Lighthouse Medical Supplies, Ltd.

24/12/2025

Happy Holidays to All! This includes:
• Our customers - we love you, wish you all the best and will always be your dependable ally!
• Our employees - we love you, wish you all the best and will always be your platform for growth and advancement!
• Our manufacturing partners - we love you, wish you all the best and will always represent you to the highest standard!
• Our competitors - we will honor a temporary ceasefire 😉

16/12/2025

What was the first antibiotic ever? Penicillin, right?

Nope. The first antibiotic - an organic compound that was effective against an infectious microorganism but spared a host - was arsphenamine, also known as Salvarsan.

This antibiotic was created in 1907 in Dr. Paul Ehrlich's lab. It turned out that Salvarsan was very effective against syphilis, especially if it was caught early. Before Salvarsan, toxic and ineffective mercury-based treatments were syphilis treatment mainstays. Back then, syphilis was a widespread, severe medical problem.

Salvarsan did have side effects that were sometimes quite pronounced; it was also challenging to prepare and administer. However, it was better tolerated than mercury treatments and could actually cure early stages of syphilis rather than merely treat them. Not catching the illness was the best option; Salvarsan - second best.

Salvarsan's introduction spurred the creation of public health structures, specialist training, and formalized clinical trials for new drugs. Its development also paved the way for Alexander Fleming's work and the eventual discovery of penicillin, which truly conquered syphilis.

Dr. Paul Ehrlich did not stop with invention of Salvarsan. In 1909, he invented a method of staining blood cells in order to tell apart the different cell types. This type of staining is still in wide use today in hematology - or blood testing. If a nurse draws a blood tube with a purple top from your arm - that test was enabled by Dr. Ehrlich.

Additionally, Dr. Ehrlich made a decisive contribution to the development of an antiserum to fight diphtheria and conceived a method for standardising therapeutic serums.

In 1908, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Image and information credit: Wikipedia.

12/12/2025

🩸 Dr. Karl Landsteiner - The Man Who Stopped Medical Russian Roulette

Imagine living in a time when getting a blood transfusion was a lethal gamble. Before Karl Landsteiner, doctors thought all human blood was the same. If you were wounded, they might give you donor blood. Sometimes it worked miracles. Other times, the patient would suffer a horrible reaction and die. No one knew why.

In 1901, Landsteiner solved the deadly puzzle.

He discovered that our blood isn't uniform; it comes in distinct "types" - specifically A, B, and O. He realized that mixing incompatible types caused the blood to clump together, blocking vessels and killing the patient.

His discovery changed medicine instantly:

• Safe Transfusions: Doctors could finally match donors to patients, saving millions during WWI.
• Forensics: It helped solve crimes by typing blood at scenes.
• Paternity: It provided the first way to prove biological relationships.

He didn't stop there. Decades later, he helped discover the Rh factor (the positive/negative part of your blood type) and even identified the virus that causes Polio.

Because of Karl Landsteiner, a simple blood test now ensures that millions of surgeries happen safely every day. He is estimated to have saved over 1 billion lives - more than almost any other scientist in history.

Next time you see a blood drive, remember Dr. Karl Landsteiner!

Photo credits: Wikipedia, Shutterstock

12/12/2025

Our new FREE E-Book is out!

THE ISLAND-PROOF PRACTICE: The Essential Guide to Medical Procurement in Bermuda. Download it today!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15IAiJuBXON63LuRZNRYOx6YAB784I4sM/view?usp=share_link

08/12/2025

It's happened before. It's happening today. It will happen again.

So why do we keep falling for the siren song of "cheaper?" Maybe because we don't realize that a cheap initial price is just the first installment of a much greater TCO - Total Cost of Ownership.

So strongly do we feel about this situation at Lighthouse Medical, that I wrote a book about it. It's not a very long book, but it tells things as they are.

The book is FREE, and will be available for download soon.

06/12/2025

Good day Bermuda!

We are still looking for a dynamic individual to join our team. If you think you have what it takes, go ahead and apply!

https://www.lhmeds.com/jobs/business-development-representative-5

06/12/2025

Has everyone stopped replying to email and phone messages? Are people "ghosting" you? You are not alone. We experience this every day. How to deal with it? Read more at the link.

https://www.lhmeds.com/blog/our-blog-1/is-it-just-me-or-has-the-world-stopped-replying-31

05/12/2025

Have you heard of Dr. George Berci? He pioneered endoscopy and laparoscopic surgery. The minimally invasive procedures that he developed required far smaller incisions, dramatically reducing patients’ pain and recovery times.

Surgeon and pioneer of endoscopy. He was born in Szeged, Hungary, on March 14, 1921 and died in Thousand Oaks, CA, USA, on Aug 30, 2024 aged 103 years.

23/11/2025

Did you know? This blood pressure monitor can also check your EKG!

• Track Your Health Easily: Automatic Upper Arm. • Portable design and lightweight. • Monitoring Blood Pressure + ECG.

22/11/2025

If you are going to be on a team, be on the winning team! We have a business development position open; if you feel it is a match for your skills and attitude, go ahead and apply!

https://www.linkedin.com/hiring/jobs/4336612132

15/11/2025

5 hidden costs of medical equipment procurement in Bermuda:

https://www.lhmeds.com/blog/our-blog-1/the-5-hidden-costs-of-medical-equipment-procurement-in-bermuda-30

09/10/2025

What can Lighthouse Medical do for your dental practice? See for yourself! https://www.lhmeds.com/dental-practice-solutions