MEDICAL CONDITIONS & dISEASES
Health witnesses a huge deterioration in the trenches. Not only did soldiers die from battle wounds or rifles in the war, they also died because of diseases that widely spread in the trenches. Many of these diseases were caused as result of whether change, lack of hygiene and the tainted environment. Some diseases were as small as an innocent cold; however, some were as deadly as the Shell Shock or the Trench Foot. During the war, many of the men that died would be buried right where they fell. Because there was no time to thoroughly bury the bodies, overtime, the bodies would rise to the surface. Also, the scraps of leftover food would be thrown on the ground and littering the trench. As a result of the unhygienic environment in the trenches, rat infestation occurred. Because, one pair of rats can produce 480 babies per year, the Trenches were swarmed with rats. "They were hungry and as big as cats,"(Harry Patch) one source says. Another source claims that he was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of rats gnawing on a severely damaged hand. To avoid ammunition, the soldiers could not shoot the rats. They tried shooing away the rats and attacking them with their bayonets in order to avoid diseases and infections, such as "Wiel's Disease".
Another problem that greatly affected the health conditions of the soldier in the trenches is, The Trench Influenza. Lice caused this Influenza.The picture on bottom left shows the many deaths that occurred in WW1 as a result of the Trench Influenza. This disease was said to have killed more people than the war itself. The soldiers and the Trenches were verily filthy, thus arousing the lice and causing the men to itch unceasingly. Since there were no washing machines or cleaners at that time, the soldiers would re-wear their cloth many times. The lice would lay there eggs in the seams of the cloth. When the soldiers would wear their clothes, their body's collision with the clothe's fabric would hatch the eggs of the lice. As a result, the lice, being verily infectious and dangerous, caused the soldiers exorbitant pain, and following with a high fever.
Trench foot was another disease that spread to the soldiers in the Trenches. This disease was caused by the cold and wet conditions. For a long time the soldiers would stand in puddles of rain and of their own waste. This caused their feet to numb and swell up. A source says, "If you have never had trench foot described to you, I will explain. Your feet swell to two to three times their normal size and go completely dead. You can stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are lucky enough not to lose your feet and the swelling starts to go down, it is then that the most indescribable agony begins." (Harry Robert). This clearly explains the dangerous conditions of the Trench Foot and the sever consequences. Over 20,00 soldiers were getting treated from this horrific disease. In order to prevent this disease from spreading or occurring the soldiers would have to wear two to three pairs of socks.
Not only were the diseases physical, but also physiological. Shell shock was a common disease that caused the soldiers to have psychological trauma. The soldiers saw a lot of terrible images and experienced many internal damage. Whenever a shell bomb would explode next to a certain soldier,the extreme bombardment would cause the soldier to get a concussion. This lead the soldier to leave the battlefield and immediately be located to a hospital. Many of the soldiers that experienced Shell Shock were mentally and physically disabled for years.
Another problem that greatly affected the health conditions of the soldier in the trenches is, The Trench Influenza. Lice caused this Influenza.The picture on bottom left shows the many deaths that occurred in WW1 as a result of the Trench Influenza. This disease was said to have killed more people than the war itself. The soldiers and the Trenches were verily filthy, thus arousing the lice and causing the men to itch unceasingly. Since there were no washing machines or cleaners at that time, the soldiers would re-wear their cloth many times. The lice would lay there eggs in the seams of the cloth. When the soldiers would wear their clothes, their body's collision with the clothe's fabric would hatch the eggs of the lice. As a result, the lice, being verily infectious and dangerous, caused the soldiers exorbitant pain, and following with a high fever.
Trench foot was another disease that spread to the soldiers in the Trenches. This disease was caused by the cold and wet conditions. For a long time the soldiers would stand in puddles of rain and of their own waste. This caused their feet to numb and swell up. A source says, "If you have never had trench foot described to you, I will explain. Your feet swell to two to three times their normal size and go completely dead. You can stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are lucky enough not to lose your feet and the swelling starts to go down, it is then that the most indescribable agony begins." (Harry Robert). This clearly explains the dangerous conditions of the Trench Foot and the sever consequences. Over 20,00 soldiers were getting treated from this horrific disease. In order to prevent this disease from spreading or occurring the soldiers would have to wear two to three pairs of socks.
Not only were the diseases physical, but also physiological. Shell shock was a common disease that caused the soldiers to have psychological trauma. The soldiers saw a lot of terrible images and experienced many internal damage. Whenever a shell bomb would explode next to a certain soldier,the extreme bombardment would cause the soldier to get a concussion. This lead the soldier to leave the battlefield and immediately be located to a hospital. Many of the soldiers that experienced Shell Shock were mentally and physically disabled for years.