Lister

• In 1865, Lister began his research of antiseptics following Germ Theory.
• He wondered if carbolic acid could kill the germs and prevent blood poisoning. Lister began washing his hands in it, spraying it into the air around the operating table and even soaking bandages with the acid.
• Death rates fell from 46% to 15%.
• He also found out that he could successfully treat compound fractures, when broken bones come through the skin, using carbolic acid. Previously, victims of compound fractures typically developed gangrene and died.
• Other surgeons criticised carbolic acid as it smelt bad and caused the skin on their hands to crack due to it drying out skin.
• Lister kept changing his methods through constant experimentation which made others suspicious of the reliability of Lister's methods.