World Hand Hygiene Day 2023 | Save yourself, save others: The power of hand hygiene

Covid-19 has, in the most threatening way, taught us to be conscientious about hand hygiene practices to prevent the transmission of infections and promote overall health and safety. Proper and regular hand hygiene is crucial to prevent the spread of infectious agents and microorganisms, particularly in healthcare settings. A simple visit to the hospital for a cold or fever can have you falling victim to a more serious disease if you don't wash your hands properly or follow hand hygiene protocols.

Once again, with Covid-19 still lurking in our midst, it is imperative to maintain antiseptic precautions. Nosocomial infections (infections acquired during the hospital visit that were absent before admission) can be prevented, with the help of adequate measures and social awareness. On World Hand Hygiene Day, we share with you the history and the importance of this day.

History of hand hygiene

In today's day and age, hand hygiene is common practice, but this wasn't the case in the nineteenth century. The history of hand hygiene, especially hand washing, lies just there. It is a tragic tale of an under-recognised obstetrician. During those days, Ignac Semmelweis, an obstetrician and a graduate of the Vienna Medical School, was trying to treat puerperal fever (also called childbed fever). It was a significant cause of maternal mortality and was said to be a consequence of miasma. Semmelweis performed autopsies on women who passed away even after his best efforts to save them. His keen perception of cadaveric findings brought him to the conclusion that, somehow, the hands of the physicians (soiled in some way or the other) were contributing to the rise in the tragic deaths of new mothers. He then instituted the practice of washing hands for the physicians before attending to the patients, resulting in a sharp decline in mortality rates. His work was not, however, accepted by fellow obstetricians and gynecologists, and they shunned his hand-wash practice. It was long after the lamentable loss of this "Saviour of Mothers" that antiseptic measures were introduced into healthcare.