War Medicine

By: Shawn Parker

Army Nurse Corps

• Formed by the army during the civil war

• Served in military hospitals in World War I

• Only 102 nurses died over seas

• 100 of which became infected by influenza

American Red Cross

• aids victims suffering from pestilence, flood, fire, and other disasters

• Recruited nurses for the military

• Founded in 1881

• Offer’s many services:– Counseling services– Emergency financial

help– Blood donor program– Clinical research– And many more…

American Red Cross

• Offer’s many services:– Counseling services– Emergency financial help– Blood donor program– Clinical research– And many more…

Wartime poster in 1918

Influenza Epidemic

• Started in the United States iN January 1819, nine months after U.S. Entry into WWI

• Quickly spread to Camp Funston,

• Camp Funston one of the nation’s largest military facilities

• The infection of soldiers caused the spread to the front lines

• Ships became “death traps” for the many soldiers that died from influenza on the boat

Influenza Static Deaths

• Total: An estimated 50 and 100 million worldwide

• 8.5 million battlefield deaths

• 1/5 of the soldiers at Fort Devens were infected, hundreds of which died

• The influenza spread so quickly because the U.S. was shuttling around the soldiers from camp to camp causing a mass spread of the disease.

Trench Fever

• Different from trench mouth and foot• Main Symptoms:

• Heaches• Skin rashes• Inflamed eyes• Leg pains

• Not particularly deadly or serious

Trench Fever

• Recovered in five to six days

• Hospitalized for an extended amount of time was common

• Caused by lice bites in the trenches, but the orgin was not known until little before the war was over

Shell Shock

• A physiological trauma• Those who suffered from it were battling on

the main battlefronts• Due to the heavy artillery being fired around

the soldiers, they began to lose their sensibility and care for life

Shell Shock

• Symptoms varied, some typical ones are– Panic attacks– Men fleeing from battle

which cause made them seem like cowards, who were tried in court for desertion

Shell Shock Patient

Body Lice

• Normal in the trenches• About 97% of soldiers had body lice• Quickly spread because of the tight conditions• Lice problem was never taken control of

because it the military did not know they were spreading Trench Fever

Body Lice

• Soldiers would gather in groups to delouse themselves which was commonly referred to as “to chat”

• Quickened the spread of disease such as Trench Fever

• Even when the lice themselves were terminated their eggs hatched in a matter of hours

Trench Foot

• Fungal infection that is acquired from long periods of time in damp and cold conditions

• Some patients had to have toes amputated

Trench Foot

• Both sides improved trench drainage

• Caused a routine inspection, greasing of toes and changing of socks

Picture of Trench foot

• This is a picture of the fungal infection commonly known as “Trench Foot”

Trench Mouth

• Same type of infection as trench foot• Symptoms

– Gums hurt– Severely bad breath– Gums become infected from bacterial growth

Trench Mouth

• Cured by anti biotics

• Not normally fatal

Military Surgery

• Many doctor’s were young and did not have to wait throught he years of apprenticeship

• Had to treat many badly contaminated wounds

• Many surgeons used debridement, which was when the surgically excised dead and dying tissue and the removal of foreign matter

Skin Grafting

• Skin is removed on the infected area

• The subcutaneous tissue is left temporarily attached to nourish the area where the skin was removed

• Popularized by a British surgeon Harold Gillies

Rehabilitation

• Surgeons began to realize their work did not end with a healed wound

• In 1915, Robert Jones began to set up rehab centers for orthopedic patients

Rat’s Spread Disease

• Trench Conditions were ideal for rats, with all the empty food cans

• Rats became bolder, walking over sleeping men’s faces and snatching food that is set down for mere moments

• Literally millions in the trenches, spreading disease rapidly