The Dark Side of Science [The Sad Story of Dr Semmelweis]

Discover how Dr. Semmelweis's hand washing method transformed medicine and saved countless live in this 3:51 minute video lesson
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.

Check out Sprouts Channels in other languages:

LIKE us on facebook 👍:

FOLLOW us on instagram 📸:

DOWNLOAD video without ads and background music 🤫:

SIGN UP to our mailing list and never miss a new video from us 🔔:

SOURCES and teaching resources 🎓:

VISIT our website 🌐:

CONTRIBUTE by upvoting your favorite topic or suggesting new ones 🔊:

JOIN us on discord 🤖:

THANKS to our patrons

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

SOUNDTRACKS
Nice Toys - Studio Le Bus
Solitary Soul - Immersive Music

- All our sources
- Ideas for a classroom project on the topics
- The full script, core graphics and additional resources
- The video without background music (good for divergent minds)

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:15 Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis
00:29 Semmelweis’ observation
01:19 The discovery
01:38 Triumph turns to tragedy
02:25 Lasting impact
02:45 Max Planck’s quote
03:06 What do you think?
03:29 Ending
03:44 Patrons credits

#sproutsschools #history #medicaleducation #semmelweis

[herticate]

Poor guy, every one should know his story. Truly a kind person with divine empathy. May he rest in peace.

[g.k.]

I feel so bad for him… like he just genuinely wanted to help/save infants and mothers but in the end he died suffering…. Everyone think of him as a crazy “hand washing maniac man”…. He didn’t deserved that

[AKrn]

It's not that they didn't want to wash their hands, it was because it implied they had been the cause of all those deaths and they didn't want to admit that.

[evgeniya_elle]

I live in Hungary, and Semmelweis is not forgotten here! A medical university is named after him.

[MisfitsFosterAcademy]

Humanity, the biggest obstacle to the advancement of humanity.

[MARStheFORSAKEN]

Just another example of how dangerous it is to follow the tribe and NOT the truth.

[gaborbakos]

It was an egoic issue for Austrian doctors to accept from a Hungarian doctor in Vienna that he claimed the 'decomposing material' (at that time they did not yet know these were bacteria) was transmitted through his medical colleagues and he prescribed chlorinated handwashing for his colleagues.
The medical university in Budapest bears his name: Semmelweis University

[jkrofling]

It's been said that you can always tell who the pioneers were, by the arrows in their backs.

[kylecartman]

It's true that world-changing discoveries face opposition from the establishment. Unfortunately, this encourages people to hold all sorts of nonsense, and to face criticism and opposition as if it were the case of a revealed truth that will be widely accepted in some future (but that future doesn't exist).

[thebombu]

A very sad story and a very good one to share.

[justanamerican]

The medical field has not changed much in the last 160 years. Still resisting change.

[blueberrymcphuckerson]

Former ICU Murse here. Remember this man and others when someone tells you to blindly "Trust the Experts". The history of medicine is filled with revolutionary crazy geniuses that stood in the way of the prevailing experts' thought and they suffered for it.

Semmelweis argubly got it the worst. Some argue him being beaten to death by the orderalies in the asylum was set up to happen. The reason being because at the time it was fashion among doctors to be dirty af and have dirty af workplaces: it "demonstrated experience" (especially having an apron with decades of biohazard filth). Also, commercial handsoap and lotion was readily available so soap was pretty mildly caustic. Having a dude yell at you 100s of times a day to stay clean in between medical endeavors and chemically burning the shit out of your hands would infuriate anybody. It wouldn't be until 1889 with Dr. Halstad that the idea of gloves would be used.

FFS, the Medicine Field is what popularized the concept "Second Opinion". Always do a little bit of your own personal research; especially if you're in the hospital - you're part of your own healthcare team.

[yourfavoriteclient]

I knew of the doctor's magnificent contribution to this field of medicine; I did not know of his tragic end. Thank you for sharing.

[cryptidsprinkles]

I’m glad this story is being told. The problem is the lessons seemingly gleaned from Semmelweis’s life, are actively being lost.

The current state of public health, public health policy, protocols, and attitudes about hygiene, sanitation and PPE (e.g. respirators) is dire and deteriorating both in medicine and the general public.

And the issue of institutionalization and ostracism for those who support the above or are concerned about disease control, community care, community responsibility, protection and standard of care and safety in medical and community settings is happening today.

[greatyng]

Reminds of Alfred Wegener. He was the first to propose the continental drift theory. His peers ridiculed him, and it wasn't until long after he died that the theory was accepted.

[isalmankhan]

What a sad story, he was a huge asset but was misunderstood & rejected by the cult we still face today in this modern time🤔
Thanks for sharing, keep up the Great work👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[jwsja]

I remember reading about this man. Thank God for him.

[Ladylove]

Bless his heart for loving his fellow mankind 😢😢😢❤❤❤❤

[blackhagalaz]

When I worked in a Museum for medical history and did regular guided tours I talked about Semmelweis a lot, when adressing the history of reproductive health for women. Birth and womens health was in the hands of midwifes for centuries, and then in the 18- 19th century the male-dominated medical faculties decided to make it a "proper" medical field without much considering the experience that the women had who actually carried out this profession for years. This lead to great mistreatment and experimentation, especially on poor women, who had nowhere to go but public Hospital for delivery, especially when they carried pregnancies out of wedlock. The mortality rate of women and children was horendous during the beginning of the institutionization of womens medicine. Of course this got better over time but we still have a long way to go regarding womens health concerns and Research.
Semmelweis Was a good doctor who took his Mission to Help his patients seriously. We can only hope for more physicians like him for the history to come

[UncommonEyes]

Have known of his story for a long time. He is my medical hero.❤ Have to wonder how many of us exist because medical personnel started washing their hands.