Illness and Disease

Illness and Disease

• Infection:
• Infection of a wound was a major cause of death
• Bullet and shell fragments carried materials such as mud and soil into the body which often became infected
• Many soldiers recovered from initial injuries but died from infections
• The infection that caused the highest number of deaths was gas gangrene (carried by bacteria living in soil and develops rapidly)
• Wounds infected by this bacteria swelled up with gas
• Before the development of antibiotics, doctors could do nothing to fight this infection
• Trench fever:
• Also known as pyrexia, Trench fever was spread by lice that lived in clothing and blankets
• Its symptoms included headaches, shivering and pains in joints and bones
• Trench fever was widespread
• It debilitated soldiers leaving them unfit to fight
• July 1917 - July 1918: 15% British soldiers could not fight due to the fever
• To help combat the fever, clothes were disinfected and washed thoroughly when soldiers were not on the front line

Illness and Disease

• Trench Foot:
• Trench floors were quickly filled with water and mud in rainy conditions
• To prevent soldiers from standing in water-logged ground duckboards were utilised
• However, these did not stop a soldier from developing trench foot
• This was a fungal infection from constant immersion of feet in water; feet became numb and blistered, while turning blue from lack of blood flow
• The condition deteriorated rapidly and could lead to gangrene, and sometimes the only preventative treatment was amputation
• As trench foot became more common, medical officers ordered soldiers to regularly change socks and rub whale oil on their feet to repel water
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• Caption: Severe case of Trench foot

Illness and Disease

• Frostbite:
• This was caused by exposure to extreme cold, damaged skin and sometimes muscle tissue
• Circulation was cut off to hands and feet; fingers and toes sometimes had to be amputated
• 1917 - 21,000 British soldiers brought to hospital with frostbite
• Body Lice:
• Lived in the uniforms of soldiers and on the skin
• These insects live off the blood of their hosts
• Their bites would have resulted in intense itching
• Sometimes wounds caused by the lice could become infected and lead to trench fever
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• Caption: Patients in hospital