Disease In Ww1

1 Diseases

Today I want to tell you about the diseases in World War one. Many of those diseases led to the dead of the soldiers because they had little knowledge and medicine. The conditions in the trenches were horrible.
Little foot and fresh water, living in wet trenches, no medical care were the cause of those diseases: Trench foot, trench fever, gas, trench mouth, venereal diseases...Soldiers were sick, hungry and were exposure to the elements of nature. World War one was a really bloody affair.

1.1 Trench Foot
First I want to tell you about Trench Foot. It was a big problem at the beginning of the war.
The soldiers must spend much time in the trenches in very wet and very cold weather. But they could not change their socks. So they

Amputation was the only way to survive when the infection had been spread.
Soldiers were told to cover their feet with grease made of whale-oil. Carbolic lotion was used to wash wound. Dead was a constant companion to the soldiers. Wounding also became a way for men to avoid the danger and horror of the trenches.

1.2 Trench Fever
Another disease was Trench Fever.
This disease killed many soldiers in WW1.
It was easily passed between the soldiers. Recovering took many months. Inflamed eyes, leg pains, headache, Skin rashes were the symptoms.
How was it caused? It was caused by a bacterium founded in the stomach of lice. Lice were a never ending problem. The disease was transmitted via the bites of body lice. Soldiers described the lice as an animal that left red stripes on their body. Stripes of blood. The lice created a sour smell on the soldier. The soldiers lived in terrible conditions and couldn’t wash their clothes. The lice were hidden in het soldiers clothes so they could not be found.
The itch was terrible and the used a candle over their legs to burn them. If they find lice you could hear him pop like popcorn.
Many soldiers chose to shave their heads to avoid

Without a mask, their eyes, throat, lungs end nose have been damaged. After a mustard gas attack thy saw red spots on their body that was burned. The longer the exposure, the greater the damage. When the gas was first used during WW1 the doctors didn’t know how to treat it. Having the fumes in their clothes gives blisters and other health problems. Bathing and putting new clothes on would help the soldiers but they it wasn’t possible to do it.
And what to tell about the smell of the rotting carcasses in the trenches and the overflowing latrines? It made them nauseous.

1.6 Trench Mouth
There was also the Trench Mouth. The gums become infected and the soldier had got painful ulcers. No vitamins in the food had disturbed the mouth bacteria. There was only salt water and no medications available. There was not much medical knowledge. Soldiers didn’t have access to a dentist and so they suffered a lot of pain.

1.7 Venereal diseases
During short holiday many soldiers came in contact with prostitutes. So they got venereal diseases with no chance of cure. The horror of syphilis was following the troops when the soldiers were returning at home. No prevention, no