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How WW1 Changed Medical technology
How WW1 Changed Medical technology
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Connor Milne 29/1/21 11.AHow WW1 Changed Medical Technology
Dirt - They were fighting in dirty conditions (fields) leading to infection of wounds. X-
Rays helped to prevent the need to open up bodies but there was no way to kill
infection yet (that came later).
Blood loss - Due to the substantial number of deaths in WW1, blood loss quickly
became a rising issue and so more money was put towards researching how to
transfer blood from one person to another which would greatly reduce casualties.
Gas - Chemical warfare was a new form of weaponry used. This meant that early
forms of respiratory protection was required and so gas masks were invented which
would mostly protect their users. This advancement could also be credited with being
responsible for doctors (as well as most people during the pandemic) for wearing
face masks.
Living in trenches - Despite having noticed a trend of disease thriving in unsanitary
conditions for decades, this highlighted the issue to the government dirty water and
basic amenities like toilets have an effect on diseases and illness’ with things like
tuberculosis and typhoid. This helped bring more sanitary conditions back in Britain.
Lice - Lice carried disease and also irritated soldiers leaving red marks and skin
irritation. This meant that some soldiers would use early forms of bug sprays and
would also try to burn them out of the seams of clothing which took practice to make
sure the uniforms didn't burn however, this also meant that soldiers began to try and
regularly clean their uniforms to avoid infestations.
Rats - Rats brought disease and lice. Rats would scurry around trenches looking for
food, sometimes trying to eat soldiers. This led to soldiers often going on rat hunts to
stop the spread of disease which meant this knowledge of rats could be carried back
to Britain to reduce the spread of disease back there too.
Shells / explosions - shells and explosions brought burns, shrapnel wounds and
mental health disorders which meant new treatments were necessary to help nurture
the soldiers back to health.
Shrapnel - Shrapnel wounds could cause devastating wounds to a soldier and if they
were fortunate enough to survive, their bodies would be left badly wounded. This led
to the development of prosthetic limbs and masks but also later led to the
development of early forms of plastic surgery.
Burns - Burns became a constant sight in WW1 with constant explosions and the
new development of flamethrowers by the German military meant that treatment was
needed and so steam sterilisation of dressings and oils were also used on dressings
to optimise the healing process. The development of plastic surgery also allowed
skin grafts procedures to repair damaged skin to make life better for the patients
after the war.
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