Why Is Drugs Used During World War 2

World War I was a war of innovation with new artillery and tactics, but also a deadly war in which approximately ten million soldiers died in or injuries sustained from battle. As injuries increased throughout the war, the need for medical assistance was constantly growing. Surgery is considered an art and like art, it evolved and new techniques were developed, making an injury that could kill someone survivable. For instance, in the Civil War most surgeons would immediately amputate and in World War I surgeons began trying much harder to save limbs. Blood transfusion allowed surgeons to reduce patient death from blood loss because of the ample supply of blood from fellow soldiers. Sanitation improvements led to fewer deaths from infection

The diseases that most affected the soldiers,while they were fighting for a cause in the trenches were,Trench Foot,The Trench Influenza and Shell Shock.

According to Lewy, “Since they were the most reliable drugs in their medicine cabinet, opium and morphine were used extensively by Civil War surgeons as pain relievers and for treating diarrhea.” Lewy is trying to prove how common morphine and opium were during the Civil war and how extensive the use was in treating common illnesses. Apparently “by the end of the war the Union Army had issued 2,093 syringes to about 11,000 surgeons, though probably fewer actually used the instrument. After the war many Yankee physicians recalled that syringes had been unavailable to them in the field, but contradicting evidence suggests that physicians often used syringes, especially towards the end of the war.”2 Syringes were available to surgeons during the Civil War, and allowed room for plenty of administration of drugs, which led to an increased chance for addiction. Opium and morphine were the drug of choice during this time, and some of the

World War I had affected the health of many soldiers coming back from the war. To begin with many soldiers came home with tuberculosis. The disease spread rapidly in 1920 due to the unsanitary, urbanized conditions of the cities which was similar to that of the trenches. “The close proximity of people in wartime conditions meant diseases such as tuberculosis could easily spread” (Science Museum). In addition, many soldiers that returned home had lost limbs in the war due to trench foot. “Some conditions such as trench foot, an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet, and unsanitary conditions” (Science Museum). Trench foot affected soldiers who wished to go back to work, because most jobs wouldn’t allow handicapped workers to work; however,

Why was the invention of penicillin so important in the context of WWII? What were some other advances in medicine that were

During any war, medical advancements are commonly made in response to the atrocities that take place during these bloody and gruesome times. World War II is no exception. During World War II, medical advances simply had to be made to keep soldiers alive. With all the victims of bullet wounds and diseases spreading around, treatments had to be invented or advanced. I chose this topic because science and medicine is very fascinating to me and I want to become a doctor when I grow up. During the war, penicillin, sulfanilamide, atabrine, plasma, and morphine were used in abundance and saved a countless number of lives.

Of the 22,200 people killed during the war, it is estimated that ¾ died of something other than a bullet would (MILITARY). Illnesses like dysentery, typhoid or “lake” fever, pneumonia, malaria, measles and smallpox were all present in the camps of soldiers (MILITARY). People were dying so fast in fact, that the hospital tents would be forced to hold dead bodies as many camps were facing coffin shortages (Newfield). The amount of people packed together in such a small space and the fact that the hospitals, the place they sent sick and wounded, were storing bodies, both added to the problem of spreading disease. Observers of this horror, like Capt.

World War 1 was a moment in American history that will forever leave its mark. There were positive and negative factors that came as a result of this brutal bloodshed. There were new types of technology formed that proved useful to our military, new tools, and leaps in medical advances that that helped push the medical fields to its limits and a greater acceptance of women. Despite the bloodshed of world war 1, it was the impetus of the medical advances that help shape the world we live in today.

Penicillin is an antibiotic that is used to treat infections caused by Bacteria. One may think that Penicillin has been around for a long time however, it was

The medicine in Civil War was just becoming extremely primitive. Surgeons, doctors, etc never understood that there could be infections and they did very little to prevent these infections from happening. Dover’s Powder was a mixture of ipecac and opium and was not only used to treat pain but also treat severe diarrhea, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Quinine was to treat common deadly diseases and was another common drug at the time that was used to cure diseases such as malaria. Calomel. Hospitals were generally warehouses, churches, barns, or other buildings, but were rarely cleaned at all. The disease that were the soldiers greatest enemy were, Dysentery, Measles, Smallpox, Pneumonia, and

During the Civil War, they had to have many medicines, operations, and surgeries done to themselves or others in order to survive (Jenny Goellnitz, Paragraph 1). Some of these medicines we still use today. Medical technology and scientific knowledge have changed dramatically since the Civil War, but the basic principles of military health care remain the same. The deadliest thing that faced the Civil War soldier was disease. For every soldier who died in battle, two died from disease.

These medications were used to treat infections, diseases and pain. Dover's Powder was a medication for the relief of the pain which had a mixture of ipecac and opium. Opium was a very helpful medication that was used on soldiers. Not only was it used to treat pain, but also severe diarrhea, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Quinine, another common medication at the time, was used to treat common deadly diseases such as malaria.

What is often overlooked during this time period, is the medical advancements that were made that are still in place today. During the American Revolution, more soldiers died through disease than by combat or gunshot wounds. Thinking about the concept of war now, most people envision gore, blood, and the trauma of weaponry; however, the biggest weapon to soldiers at this time was disease. Whenever there was a treatable wound, physicians would use unsanitary tools, toxic chemicals such as mercury, and bloodletting. All of which are the breeding ground for disease. The close proximity the soldiers’ had along with the heat and conditions they endured allowed for disease to travel quickly between soldiers. The health of soldiers began improving when the military establishment began to realize that poor hygiene often sparked the diseases. Founding Father Benjamin Rush, who had received his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh, carried his knowledge into the Revolutionary War as a surgeon general of the Middle Department of the Army. In the beginning of the war, he was ubiquitously known to treat patients by wrapping them in vinegar soaked blankets and use mercury rubs with cold baths. Shortly after the war in 1778, Benjamin Rush published a book called “Directions for Preserving the Health of Soldiers”. This book

Diseases did not only affect the soldiers in a tremendous way. As I will discuss in greater detail further in this paper, diseases gave an advantage to the Northern side of the war, and this played a role in their victory. Additionally, the treatments and discoveries that were made as diseases were treated led

While these two drugs have had such a great impact on our world, there are many other drugs that were very important during World War Two. Sulfanilamide, for example, was carried by soldiers all the time. It was a white powder, sprinkled on wounds to prevent infection, and it still exists today! The mortality rate of wounds without Sulfanilamide was 75 per 100 people, however, with Sulfanilamide, the death rate plummeted to 11 per 100 people! Morphine was also greatly used during the war because of its strong painkilling properties. However, it was extremely addictive, it was even more addictive than Nicotine (one of the most addictive substances known to man)! It was originally made from poppy plants indigenous to Turkey and India, and it was administered through a syrette. A syrette is a small auto-injector with a tube attached similar to a tube of toothpaste, but much smaller. Morphine caused many people to faint if they were fatigued or severely wounded, proving the extreme strength of the drug.