HISTORY OF SURGICAL HAND WASH

For generations the hand wash with water and soap has been considered as part of the personal hygiene. One of the first ones in recognizing the value of the hand wash to maintain a good health a Jewish doctor whose name was Musaiba Maimum was, better acquaintance as Maimonides.

In 1199, he gave this lesson: "Never forget to wash their hands after playing a sick person". The concept of hygiene of the hands arises in the XIX century; when in 1822 a French pharmacist demonstrated that the solutions with chlorine eradicated the entirety of the scents associated with the bodies.

Ignaz PhilIip Semmelweis, was the first one in proving the importance of the hand wash scientifically with antiseptic. It published the results of the studies in 1861, 662 years after the writings of Maimonides.

In 1878, Luis Pasteur presents its report “Theory of the germs and its application in the medicine and the surgery”; during the following years the scientists continued identifying bactteries and its relationship later with the illness.

In 1961 the service for the health it publishes of the United States, it produces a movie with the recommendations and techniques for the hand wash recommended for the workers of health.