What types of diseases were present during World War 1?

Answer 1

The soldiers suffered from apalling diseases from the freezing, damp cold and lack of sanitation and proper shelter. The worst was the trench foot that was common due to the wet, cold muddy conditions of the trenches. Listed below are many diseases they encountered and often died from. They do not mention the problems from the mustard gas. It affected their respiratory system, skin, eyes (blindness) and caused very severe neurological disorders to their nervous system and brain. Many died from it and they were the lucky ones. Medical care would be considered barbaric compared to the medical care we have nearl one hundred years later.

Trench foot: disease of the feet caused by exposure to cold and damp, a scourge of soldiers in the trench warfare of world-war-i. Called jungle-rot-3in world-war-ii) and paddy-footin the vietnam-war. Military Dictionary

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Trench Foot: A condition of the foot resembling frostbite, caused by prolonged exposure to cold and dampness and often affecting soldiers in trenches. Military Dictionary

From Wikipedia under the heading of Trench Warfare

Medical services were primitive and antibiotichad not yet been discovered. Relatively minor injuries could prove fatal through onset of infection and gangrene. The Germans recorded that 15% of leg wounds and 25% of arm wounds resulted in death, mainly through infection. The united-statesrecorded 44% of casualties who developed gangrene died. 50% of those wounded in the head died and 99% of those wounded in the abdomendied. 75% of wounds came from shellfire. A wound resulting from a shell fragment was usually more traumatic than a gunshot wound. A shell fragment would often introduce debris, making it more likely that the wound would become infected. These factors meant a soldier was three times more likely to die from a shell wound to the chest than from a gunshot wound. The blast from shell explosions could also kill by concussion-4. In addition to the physical effects of shell fire, there was the psychological damage. Men who had to endure prolonged bombardment would often suffer debilitating combat-stress-reaction, a condition not well understood at the time.

As in many other wars, World War I's greatest killer was disease. sanitationconditions in the trenches were quite poor, and common infections included dysentery, typhus, and cholera. Many soldiers suffered from parasitismand related infections. Poor hygiene also led to fungusconditions, such as necrotizing-periodontal-diseasesand trench-foot-2. Another common killer was exposure, since the temperature within a trench in the winter could easily fall below zero degrees celsius(32 °F). Burial of the dead was usually a luxury that neither side could easily afford. The bodies would lie in no man's land until the front line moved, by which time the bodies were often unidentifiable. On some battlefields, such as at battle-of-the-nekin Gallipoli, the bodies were not buried until after the war. On the Western Front, bodies continue to be found as fields are ploughed and building foundations dug.

Medical services were primitive and antibiotichad not yet been discovered. Relatively minor injuries could prove fatal through onset of infection and gangrene. The Germans recorded that 15% of leg wounds and 25% of arm wounds resulted in death, mainly through infection. The united-statesrecorded 44% of casualties who developed gangrene died. 50% of those wounded in the head died and 99% of those wounded in the abdomendied. 75% of wounds came from shellfire. A wound resulting from a shell fragment was usually more traumatic than a gunshot wound. A shell fragment would often introduce debris, making it more likely that the wound would become infected. These factors meant a soldier was three times more likely to die from a shell wound to the chest than from a gunshot wound. The blast from shell explosions could also kill by concussion-4. In addition to the physical effects of shell fire, there was the psychological damage. Men who had to endure prolonged bombardment would often suffer debilitating combat-stress-reaction, a condition not well understood at the time.

As in many other wars, World War I's greatest killer was disease. sanitationconditions in the trenches were quite poor, and common infections included dysentery, typhus, and cholera. Many soldiers suffered from parasitismand related infections. Poor hygiene also led to fungusconditions, such as necrotizing-periodontal-diseasesand trench-foot-2. Another common killer was exposure, since the temperature within a trench in the winter could easily fall below zero degrees celsius(32 °F). Burial of the dead was usually a luxury that neither side could easily afford. The bodies would lie in no man's land until the front line moved, by which time the bodies were often unidentifiable. On some battlefields, such as at battle-of-the-nekin Gallipoli, the bodies were not buried until after the war. On the Western Front, bodies continue to be found as fields are ploughed and building foundations dug.