Medical Problems On The Western Front Flashcards
What years was trench foot a serious problem
In 1914 and 1915, the 27th division of the British Army experienced 12,000 cases of trench foot
What were the attempted solutions of trench foot (1)
Soldiers carried three pairs of socks and change them twice a day. They were also encouraged to rub whale oil onto their feet
What were the attempted solutions of trench foot (2)
They pumped out trenches to reduce water logging and added duckboards, but constantly bombing made this hard
What were the symptoms of trench foot
Feet swell, go numb and the skin would turn red or blue
What were the symptoms of trench fever
Flu like symptoms with high temperature, headache and aching muscles which was spread by lice
How many men on the Western front where affected by trench fever
Half 1 million
What were the attempted solutions of trench fever
Delousing stations were set up on the front, clothes were disinfected, men were bathed and sprayed with chemicals to prevent lice
What were the symptoms of shellshock
Headaches, nightmares, loss of speech and complete mental breakdown
How many British troops experience shellshock
80,000
What were attempted solutions of Shell shock
Soldiers were punished for it and accused of cowardice
What percentage of rooms were from high explosive shells and shrapnel
58%
What percentage of wounds were caused by bullets
39%
Where were most shrapnel wounds and what was the percentage
60% of shrapnel wounds were to the arms and legs
How many soldiers had their limbs amputated
41,000
How was the impact of gangrene reduced
Tetanus injection from end of 1914
How much did the steel Brody’s helmet reduce fatal head wounds
It’s reduced fetal head wounds by 80%
How many soldiers died of gas attacks
6000
In water bottle was chlorine used and how did it cause death
Ypres 1915
Death by suffocation
How did soldiers try and prevent death by chlorine gas
Soldiers soak cotton pads in urine and press them to their faces
When was the stupid used and how dangerous was it
Ypres 1915
Faster acting than chlorine
Killing an exposed person within 2 days
When was mustard gas used
1917
What was mustard gas
Odourless gas that worked within 12 hours. Caused internal and external blisters and could pass through clothing to burn skin
What was the solution to gas attacks
British soldiers were given gas masks from July 1915
