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Right Words Wrong Time: The amazing discovery and tragic fate of Ignaz Semmelweis

Do you believe in heroes? Noble souls with big selfless goals, ready to fight and fight for their ambitions, right from pages of books. However, while in stories, heroes are always met with recognition and reward for their dedication, in real life the path to your huge goal can be as rocky as it is admirable. Today, Med-Bite Sized will be telling you the story of Ignaz Semmelweis.

Ignaz Semmelweis was born in 1818 in Hungary. Despite having 10 children to feed, his family was wealthy enough for young Ignaz to go to university - not something every 1800s man could afford! Arriving at University of Vienna, Semmelweis first went to study Law - but something didn’t feel right, so he switched to medicine. Semmelweis studied it for seven years, finally obtaining a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1844.

It was now time to pick his medical specialty. First, Semmelweis went for internal medicine - treating long-term, severe illness - but failed to get a placement there. By fate or luck, his second choice was obstetrics - everything to do with childbirth. In 1846, he snatched a place as an assistant at the obstetrics clinic at Vienna General hospital - and this is where our story begins.

As an assistant, Semmelweis noticed a sad trend - many mothers giving birth at the Hospital died shortly after delivering their baby to something known as “puerperal fever”. Puerperal fever had the mothers experiencing severe fever, chills and stomach pain. As many as 1 in 4 women who developed those symptoms died very quickly. All the doctors at the clinic ignored the deaths as simply a fact of life - but Semmelweis resolved to do something about it.

His method of choice for stopping the horrible deaths was: research! The obstetrics clinic has two maternity wards - places where women gave birth. The 1st ward had a reputation of being much more deadly than the 2nd ward. Semmelweiss saw women on their knees begging to not go to the first ward, some even running away from the hospital only to avoid the 1st ward. As any researcher, Semmelweis rushed to get some evidence to prove the difference between the wards, hoping it would lead him to the cause of the deadly fever. Browsing through some hospital records gave Semmelweis what he was looking for. At ward 1, 10 in 100 mothers on average lost their lives to puerperal fever, while at ward 2, it was 3 in 100. Go make your own conclusion.

What could possibly cause the morbid phenomenon? Not differences in climate - the two wards were close. Not the pose in which women delivered either, as that had nothing to do with the two wards. One of Semmelweis’ theories was that priests coming to the deceased in the ward frightened the women so much they developed the fever! No, no and no. The true breakthrough happened with a tragedy - Semmelweis’ good friend died after getting an infection from a cut with a scalpel used to cut open a corpse. Grieving, Semmelweis noticed that the traits his friend’s infection showed was very similar to puerperal fever.

There was a big difference between the two wards Semmelweis first overlooked. At the deadly ward 1, births were assisted by students of medicine, Many of those would come in straight from autopsies - dissections of corpses. No one wore gloves in 1844 or washed hands, as Vienna has not yet accepted the idea that disease is caused by bacteria. Meanwhile, at ward 2, births were assisted by nursing students, who never touched corpses.

Semmelweis completed his hypothesis: something he called “cadaverous material" - corpse material - is the cause of puerperal fever, and it is carried on hand of anyone who touched a corpse. To the clinic, he proposed handwashing with calcium hypochlorite after autopsies to remove all of the “cadaverous material”.

Handwashing became mandatory at the obstetrics clinic, and what do you expect? Death rates rapidly dropped all the way to 1 in 100 women at the two wards. Two months after the discovery, the death rate was 0 in 100 for the very first time.

So, did the rest of the medical community immediately accept Semmelweis' idea? Well…

To understand what happened next, we need to understand some History. The 1800s was a time of great change for medicine. People were shifting from old ideas about disease - “it’s a punishment from God” “It’s caused by miasma (bad air)”, “It’s curses from evil spirits” - to ideas that are more modern. Research was encouraged instead of discouraged like it was for hundreds of years before. We can see this in young Semmelweis’ actions, as upon noticing a horrible illness immediately he decided to investigate.

However, the change was very very recent. Semelweis’ elders, the majority of doctors at Vienna grew up with the old medical ideas in mind - that new research is useless and only old and trusted methods work. They have convinced themselves that puerperal fever is inevitable and making it go away is impossible.

Semmelweiss’ idea was taken as an attack - “what do you mean it’s our hands causing the disease?”. Vienna turned hostile to the Semmelweis because of his idea and his involvement with a revolution, so he went back Hungary. There, Semmelweis had success - his idea was accepted and he was appointed to a high position at a university; Semmelweiss married, had kids. Perhaps, his success in his home country gave him the conviction to try reaching the elder doctors again.

In 1861, Semmelweis submitted his works to all the prominent obstetrician and medical societies around the world, hoping that by then the medical world. Every single one responded with rejection and ridicule. After that, fueled by years of controversy and backlash, Semmelweiss’ mental health began to get worse. In 1861 he grew severely depressed, by 1865 became erratic. Ignaz Semmelweis, a brilliant mind ahead of his time, died at age 47 in a mental hospital.

Today, in 2025, even little children know that you have to wash your hands to not get sick. Semmelweis’ ideas became more than accepted - they became common sense. His story is one of misery and bad luck, yes - however, it is also one of resilience, dedication to help others, and, many many years later, victory. Ignaz Semmelweis might have gone unrecognized in his lifetime - but after his death, his hard work is certainly not forgotten.

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What did today’s “bite” make you think? For your valuable input, we invite you to our Q&A page - there for you to suggest us new topics, ask us to elaborate on old topics, or to ask us anything! More details are behind the link. It’s all 100 percent anonymous - no need to be shy!

Written by Med Bite-Sized for your horror, education, and entertainment. Support us with a like and subscribe if you enjoyed! Be yourself, and see you next week!

For those in the UK struggling with mental or physical health conecrns:

NHS phone number - 111 - to help with any conecrn

Childline (for under 19-year-olds struggling with mental health) - 0800 1111

Sources used:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3807776/#:~:text=From%201840%20through%201846%2C%20the,were%20due%20to%20puerperal%20fever.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_infections

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ignaz-Semmelweis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis

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The Four Pillars of Medical Ethics

Today, Med-Bite Sized celebrates our first article on a topic suggested by a reader through the Q&A page! "Would love to hear about ethics in medicine, mainly the four pillars" Thank you very much for the suggestion! We hope we delivered what you were asking for❤️ /// NHS says: “Patients come first in everything we do”. A slogan that rings very true - of course there should be nothing more important to a doctor than to help the ones who they cure and care for. However, it can often not be that easy to figure out what’s right or wrong to do; which decisions will be better or worse for your patient’s wellbeing. Patients will not always be perfectly agreeable or easy cases, and the priority is not crystal-clear for every situation. So, to give doctors guidance on how to approach all those complex questions, Tom Beauchamp and James Childress have put together “Principles of Biomedical Ethics” in 1979. The gist of this book were four principles that, the two philosophers believed, doctors should follow to make sure their practice is moral (able to do good and not do bad) to us. To this day, those principles - The Four Pillars Of Medical ethics - are used by the NHS and its doctors. Those four are very important to understand for any aspiring medic, as they play a big role in a doctor’s work attitude, allowing us to peek into the mindset of a medical professional. Today, Med Bite-Sized brings you: The Four Pillars of Medical Ethics! Justice The first pillar we will talk about is Justice - being fair. As a doctor, you should never discriminate against anyone’s race, orientation, identity, any trait. For instance: If you’re a dermatologist, you must know treatments for all skin colours. You must also respect the law - this goes without saying. Justice also deals with issues that are more finicky than that, though. For example, distributive justice - fairly distributing the limited medical resources among all the people who need them. This raises questions like “what to do when we don’t have enough of something for everyone who needs it” and “who deserves the treatment more?”. Justice is very important to make sure doctors are fair - yet it can also become very complicated very easily. Autonomy Our next Pillar is Autonomy. Autonomy is exactly what it sounds like - respecting your patient’s right to make decisions for themselves. Several things are protected by Autonomy - for example, privacy. Privacy means making sure all personal details of the patients, like their history of illnesses, are not told to anyone without the patient’s agreement.  Autonomy also protects access - the patient must be given all the information about their wellbeing, including their health and their treatment; even if the doctor thinks that that information will upset them. Often, being a doctor can get emotionally tough. Autonomy also protects consent - the idea that anything that is happening to a patient - treatment, sharing of their information, etc. - the patient should always agree to. And the agreement can’t be just any agreement - the patient shouldn’t be pressured and should know clearly what exactly they are consenting to; the thing they are consenting to should be specific, and the patient should always be able to take the consent back! 

Even with all the rules on top of more rules, consent is not that easy, though. For example, if someone is very, very young, they may not fully understand what they’re being asked to agree to. For this, the NHS uses something called the Gillick Test. Any patient under 16 is required to take this test before making a serious medical decision. The idea is that the test measures whether they have enough understanding to make the decision - if they don’t, the decision is made by their parent or carer. A similar question - “can they consent under all of the rules of proper consent?” - is often asked about adults with learning disabilities. To resolve this, there is a law in the UK stating that we approach every adult thinking they can consent, and we only think they can’t if it’s proven by law. If the law decides the patient can’t make the decision, it is carefully considered who will make it in a way that is the best for the patient - usually someone close to them, or a special advocate. Autonomy works hard to make sure medical practice does help, not hurt, and every patient is treated like an individual. Beneficence Our third Pillar is Beneficence. What it means is essentially ‘doing good’. Beneficence puts the well-being of your patient as your number-one, main priority as a doctor, and tells you to always do good and your best for your patient. If your shift at the hospital has ended, but the only person who can replace you is late, Benefience says you should stay overtime until they arrive. A doctor’s job involves people’s health and lives, after all. Non-Maleficence And finally, Non-Maleficence - the last Pillar we are talking about today. Non-Maleficence is Beneficence’s twin sister - it again tells you that the patient always goes first. However, while Beneficence tells you to always do good, Non-Maleficence tells you to never do bad. 

This is not just about doctors intentionally hurting patients. This is also about negligence - meaning not doing your job properly, which results in harm being done. Negligence is punished by law - for example, a practice was sued £200,000.00 after overlooking signs of cancer in a woman. The money, of course, did not reverse the damage the cancer caused the woman; it’s very important for a doctor to always be Non-Maleficent if they don’t want terrible harm like this done. Are The Pillars Perfect? The purpose behind the pillars is to ensure that medical practice is moral. Often they succeed, making sure everyone is treated equally and not forced into anything. However, the Pillars are not perfect. One problem that you might have already thought of is the pillars conflicting with one another. For example: what to do when a patient decides to reject life-saving treatment, choosing to die? Autonomy tells you to respect this decision, but this contradicts Beneficence, which says to always prioritise a patient’s health and wellbeing above anything. Which is more important? On one hand, Beneficence is more important as it has been the core principle of medicine for thousands of years. On the other hand, isn’t making the patient’s decisions for them giving the doctor too much power over the life of a person? On this specific issue, the UK law allows patients to reject life-saving treatment, but this debate has been going on for years. There are a lot of contradictions like this and they can get very complicated, getting in the way of good medical practice. Furthermore, even if the Pillars were perfect, doctors are not. Even with Non-Maleficence in place - an expectation not to harm, there will still be careless doctors who will just not care enough to actually follow this Pillar. This shows that the Pillars are only effective when they are combined with high-quality training on how to be professional, and high levels of discipline and commitment from doctors. The Pillars should not only be put in place - they should also be followed. In conclusion, The Four Pillars of Medical Ethics help guide doctors in treating patients fairly, respecting their choices, and providing care that helps without causing harm. While they shape good medical practice, challenges like ethical conflicts and human mistakes can still happen. Their success depends on proper training and dedication, ensuring patients always come first in healthcare. /// What did today’s “bite” make you think? For your valuable input, we invite you to our Q&A page - there for you to suggest us new topics, ask us to elaborate on old topics, or to ask us anything! More details are behind the link. It’s all 100 percent anonymous - no need to be shy!

Written by  Med Bite-Sized for your horror, education, and entertainment. Support us with a like and subscribe if you enjoyed! Be yourself, and see you next week! For those in the UK struggling with mental or physical health conecrns:

NHS phone number - 111 - to help with any conecrn Childline (for under 19-year-olds struggling with mental health) - 0800 1111

Sources used: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/working-health/working-nhs/nhs-constitution#:~:text=There%20are%20six%20values%20that,respect%20and%20dignity. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/consent-to-treatment/children/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-data-opt-out/understanding-the-national-data-opt-out/protecting-patient-data#top https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principlism#:~:text=The%20approach%20was%20introduced%20for,%2C%20non%2Dmaleficence%2C%20and%20justicehttps://www.cwj.co.uk/site/individualservices/medical_negligence/medical-negligence-case-studies/#:~:text=Woman%20dies%20after%20bowel%20negligently%20perforated%20during%20surgery&text=He%20did%20not%20attend%20but,Claimant%20became%20tachycardic%20and%20pyrexial. https://www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/medical-school-interview/medical-ethics/ https://www.medicalprotection.org/uk/articles/essential-learning-law-and-ethics https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/end-of-life-care/planning-ahead/advance-decision-to-refuse-treatment/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7923912/

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Career pathways: UK healthcare edition!

If you’re someone just taking your first steps into the world of healthcare, the idea of having some form of healthcare professional as your full-time job might seem incredibly vague. How does one go from a senior school student or graduate to operating on hearts, looking through microscopes, and listening to your inhales through the strange metallic stethoscope? Today, Med Bite-Sized brings you: several common pathways into healthcare that tens of thousands of people in the UK take every year! The medical school pathway For many of the UK medics, their pathway starts with hopping from sixth form (or something similar to sixth form for International students to medical school - the 5-6 year long course that is both incredibly hard and extremely rewarding to get into. The hardness comes from how competitive “getting in” is. In many schools, more than ten students will be competing for one place! As a typical student, you will want great results from your school exams, a great result for the UCAT exam you will sit in the summer before your application, and work experience somewhere medicine-y put nicely into a personal statement explaining all about how great you are. For International applicants, the competition is even more severe! Don’t worry, though, if certain personal circumstances got in the way of you achieving the high results - most schools tend to give out contextual offers with lower requirements in those cases. The good news are that different schools regard all those factors as - all important, of course, but important at different levels - so, if you work hard and apply to the correct schools, you have your rightful place as a student in your pocket! That means you get to study the subject interesting to you, at a prestigious place, and with like-minded people - that’s the reward! Foundation training Now, imagine yourself having completed the medical school course - congratulations! Where to now? Well, to the 2-year-long Foundation training organised by the NHS that all medical school graduates are expected to undertake - if they don’t, they are not allowed to work as a doctor anywhere else! The Foundation training involves training and work at actual hospitals - don’t worry about being at loss there, though, as you will have already carried out placements at hospitals in your medical school course. Unlike the school placements, though, you get paid for foundation training. At first the training is the same for all - but around one-third of the way into your second Foundation year, you will be able to pick out training that is more specific to what kind of doctor you want to be. Completing those two years makes you perfectly fit to, typically, start your specialty training!

Specialty training Specialty training is exactly what it sounds like - training specific to the exact job you want to do. The structure differs slightly depending on what exactly you want to be.  For example: future GPs, neurosurgeons, paediatricians,etc undergo several years of “run-through” training; future plastic surgeons, cardiologists, oncologists, etc. undergo something called “core training” instead. By the time you reach your third year, you will know your specialty in and out, allowing you to compete for a place in Higher Specialty training - getting a chance to hone your professionalism, independence, and competence to perfection - by that point, you will be what most would call a full-fledged doctor. Pathways after the end of specialty training are as diverse as they get. Some take up the highly respectable position as a Consultant at an NHS establishment, often dealing with cases that require the most skill. Some go off to work in private clinics, pursue research, or return to medical school - as professors now! The opportunities spread far! This pathway is long and not easy - but it also allows you to change people’s lives for the better like no other pathway can, and is a perfect challenge for those with quick, capable minds; not to mention how versatile the careers you can pursue are, from being a GP to being a psychiatrist! Non-degree pathways However, do not think graduating is the only way of pursuing a medical career! Far from it. 

An easy way to show this is a typical GP surgery. The “Dr.”s to whom you go to for specific, challenging appointments? Those are graduates, yes. But the Healthcare Assistants who take your blood to test that everything is right? The Nurses who vaccinate you against all kinds of viruses? The Paramedics who listen to your chest when you’re having an odd cough? All of those took non-university training to get the job. More specifically, a Healthcare Assistant, who you can think of as the first stepping stone into a GP practice, would have taken up training in their workplace. Then those Healthcare Assistants can undergo more training to become Nursing Associates - this training can shorten a degree apprenticeship you will normally take to become a Registered Nurse - no uni involved still. Or, you can take up a degree apprenticeship to become a Paramedic - who gets out of the surgery more than a nurse, to visit nursing homes, or even help out with emergencies! Not just GP surgeries have non-degree jobs. Think the Dental Technician who is always at the side of your Dentist, pharmacy staff skillfully managing your prescription, nursing home Carers. Non-degree pathways may offer jobs that some consider less “prestige” than degree pathways - yet they offer a more gentle way into healthcare (without the absurdly high entry requirements), show a clear career pathway, and are perfect if you prefer a job setting to a school one - although, many choose to start a non-degree pathway and then go into degree education, as training makes school easier! The possibilities are still incredibly wide.

To conclude, there are many ways to start a healthcare career in the UK, allowing your individual preferences and aspirations to shine through the challenging education and training. You can go through medical school, followed by foundation training and specialized education to become a family doctor, an ophthalmologist, a psychiatrist, or something entirely different; you can also take a non-degree path, training as an aspiring nurse, paramedic, carer, or another vital role. No matter which path to healthcare you choose, you will get the irreplaceable chance to change the lives of your patients for the better, while staying yourself -  and that is something to strive for, better than diplomas or salaries.

/// What did today's “bite” make you think? For your valuable input, we invite you to our Q&A page - there for you to suggest us new topics, ask us to elaborate on old topics, or to ask us anything! More details are behind the link. It's all 100 percent anonymous - no need to be shy!

Written by  Med Bite-Sized for your horror, education, and entertainment. Support us with a like and subscribe if you enjoyed! Be yourself, and see you next week! For those in the UK struggling with mental or physical health conecrns:

NHS phone number - 111 - to help with any conecrn

Childline (for under 19-year-olds struggling with mental health) - 0800 1111

Sources used: https://www.medschools.ac.uk/media/2596/post-graduate-foundation-training-and-beyond.pdf https://www.bdiresourcing.com/img-media-hub/blog/career-progression-and-grades-for-uk-doctors https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/training-doctor/medical-specialty-training https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/training-doctor/medical-specialty-training https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/doctors/training-doctor/medical-specialty-training https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/studying-medicine/becoming-a-doctor/medical-training-pathway#:~:text=for%20more%20information.-,The%20foundation%20programme%20%2D%20postgraduate%20medical%20training,foundation%20year%20two%20(FY2). https://blog.roadtouk.com/specialty-training/overview-of-speciality-training-in-the-uk/ https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/allied-health-professionals/roles-allied-health-professions/roles-allied-health-professions/paramedic https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/healthcare-support-worker/roles-healthcare-support-worker/healthcare-assistant https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/nursing/roles-nursing/nursing-associate https://www.healthehiring.co.uk/news/Blogs/exploring-healthcare-jobs-that-dont-require-a-degree-

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Spanish Flu: terrors and… secrets?

In the modern history of pandemics, the Spanish Flu pandemic does not need an introduction any more. The pandemic started in 1918, in the middle of raging World War 1. Because of that, many governments involved in the war were not telling their citizens about the sickness that was killing out entire legions, scared that it would lower the spirits of soldiers. Eventually, though, the truth leaked - that the Spanish flu spread very wide and caused very many deaths.

Many things made the “Spanish Lady”, as American soldiers have nicknamed the disease, terrifying. First of all, it was very infectious. It’s very first case is marked 4th March 1918 in Kansas, USA. By March 11th it has already reached Queens - which is over 1000 miles away from Kansas! Then the infected American troops joined WW1, and Europe was infected; then Asia, Africa and Australia. By the time the flu’s second wave hit in late 1918, even remote places like Alaska were not spared - there the sickness was infecting entire villages.

That second wave also shows the other main thing making Spanish Flu so horrible - it's deadliness. The flu killed quickly, by filling its victims lungs with fluid so they couldn’t breathe any more. It also killed slowly, through long, exhausting pneumonia. The deadliness went together with the rapid spreading and did huge damage. For example, in Autumn 1918 the flu reached Philadelphia. In September the local government did not think cases of this mysterious new flu were anything serious. By October, 139 people died from the flu in one day. Despite every restaurant, theatre and bar getting closed, so many people died it caused both Philadelphian morgues and funeral services to run out of spaces!

It took Spanish flu four waves and 50 to 100 million lives to stop, leaving behind a truly dark page in history. But death was not the only thing the flu left behind - there was also… a secret.

Despite how far it went, very little was known about what the Spanish flu virus actually *was*; where it came from, and how? The virus was the secret, and what this secret brought was a hope. A hope that eventually, the secret of the Spanish Flu would be solved and used to prevent any similar awful pandemics.

Out of all people who worked to solve the secret, one certainly stands firmest and tallest. Introducing: Doctor Johan Hultin from Sweden. In 1951, Hultin was very passionate about a certain idea. The idea was: in colder places of the world that the Spanish Flu has reached, some of its victims could have been buried in permafrost - ground that is always frozen. The very low temperature in the permafrost could have preserved the virus in the lungs of those people. If the victims could be dug up, and their lungs taken, then a live Spanish Flu virus could have been obtained to be studied, analysed, and used to create vaccines.

For this purpose, Hultin has organised an expedition to Alaska. He later described it as a “great adventure for a little boy from Sweden” -  and that is easy to imagine! Like adventurers from a book, the expedition group used maps and logs obtained from the Alaskans to find out the only three locations that had the frozen lungs with the virus in. Battling heavy storms, the group has reached their first location - only to discover the permafrost there was melted by a migrating river. The virus was gone. The second location had the permafrost molten by the ocean - no virus in sight.

To reach his only leftover hope, the last location, Hultin had to risk flying his plane straight through a storm. There he finally found the permafrost with the frozen lungs. Success! …or so he thought. When the permafrozen lungs were delivered to a university, no virus could be obtained from them, no matter how hard Hultin tried. The virus’ genes were damaged, and there was nothing to do about that.

Hultin felt like there was nothing left, so his ambitions for studying the Spanish Flu were put aside for long, long years… yet certainly not forgotten.

40 years have passed since Hultin’s adventure - it’s the 1990s now. This was more than enough time for technology in medicine to develop. We have now gained the ability to reconstruct genes from their damaged parts.

This gave an idea to Doctor Jeffrey Taubenberger. Perhaps, if Jeffrey could re-construct the genome of the Spanish flu virus, he could use it to better understand and cure bird flu - a deadly disease very similar to the Spanish Flu.

First, Taubenberger thought he could use tissue samples taken by doctors in 1918 and preserved all the way to 1990s - but that did not work, slowing down Taubenberger’s research.

The freeze in research was broken one day with a letter Jeffrey Taubenberger received. The writer has read Jeffrey’s article in the “Science” magazine about his work on Spanish Flu genes. The letter was making an offer that shocked Jeffrey: the writer offered themselves up to travel to Alaska and dig up frozen lungs that Taubenberger could use to complete his research. This writer was, of course, no other than Johan Hultin.

It took Hultin mere weeks to prepare for the trip. He was not worried about the virus being dangerous to dig up,as he thought all of it had long since died in the lungs. The 1990s people still thought digging the virus up was very dangerous, though, so the new expedition was kept as a secret.

Hultin arrived, and started digging. He found his success in the lungs of a woman, frozen for over 60 years at that point. The woman was overweight when she died, so a thick layer of fat inside her helped protect her lungs. They were preserved almost perfectly! Hultin named his discovery “Lucy” - after a skeleton of a female human ancestor that is a symbol of progress and discovery. The future was bright for Hultin and everyone else involved in solving the secret of the Spanish Flu.

Of course, what followed was not instant. It took Taubenberger 7 long, long years to complete the virus’ genes.

However, once those 7 years have passed, a journey that took Taubenberg ten years and Hultin - fifty-five years has finally reached its happy end. All of the Spanish Flu’s genes were now known. For Hultin’s 80th birthday, Taubenberg gifted him a picture of the genes - which Hultin called a “beautiful gift” . He also said he was embarrassed to receive it as all he did was collect specimen!

Yet the gift was not only beautiful for Hultin, The genome identified the Spanish Flu as a form of bird flu. Some bird flu has mutated to be able to be passed human to human - while normal bird flu can only be passed bird to human. Even more questions of the Spanish Flu were answered! For example, the pandemic killed adults with strong immune systems more than it did children and old people with weaker immunities, something doctors could not explain for a very long time. Taubenberg’s discoveries helped figure that out - the virus caused a deadly immune reaction which was stronger in stronger immunities.

Better understanding of the Spanish Flu has given us valuable insights into similar diseases, such as bird flu and the common flu, helping with diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. But don’t think that the mystery of the Spanish Flu is fully solved — far from it! For example, why did so unbelievably many people die? Many doctors believe infectiousness and deadliness alone cannot explain that many deaths. Even now, scientists are exploring fresh ideas to uncover more about this disease.

The Spanish Flu’s story is not just one of terror but also of scientific determination and discovery. If the lingering mysteries of the Spanish Lady pique your curiosity, or if another medical puzzle fascinates you, the world of research is always open to those ready to join the quest for knowledge. Who knows? Perhaps it’s your turn to shine a light on history’s darkest secrets.

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What did today's “bite” make you think? For your valuable input, we invite you to our Q&A page - there for you to suggest us new topics, ask us to elaborate on old topics, or to ask us anything! More details are behind the link. It's all 100 percent anonymous - no need to be shy!

Written by  Med Bite-Sized for your horror, education, and entertainment. Support us with a like and subscribe if you enjoyed! Be yourself, and see you next week!

For those in the UK struggling with health concerns:

NHS phone number - 111 - to help with any concern

Childline (for under 19-year-olds struggling with mental health) - 0800 1111

Sources used:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu

https://www.nps.gov/articles/dena-history-pandemic.htm

https://www.jefferson.edu/alumni/connect/alumni-bulletin/summer-2020/the-flu-pandemic-hits-home.html

https://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Humble-S-F-doctor-unearthed-key-to-solving-2566112.php#item-85307-tbla-2

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.275.5307.1793

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC196410

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29935779/

[medbitesized]

Medicine in EXTREME CONDITIONS!

Think of working as a doctor. What is it like in your eyes? Despite the famously fast pace of medicine, many associate it with stability. The need for doctors has been there forever and it's not going anywhere - even in medical research, there is so much still to discover! However, this stability is only true for some - or rather not always true. Today, Med Bite- Sized team has brought you: Several tales of people being forced to prove their wit, determination, and passion in medical situations that were unexpected, severe and, simply spoken, EXTREME.

Leonid Rogozov - the man who performed surgery on the one and only... himself!

In the 60s, Rogozov worked as the only medic in a team of 13 researchers on a station in Antarctica. His "workplace was cold", merciless and shockingly remote - miles upon miles of "polar wasteland", described by the surgeon's son. One day, Rogozov has noticed a few symptoms in himself: weakness, nausea, fever, and a sharp pain low in his right side. Can you already guess the condition Rogozov diagnosed himself with? Acute appendicitis was his verdict.

"Appendicitis" is the inflammation of the appendix - a small dangly section of the large intestine. "Acute" in this case means sudden and severe - demanding instant surgical removal of the appendix, or Rogozov will die. But he was in the middle of a frozen desert! There was no plane close enough to fly Rogozov to a hospital - and even if there was, awful weather at the time still would trap the surgeon right where he was. " Alternative cures such as being cold, fasting, and antibiotics didn't help him at all. "Couldn't sleep at night. It hurt like hell!" - said later Rogozov about how he felt at the time.

Rogozov was an expert, who has removed countless appendixes before. All of his 12 colleagues were no surgeons. Rogozov saw only one solution: to perform the surgery on himself. Otherwise, death was inevitable - the appendix would eventually explode, splashing pus all over his insides.

Rogozov performed the surgery on 30th of April 1961. Nurses were substituted by his teammates - Arthemyev, a meteorologist, who handed him his tools, and Teplinsky, an engineer, who held a mirror through which the surgeon observed his own work. The head of the station watched the surgery - in case the two assistants feel sick or faint!

Rogozov began the surgery by injecting himself with local anaesthesia ("local" meaning it only numbed a small area of the body.), then he made his first cut. The surgery lasted under two hours and was a success! To his own words, picking up his scalpel switched Rogozov into "work mode" in which he thought of nothing but what had to be done. He also later described a "strong urge to live" that powered him through the tough middle of the surgery where he began to feel faint. Rogozov went on to make a full recovery and continued to contribute to the medical world. Although, when later on offered to join a team in another remote place, the South Pole, the surgeon politely declined.

The schoolgirl who saved her best friend's life

Torri’ell Norwood was a 16-year-old girl who took part in an extra-curricular that helped students prepare a career in healthcare. It's program involved teachings of various skills - taking vital signs, checking pulse and blood pressure... and performing CPR.

CPR is a first-aid strategy advised to be done on people that are unresponsive and have abnormal breathing - or aren't breathing at all. CPR involves compressions (pressing and releasing) of the person's chest with your hands, precise and rapid. Sometimes, rescue breaths are also used - those are exhales into the person's mouth with your own mouth. Rescue breaths supply blood with oxygen, and the compressions pump this oxygenated blood (and the blood oxygenated when the person was still breathing normally) to the brain - which can ultimately save a life, as it takes the brain as little as 3 minutes without oxygen to get damaged or die.

While designed for people who are not necessarily medics at all, you need careful training to be able to do CPR best. Torri’ell underwent this training in her extracurricular on Wednesday. On Thursday, a car crash caused her friend A'zarria to hit her head hard. A'zarria fainted and became unresponsive. Torri’ell, who was also at the scene of the crash, knew what to do - she at once started CPR on A'zarria. It took Torri’ell 30 compressions and 2 rescue breaths - A'zarria regained consciousness, was rushed to the hospital, and survived!

The shocking event left the two girls with their friendship stronger than ever - and Torri’ell, to her own words, now wants to become a nurse.

But what if I want to help in extreme situations?

Believe it or not, many people actually do seek out medical fields that are *extra* extreme as a full-time job. But what fields? And why? And could this seemingly hellish work be perfect for... you?

Ambulance

The ambulance van is a place the stress of which you can easily imagine - but you can't truly know what it's like racing to emergencies until you try for yourself. The stress is palpable, and it gets to some - like Reena who quit after 26 years, calling ambulance work a "warzone". Patients can be violent, can be extremely poorly, and can die right in front of you, too. However, over 17 000 people in the UK doing ambulance work this very day speaks of many, many good things too. Can you think of a few? For example, nowhere like in the buzzing back of that van do you feel like you're saving lives - says Adam, a care assistant. Elisha, a paramedic, loves the day-to-day diversity, and Ed says that being a care assistant on an ambulance head-started his medical career - Ed then went on to become a practice-based paramedic (which is kind of like a less professor-y GP!). Do those good things make the "warzone" worth it? This is only for you to decide. It's not like you can't test this yourself - ambulances all over Somerset are constantly looking for volunteers. You could be their next volunteer.

Extreme medicine

That's right, there is a whole field called exactly that - extreme medicine! And it's exactly what you expect. Going with expeditions to rocky mountains, scorching deserts, freezing forests - not too different from what Rogozov did in Antarctica, albeit much safer and with a team of fellow medics to help. Duties of an extreme medic are busy and varied - it's not only treating the sick but also, for example, enhancing the performance of the exhausted adventures. Cure *and* care? This work is not for the weak of mind - and not for the weak of body, too, - after all, you will still be travelling all those locations with the expedition. Are those things truly challenges, though? Or just what extreme medics enjoy - the fun variety, the thrill of the unexpected, the love for adventure? Extreme medicine is not for everyone - but just right for some. "I didn't want to be in a hospital" - says Celeste, who has worked in extreme medicine for over 5 years.

Extreme medicine is all about bravery, quick thinking, and helping others when it matters most. From Rogozov performing surgery on himself in Antarctica to Torri’ell saving her best friend with CPR, these inspiring stories show the amazing things people can achieve in tough situations. Whether it’s emergency care or adventure-filled expedition medicine, these careers are challenging but incredibly rewarding. Maybe this extraordinary field could be your next big adventure!

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To those in UK struggling with health problems:

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Sources used:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Rogozov

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/appendicitis/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32481442

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/19/us/iyw-teen-saves-life-cpr-trnd/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/12/it-feels-like-a-war-zone-exhausted-ambulance-service-workers-in-england-tell-their-stories

https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/ambulance-service-team/roles-ambulance-service/paramedic/real-life-story-elisha-miller

https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/ambulance-service-team/roles-ambulance-service/ambulance-care-assistance-and-patient-transport-service-pts-driver/real-life-story-adam

https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/ambulance-service-team/roles-ambulance-service/emergency-medical-dispatchercall-handler/real-life-story-ed-green

https://worldextrememedicine.com/blog/case-studies-blog/learning-without-limits-hospital-halls-to-himalayan-peaks/

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