[4] The solution takes the name from British chemist Henry Drysdale Dakin (1880–1952) who developed it in 1916, during World War I, while he was stationed at a field hospital in Compiègne.
He worked there in collaboration with French physician Alexis Carrel, and the particular use they made of the solution is known as the Carrel–Dakin method for wound treatment.
[5] His work greatly improved medical practice, public health, and the sanitary conditions in hospitals, slaughterhouses, and all industries dealing with animal products.
[7] Almost a century later Carrel and Dakin observed that few doctors at the time practiced asepsis, and moreover there were no studies of the effectiveness of various antiseptics for wounds.
The name of Carrel was dropped after World War II, presumably due to his active involvement in eugenics movements and the advocacy of elimination of "inferior" humans.
[1] Since penicillin became established as an antibiotic in 1943, use of Dakin's solution and other topical antiseptics for wound treatment has declined, and their use is frowned upon in modern medical care.
[19] In one study, bactericidal effects of sodium hypochlorite solution were observed at concentrations as low as 0.025%, without any tissue toxicity in vivo or in vitro.