Discovery of Antiseptics

Joseph Lister was born in Upton, Essex, in England in 1827. He was educated at the universities of London and Edinburgh. In 1856 he became a surgeon in the Edinburgh royal Infirmary [hospital]. In 1861 he was appointed surgeon of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary in a new surgeon unit designed to reduce gangrene and other infections. At the time, was very dangerous to go to hospitals for surgery. One famous doctor said that it was more dangerous to go to hospitals for surgery than to be a soldier in war. This was because many died from infection. Despite his efforts to keep surgical instruments and rooms clean, the mortality rate remained close to 50 present. In 1865 he came upon the germ theory of the French bacteriologist Louis Pasteur, whose experiments revealed that fermentation and putrefaction were caused by microorganisms brought in contact with organic material. Believing infection to be caused by airborne dust particles, Lister sprayed the air with carbolic acid, a strong disinfectant and a chemical that was then being used to treat foul-smelling sewers. He also told his surgeons to use it to wash their hands and equipment before surgery. Lister reduced surgical mortality to nearly 12 present by 1869. Lister wrote about his methods of using disinfectants in an important medical journal. Many people didn’t believe him. He had to spend many years talking to people and writing about his ideas. At last they agreed with him.

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