Medicine is seen as an authority and a sacred entity today, but like any institution, it has a dark and somber past. The story of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis is a prime example of when medicine got it terribly wrong, and the poor judgment of doctors cost the lives of many women. In 19th-century Vienna, the young physician was shunned by his peers for advocating a practice that, at the time, was considered scandalous: hand washing.
the full story
In the heart of 19th-century Vienna, a young physician made a simple yet groundbreaking discovery that would forever change the course of medicine, save the lives of countless women, and ruin his own.
dr. ignaz semmelweis
Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was born, in Hungary, in 1818. He grew up in a modest family but displayed an early aptitude for academics. After school, he pursued a medical education.
Semmelweis’ observation
The young doctor began his career working in the maternity clinic at Vienna General Hospital. This is when he noticed a distressing pattern: women who gave birth in the clinic, where doctors were in charge, had an extremely high mortality rate—due to childbed fever. New mothers in the wards managed by midwives were just fine.
This puzzled Semmelweis, who was deeply worried about the women and their babies. And so he became determined to uncover the root cause of the tragedy. Scientific study and meticulous research eventually led him to a groundbreaking discovery.
the discovery
He noted that some doctors transitioned directly from performing autopsies to delivering babies and hypothesized that they were transmitting dangerous pathogens that infected the new mothers.
To address this issue, Semmelweis introduced a simple yet revolutionary medical practice: handwashing with a chlorine solution before doctors attended to women in labor. This single measure led to a significant reduction in maternal mortality rates in the physician-attended clinic.
triumph turns to tragedy
Despite these impressive results, Semmelweis faced resistance from most of his colleagues—they simply didn’t want to wash their hands. The medical establishment of his time was skeptical of his ideas, as the germ theory of disease was not yet widely accepted. The rejection and the tragedy that unfolded right in front of his eyes took a toll on Semmelweis’s mental health—he started to experience depression and anxiety.
In 1865, at the age of 47, he was committed to a psychiatric institution in Vienna. He died there just two weeks later, reportedly due to a severe infection, but most likely because he was badly beaten by the guards—though this was never proven.
lasting impact
Semmelweis’s story highlights the challenges faced by pioneers in medicine. His work would eventually become standard practice in healthcare, saving countless lives, but the tragic circumstances of his life and death underscore the difficulties faced by those who challenge established beliefs.
MAx planck’s quote
“Science advances one funeral at a time,” the German physicist Max Planck said. Or more precisely: “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”
what do you think?
What do you think about Semmelweis’s story and its broader implications for innovation in science and medicine? And do we, as Planck said, really only advance one generation at a time? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Sources
- Ignaz Semmelweis – Wikipedia.org
- Germ theory of disease – Wikipeida.org
- Pittet, D., & Allegranzi, B. (2018). Preventing sepsis in healthcare – 200 years after the birth of Ignaz Semmelweis.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin, 23(18), 18-00222.
Dig deeper!
- Watch the movie about Semmelweis
- Follow Vinay Prasad to learn about the flaws of medical practises today
- Read about Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his development of the germ theory of disease.
Classroom activity
In this activity students will learn about how medical and scientific advances work, and how beliefs and tradition sometimes get in the way of progress.
- Ask students if they think doctors always get it right.
- Ask them if they can give examples in history, or even today, where doctors got it horribly wrong – compared to what they know.
- Show them Sprout’s Video on Dark Medicine: The Somber History of Hand Washing
- Ask them what they think Semmelweis could have done to change the minds of his peers at the time.
- Ask students if they think there are practices today that are being shunned in a similar way to hand washing.
- If not, what changed?
Collaborators
- Script: Ludovico Saint Amour di Chanaz and Jonas Koblin
- Artist: Pascal Gaggelli
- Voice: Matt Abbott
- Coloring: Nalin
- Editing: Peera Lertsukittipongsa
- Production: Selina Bador
- Sound Design: Miguel Ojeda
