02/05/2020
The Father of Hand washing = Dr. Ignaz Semmelwesis was the father of Hand Washing, born in Hungary in the year 1818.Started work at Vienna General Hospital and Maternity Clinic in 1846. While working at Vienna general hospital, Hungarian doctor was at the forefront of a more scientific approach to medicine, faced with significantly higher rate of maternal death from the dreaded "CHILDBED FEVER " in the doctors led maternity ward than in midwife run clinic, Dr. Semmelwesis racked his brain for clues as to why. Scientists had not yet discovered germs and doctors still believed in the1840s miasma bad smells in the air emanating from rotting co**se sewage of vegetation caused disease. Victorians kept their windows firmly shut against such malevolent forces, so it did not seem a problem that trainee doctors at Vienna general hospital would hangout in the morgue conducting autopsies and then pop up to the maternity ward to deliver a baby without washing their hands. One of the doctors got an accidental scalpel cut during an autopsy dissection and died, seemingly of the same "Childbedfever " ,the mothers had been getting semmelweis hypothesized that cadaverous particles from the morgue were to blame, and that some particles on the hands of doctors were making their way into the women's bodies during child birth. To test his theory, Dr.Semmelwis ordered doctors to wash their hands and instruments in a chlorine solution ,A substance he hoped would dispatch the dreadly smell of cadaverous particles. Before the experiment, the mortality rate for new mothers was as high as 18% three times the rate in midwives clinic. After Dr. Semmelwesis implemented Hand washing between the morgue and the delivery room,the rate of mortality for new mothers dropped to about 1%. Despite his success, Dr. Ignaz Semmelwesis idea faced great resistance, which led to tragic end. He lost his job and said to have had a breakdown. He died at the untimely age of 47years in a psychiatric institution, A very despondent person. Over the next 40yrs, an understanding of germs developed, and attitudes to hygiene gradually shifted. In 1857, Louis Pasteur of pasteurization fame raised awareness of pathogens and how to kill them by heat. And in 1876, the German Scientist, Robert Koch discovered the anthrax bacillius, kicking off the new research field of medical bacteriology. Subsequently, so many other bacterials/ micro organisms were identified by scientists. Surgeons started Hand washing in earnest, Medical hand washing became mandatory long after Hungarian Physician Ignaz Semmelwesis discovered it's effectiveness in preventing disease in hospital environment. So thanks to Dr. Ignaz Semmelwesis who proponded and demonstrated that appropriate hand washing by medical caregivers can drastically eradicate/ reduce contagious infections and germs. And today hand washing is globally being celebrated every 15th of October (GHD- Global hand washing Day ). An international hand washing promotion campaign to motivate and mobilize people around the world to know the importance of Hand washing and to improve on it. So on this note BEAM MEDICAL AND MATERNITY is saying " Wash,wash,wash and wash hands" "Our hands, our future " "Clean hands for all" "Clean hands save lives " " Safety is everyone's business, with our clean hands, we shall chase COVID-19 off our Country in Jesus Name Amen.
