semmelweis discovered that the incidence of puerperal fever (also known as "childbed fever") could be drastically cut by the use of hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics.
Semmelweis proposed the practice of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847.
He published a book of his findings in Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever.
Semmelweis's practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory.

Source : Indian Express