Semmelweis: the Hungarian pioneer of hand-sanitization

The 19th-century doctor Ignác Semmelweis was the Hungarian pioneer of hand-sanitization. His ideas were to revolutionise medicine, not just in Hungary but around the world.

who was semmelweis?

How many of us, while methodically washing our hands during the Covid-19 pandemic, spared a thought for Ignác Semmelweis? Semmelweis (1818–65) is not widely known around the world but he is a familiar name in Hungary. Budapest’s medical university is named after him and he has gone down in history as the ‘saviour of mothers’ because his pioneering methods–he was the Hungarian pioneer of hand-sanitization–saved many women and infants from death by puerperal fever. Semmelweis’ theories were revolutionary for his time. And his insistence on the importance of disinfection to halt the spread of contagion came once again under the spotlight in 2020.

what was his great idea?

Semmelweis was ahead of the curve in his grasp of the importance of hygiene. His pioneering insistence on hand-sanitization began as a hunch. But his theory was borne out by significant decreases in the rate of mortality on obstetric wards under his supervision. Despite this, the established medical community rejected his idea because they were offended by the suggestion that a patient’s death could be imputed to the medical staff’s personal grooming. What made things more difficult for Semmelweis was the fact that he was a practitioner, not a scientist. He could only explain his theory as a hunch that seemed to work but he had detected nothing through a microscope that could furnish scientific explanation and proof. He never gained the reputation he deserved during his lifetime.

what happened to semmelweis when his theory was rejected?

The refusal of the medical establishment to accept the great Hungarian’s pioneering demands for hand-sanitization caused Semmelweis to suffer a mental and emotional breakdown. He began lashing out in print at the ignorance and obstinacy of the medical fraternity. In the end he was transferred to an asylum in Vienna, a move supported by his wife, who was no longer able to cope with his tantrums. He died very shortly after his admission, perhaps as a result of ill-treatment.

what is semmelweis’s legacy today?

Semmelweis’s former home in Budapest is now a museum of the history of medicine (described in full in Blue Guide Budapest). And his theory, of course, is fully recognised today. Everyone accepts him as the pioneer of hand-sanitization. And everyone accepts its vital importance. Dr Semmelweis, a play by Stephen Brown with Mark Rylance, enjoyed a successful run in the UK in 2022 and 2023. Semmelweis gives his name to the phenomenon known as the Semmelweis reflex, the human tendency to reject or ridicule new ideas if they fly in the face of accepted convention.