Carl Siegmund Franz Credé (23 December 1819 – 14 March 1892) was a German gynecologist and obstetrician born in Berlin, most famous for preventing neonatal conjunctivitis via Credé's prophylaxis, a dilute silver nitrate solution dropped into the eye immediately after birth, thus saving the eyesight of millions.
Carl Credé is famous for introducing the use of silver nitrate eyedrops as an antiseptic for the prevention of neonatal conjunctivitis.
During a three-year period, Credé treated 1160 newborns with silver nitrate, with only 0.15% of the infants developing ophthalmia.
[2] The silver nitrate solution is sometimes referred to as "Credé's prophylaxis" in medical literature, and other eyedrop prophylactics (for example, antibiotics) are still called by the same name.
As neonatal conjunctivitis used to occur in around 10% of newborns and cause about half of all cases of blindness in Europe, Credé is credited with saving the eyesight of millions.