The answer to this question is not as simple as it seems. Handwashing has at least two histories: one related to religious and cultural traditions that date back to ancient times, and the other with the scientific realization of the importance of hygiene for health, which occurred only in the 19th century.

Ancient Traditions: Rituals of Purity

The earliest evidence of handwashing is not related to medicine, but to religious rituals. In the cultures of Ancient Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt, ritual washing was an important part of daily life. For example, recipes for soap were found on clay tablets in Mesopotamia, and an ancient Egyptian papyrus (circa 1500 BC) describes compositions for purification.

In the ancient world, especially in Ancient Rome, hygiene was at a high level. Wealthy Romans washed their hands before meals, while slaves poured water on them from jugs. Aromatic vinegar was often added to the water for disinfection. However, this was more of a norm for the wealthy classes than a widespread practice.

Medieval Times: A Step Back and Traditions

In medieval Europe, public baths existed, but handwashing before meals was often a collective procedure. In wealthy households, guests were served water for washing hands in one basin, which was not changed between guests, which was more of a formality than real purification.

In Russia and the Slavic lands, the tradition of washing hands before meals was established culturally. There were even special basins for washing hands, which hung almost in every home, and people bathed much more often than in Europe, as noted by foreign travelers.

The Scientific Revolution: Semmelweis and the Discovery

A key moment in the history of handwashing came in 1847. Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis, working in a Vienna hospital, discovered that the mortality rate from \"childbed fever\" in the department where doctors worked was significantly higher than in the department where midwives worked.

He linked this to the fact that doctors often came to the maternity ward after autopsies without washing their hands. Semmelweis proposed treating hands with a lime chlorination solution, and the mortality rate in his department fell by 90% in one year.

Unfortunately, the medical community of that time did not accept Semmelweis's discovery because the theory of microorganisms was not yet known. The idea that diseases are caused by microorganisms was later proven by Louis Pasteur, and the practical benefits of handwashing for surgery were persuasively demonstrated by English surgeon Joseph Lister in the 1860s.

The 20th Century: Hygiene Becomes the Norm

Handwashing gained widespread popularity in the 20th century. In the Soviet Union, hygiene was elevated to a cult — children were taught to wash their hands before meals and after using the toilet, and corresponding posters hung in canteens. In other countries, hygienic norms also gradually became widespread.

Conclusion

Thus, people have been washing their hands before meals since ancient times, but for them it was more of a ritual or an expression of personal neatness. As a scientifically grounded medical practice preventing the spread of infections, handwashing began to be applied only in the mid-19th century, thanks to the discovery of Ignaz Semmelweis. Handwashing before meals became an obligatory habit for most people only in the 20th century.

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