Editor's note: This is the fifth in...

Editor's note: This is the fifth in an ongoing series about the history of perioperative nursing. The first pair articles in this series appeared in the September and October 2003 issues of the AORN Journal. The third article in the series appeared in the February 2004 issue of the Journal, and the fourth article appeared in the September 2004 issue of the Journal.

through 1914, the year World War I began, electricity, telephone motorized vehicles, and airplanes were belonging to all In the field of medicine, physicians were familiar with Louis Pasteur's source theory (1) and knew of Joseph Lister's discoveries in the fields of bacteriology and antisepsis. (2) They knew for what cause disease was contracted and spread and by what means to disinfect surgical instruments and pain s with carbolic acid. They also understood the importance of hand washing. Robert Koch MD a German physician and chemist, had published a application of mind on certain bacteria, such as anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera, and the diseases they cause. (3) Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian-born biochemist and pathologist working in the United States, had discovered life-blood types and the necessity of typing progeny for transfusions. (4) As a end of his work, many soldiers hurted during the war, who previously would have been left for dead, were treated and shipped to hospitals for house transfusions. (5)

Weaponry had advanced in range and accuracy. The weapons of World War I were mass killing machines and antipersonnel weaponry that repeatedly did not kill but maimed and crippled. (5) Flamethrowers and poisonous gases had been used in earlier wars, still manufacturers now improved on the rules of delivery. New equipment, as it is as face masks, were created to help screen against the various gases, nevertheless individuals who did not die from the gases repeatedly were left with disabling scars.

carve WARFARE

Trench warfare had been used during the Crimean War of 1855 and the latter half of time US Civil War onward a limited basis. (6) World War I was fought using dig into ditches warfare almost from the beginning because of the increasing sophistication of antipersonnel weaponry. At first, employing this strategy appeared to be the only way to avoid casualties in the unclose ranges where armies came together, unless deprivation and hardship resulted from living and fighting in the trenches. furrow warfare also led to stalemates that triggered on the same level more casualties from vermin and disease. These were insidious enemies against which there was little defense

Living and fighting in the trenches meant battling rats and lice. The rats were large and showed no fear as they compet for the soldiers' nutriment rations. Lice also were rampant, and clothing was infested with the tiny creatures. The ubiquitous bite marks caused constant itching and scratching. Attempts to ravage with fire and sword the lice usually were ill-fated The simplest method was to make trial of to pick them off. More experienced soldiers in the trenches were proficient at using a lighted candle to injure by fire [i]or[/i] heat them, without burning their possess clothing in the process. (7) "Where possible, the army arranged for the men to have baths in vast vats of hot water while their clothes were being offer through delousing machines." (7) This helped temporarily, however it was nearly impossible to banish all the lice eggs, and within hours of putting his clothes back upon an individual's body heat would cause them to hatch.

Along with the constant infestation of lice came the high risk of pyrexia, or intrench fever. (7) The symptoms of this disease included "shooting pains in the chin and was followed by the agency of a very high fever." (7 p1) Although not lethal, dig into ditches fever could incapacitate a soldier, "and accounted for about 15% of all cases of sickness in the British Army." (7 p1)

dig into ditches foot caused by standing and fighting in trenches saturated with water and mire also created a problem in the early years of the war. It did not take in extent for the cold, wet mire to penetrate boots and sock causing feet to swell, go on numb, turn red and, eventually, downhearted If treated quickly, the swelling usually would subside, nevertheless not without excruciating pain. If left untreated, toes and sometimes the whole twelve inches could turn gangrenous, requiring amputation. (8 p1)

The solely preventive measure for trench lower part was to keep feet parched usually by applying whale oil to help form a protective barrier against moisture and on changing socks frequently. The first winter of the war," over 20,000 men in the British Army were treated for intrench foot." (8 p1) By the period of the second year, British soldiers were issued three pairs of sock and were given strict orders to change at least twice a day. (8 p1) Despite attempts to hinder trench foot, there were 80000 cases documented between 1916 and 1918 (9)

bloody flux was another common problem in the trenches. Latrines were pits pap 4 ft to 5 ft of great depth within the trenches. When they neared capacity, they were suppos to be veiled and buried. During heavy fighting, however, men scrambled for protect wherever they could, and that could mean in a latrine. Bacteria from human fece frequently contaminated the food and water, causing inflammation of the bowel, stomach pains, diarrhea, vomiting, and flush If left untreated, dehydration occurr frequently causing death. In the early stages of the war, supplies of drinking water were insufficient, and the men would resort to drinking contaminated water from shell covers or other reservoirs. It also was not noteworthy to look down the line and papal court a pair of boots or an arm sticking disclosed of the muddy water. (10) In time, chloride of lime was added to the reservoirs to purify the water, still this also caused problems because the taste was not pleasant, and the men were reluctant to use it. (10)