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Before the discovery of antibiotics, chopping it off was the usual standard of care for serious infections.
by onlypassingthru 1y ago
Before the discovery of antibiotics, chopping it off was the usual standard of care for serious infections.
- Tade0 1y agoIt didn't always have to turn into an infection as there are plenty folk methods of preventing that from happening used throughout history - from wound cauterisation to my regional bread + spiderwebs. The latter was given a scientific explanation in modern times: the webbing contains live penicillium fungi in quantities sufficient to act against microbes.
- nradov 1y agoIt's very rare for a minor injury to become seriously infected to the extent that the patient's immune system can't fight it off. Even before the discovery of antibiotics, amputation was typically only used as a salvage therapy in cases of gangrene. They didn't reach for the bone saw just because you had a serious infection.