Handwashing isn't particularly novel or exciting; it's automatic for all of us, and chances are your child learned how to do it among the first things. However, due to its crucial role and emphasis in daily routines, we'd still like to summarize this topic and draw attention to some essential points.

Why is handwashing important? 

In the 1850s, when pathogens weren't yet understood, Semmelweis faced significant resistance from the medical community for his assertion that chlorinated handwashing of those in contact with patients could save lives. The unknown doctor fought an uphill battle against the esteemed physicians of his time, who refused to accept that they were causing their patients' deaths. Ironically, the first breakthrough came in the year of Semmelweis's death in 1865 when Louis Pasteur demonstrated the existence of microorganisms and began researching ways to prevent infections. The significance of disinfectant handwashing and its implementation, after 1877, was only gradually accepted by the medical community due in part to the persuasive work of English surgeon Joseph Lister. It would have been easier for Semmelweis and his colleagues if they had known the information later established in studies conducted at the University of Arizona over a hundred years later, showing that surfaces in public areas or streets hardly contain any pathogens, while hand samples primarily contain bacteria from our skin, intestinal bacteria, and yeast in magnitudes of 10 million.