Conditions requiring treatment

• Local anaesthetic: Area being operated on is numbed to prevent pain + patient awake
• Trench fever is caused by body lice and includes flu-like symptoms such as high temperature.
• Passing electric current through an infected area was effective in treating Trench fever.
• Clothes were disinfected and delousing stations were set up to prevent Trench fever.
• Trench foot is caused by soldiers standing in mud or waterlogged trenches.
• Soldiers were advised to keep clean but worst cases, amputation was necessary for Trench foot.
• Changing socks and keeping feet dry, as well as rubbing whale oil into feet, were effective prevention methods for Trench foot.
• Trench foot affected 20,000 soldiers in the winter of 1914-1915.
• Shell-shock is caused by stressful conditions of war and symptoms include tiredness, nightmares, headaches and uncontrollable shacking.
• There was no well understood treatment for Shell-shock.
• Rest and some received treatment in the UK were effective prevention methods for Shell-shock.
• Shell-shock affected 80,000 soldiers and some were shot.
• Rifles were fired one at a time and loaded from a cartridge case, creating rapid fire.
• Machine guns fired 500 rounds a minute.
• Artillery bombardments were continuous and artillery fire caused half of all casualties.
• Brain surgery: Magnets used to remove metal fragments from the brain.
• Mobile X-rays were transported around in a truck and enabled soldiers to be treated more quickly.
• Reduced infection from compound fractures.
• Plastic surgery: Harold Gillies developed new techniques, skin drafts were developed for grafts.
• Blood transfusions were used at Base Hospitals.
• Blood transfusions were administered by a syringe and tube to transfer blood from patient to donor.
• X-rays: Developed in 1895, X-rays used to diagnose issues before operations.
• Blood transfusions were extended to CCS from 1917.
• X-rays could not detect all problems, were fragile and overheat.
• The Thomas Splint: Stopped joints moving and increased survival rates from 20 to 82%.
• Blood Transfusions: Blood loss = major problem.
• Mobile X-rays: 6 operated on the front line, used to locate shrapnel and bullet wounds.
• A blood bank was established at Cambrai, where adding Sodium Citrate allowed blood to be stored for longer.
• Blood was stored in glass bottles at a blood bank and used to treat wounded soldiers.
• Local anaesthetic was used in brain surgery.
• Shrapnel caused maximum damage by exploding mid-air above enemy targets.
• Chlorine Gas led to death by suffocation.
• In 1915, gas masks were given to all British soldiers.
• Phosgene Gas was faster acting than Chlorine but had similar effects and could kill within 2 days.
• Mustard Gas was an odourless gas that worked in 12 hours and caused blisters and burned the skin easily.