Conditions requiring medical treatment on the Western Front

Question 1

Trench foot main symptoms

Answer 1

• Painful swelling of the feet caused by standing in mud and water
• Second stage: gangrene sets in (the decomposition of body tissue due to a loss of blood supply)

Question 2

Prevention of trench foot

Answer 2

• Prevention was key
• Rubbing whale oil on feet to protect them
• Keeping feet dry and regularly changing socks

Question 3

Treatment of trench foot (gangrene)

Answer 3

If gangrene set in, amputation was the only option to stop it from spreading along the legs

Question 4

Trench fever symptoms

Answer 4

Flu like symptoms e.g.:
- High temperature
- Aching muscles
- Headaches
Was a major problem - affected est. half a million men on the Western Front

Question 5

Trench fever treatment

Answer 5

• By 1918, the cause of trench fever was identified as lice
• Delousing stations were set up; cases declined rapidly after this

Question 6

Shell shock symptoms

Answer 6

(Unidentified PTSD)
- Tiredness
- Headaches
- Loss of speech
- Nightmares
- Uncontrollable shaking
- Complete mental breakdown
- Experienced by around 80,000 British troops

Question 7

Shell shock treatment

Answer 7

• In some cases, such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, men were treated for shell shock back in Britain.
• Craiglockheart Hospital in Edinburgh treated 2,000 men for the condition.
• However, some soldiers with the condition were accused of cowardice. They were punished and sometimes even shot.

Question 8

Conditions in the trenches

Answer 8

• Rat infestation was common
• Very unpleasant and unsanitary
• Summer: smell of sewage and dead bodies - dreadful
• Winter: bad weather caused flooding and frostbite. In December 1914, there were over 6,000 cases of frostbite.

Question 9

What % of shrapnel and high explosive shells were responsible for wounds on the Western Front?

Answer 9

• 53%
• Around 60% of these were to the arms and legs