In 1867, Erismann earned his medical doctorate at the University of Zurich, subsequently furthering his studies in ophthalmology in Heidelberg, Vienna and Berlin.

In 1867 he married Nadezhda Suslova, and two years later relocated to Saint Petersburg as an ophthalmologist.

His interests soon turned to issues such as public health and conditions of the poor.

Erismann was a pioneer of scientific hygiene in Russia, and sought to improve water quality and food standards in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

In 1896 Erismann was dismissed from his position at Moscow for political reasons, as he expressed support of student revolutionaries and denounced the living conditions of the Russian people.