History Paper 1: Western Front

• Trench fever:

  Caused by: Body lice

  Symptoms: flu like (high temperature, headache, muscle aches)

  Solutions: Delousing stations were set up
• Trench Foot:

  Caused by: Standing in cold water or mud

  Symptoms: Painful swelling on the foot, event usually leading to gangrene

  Solution: Rubbing whale oil on feet, Keeping dry, wearing and changing lots of socks regularly, amputations (worst case)
• Gas Gangrene: 


  Caused by: Open wounds infected by bacteria from soil

  Symptoms: Dead tissue. bacteria causes gas build up in the wound.

  Solutions: Amputation of infected areas.
• Shellshock:

  Caused by: Physiological damage

  Symptoms: Tiredness, Nightmares, Loss of speech, Shaking, Mental breakdown

  Solutions: sometimes, treatment back in Britain. Generally, shellshock was often accused of cowardice.
• Shrapnel Injuries: 


  Caused By: Being hit by bullets or shrapnel from rifles/ explosions

  Symptoms: Pieces of metal would penetrate the body

  Solutions: Steel brodie helmet were worn to protect the head.
• Gas Attacks: 


  Caused by: Chlorine, Phosgene, and Mustard Gas

  Symptoms: Burning skin, internal and external blisters, death by suffocation.

  Solutions: Gas masks were made in 1915
• Dressing stations were located in abandoned buildings, dug outs, or bunkers to protect from shelling.

  sometimes, they used tents.

  each station would have 10 medical officers, medical orderliness and stretcher bearers