Health and medicine during the interwar period

Before World War 2, and during and after World War 1, a number of medical advancements were made. In World War 1, a huge number of soldiers died due to disease rather than actual combat. One of the major diseases that contributed to the widespread death of soldier troops was typhus fever or the typhus louse, also known as the ‘chat’. Other diseases that presented a problem during that time included trench fever and trench foot. Trench fever, caused by contamination with louse faeces, resulted in high fever, aches and rashes. Trench foot occurred after soldiers stood for lengthy periods of time in water filled trenches. This condition was extremely painful though not deadly. If not taken care of, gangrene resulted which called for amputation of the diseased foot. This was the main problem that resulted in great advancements in prostheses.

These diseases became a big problem due to the poor hygienic conditions during the war. Soldiers lived in trenches, around which lay dead decaying bodies and diseased rats. Also contributing to the poor hygiene was the fact that soldiers had to keep themselves warm by crowding together. The close contact and small spaces facilitated infestation. Infections such as dysentery, cholera and parasitic infections were common as well due to the poor sanitary conditions. “The intensity of World War I trench warfare meant about 10% of the fighting soldiers were killed. This compared to 5% killed during the Second Boer War and 4.5% killed during World War II” (1). During World War 2, hygiene dramatically improved and therefore resulted in less number of deaths due to infection from trenches.

Venereal diseases, such as syphilis and gonorrhea, and war neurosis, now known as post traumatic stress disorder, were also an issue. World war 1 ended with a pandemic of Spanish Influenza, killing around 30 million people worldwide.

World War I saw a major improvement in the treatment of combat wounds as a result of better surgical methods and antisepsis, the use of X rays, tetanus antitoxin and blood transfusions, and the more rapid evacuation of the wounded by motorized ambulances to hospitals.

Blood transfusions were used, though blood groups were not known. Finding compatible blood was mostly done by trial and error. A major problem during transfusions was the clotting of blood. Later, in 1914, this was solved by adding citrate to the blood, and in 1917, the citrate anticoagulation method was used to save thousands of lives.

Tetanus and gas gangrene that developed on injured soldiers was treated by the use of antitoxin and antiserum injections, though the best treatment was surgically related. Antiseptics that could be used on wounds were discovered, the most important being the Carrel-Dakin treatment.

References-

(1): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_warfare