image by: James Vaughan

HWN Suggests

Don't forget Trench Foot

It was first documented by French army surgeon Dominique-Jean Larrey during the Napoleonic wars but it was during the First and Second World Wars that brought it to the fore when soldiers feet were in trenches and other wet environments resulting in damp and cold exposure to the skin of the feet. It has been suggested that trench foot affected 75 000 soldiers during World War 1 and during World War 2, 92 000 American troops were reported to have developed the condition.

Fast forward today, outside of warfare, cases arise in occupations where damp conditions are a risk, those with mental health problems, in the homeless, alcoholics, sports competitors and festival goers.

read full article

Featured

 Trench Foot discovery could pave the way for new treatments

Researchers have uncovered the physical cause of trench foot, more than a century after the debilitating condition was first identified.

 Trench Foot: The Medical Response in the First World War 1914–18

Although trench foot was accepted as a new disease during World War I, subsequent historical analysis has recognized that this condition has occurred in many military campaigns throughout history, including the Balkan Wars of 1912, the Crimean War, and Napoleon's campaign into Russia, among others.

Articles of Interest

A review of trench foot: a disease of the past in the present

From the French Invasion of Russia in 1812, to Glastonbury festival in 2007, trench foot has been reported, yet the exact nature of the condition remains unclear. This review explores the pathogenesis and treatment of trench foot.

Nonfreezing Cold Injury (Trench Foot)

Nonfreezing cold injury (NFCI) is a modern term for trench foot or immersion foot. Other conditions also caused by cold without freezing include chilblains (pernio), cold urticaria, cryoprecipitation, and Raynaud’s phenomenon. To avoid confusion, these conditions should not be referred to as NFCIs. Moisture is required to produce a NFCI.

Trench Foot or Non-Freezing Cold Injury As a Painful Vaso-Neuropathy: Clinical and Skin Biopsy Assessments

Trench foot, or non-freezing cold injury (NFCI), results from cold exposure of sufficient severity and duration above freezing point, with consequent sensory and vascular abnormalities which may persist for years.

Resources

CDC

Trench foot, also known as immersion foot, occurs when the feet are wet for long periods of time. It can be quite painful, but it can be prevented and treated.

ScienceDirect

Symptoms of trench foot include a tingling and/or itching sensation, pain, swelling, cold and blotchy skin, numbness, and a prickly or heavy feeling in the foot.

StatPearls

Trench foot is one of three subclasses of immersion foot, which are differentiated by the temperature of the exposure. Trench foot is caused by prolonged exposure to a cold temperature that is usually above freezing and damp, sometimes unsanitary conditions.