MEDICAL CARE
When a man is wounded he receives the very best care, for experience
has taught France that for the conservation of man power this is of
the highest importance. No matter how slight an injury may be, it is
mandatory that a man receive the proper medical or surgical treatment,
for it is the small and seemingly inconsequential wounds that develop
blood poisoning, which means the amputation of arms and legs or even
death itself. Consequently, the moment a man is injured he must present
himself to the doctor for examination, thereby eliminating, as far as
possible, any chance of complications.
The small percentage of infections in the army is surprising, in view
of the conditions that exist, which are not always the very cleanest
and best. These small wounds, to men who live in damp dug-outs, stand
watch in wet trenches, suffer from irregularity of meals, insufficient
rest and exposure, are all things that tend to lessen their resisting
power and render them just that much more susceptible to the
development of infection.
During the first year of the war the frequency of infection from deep
wounds was alarmingly high and all efforts of the medical staff to
cut it down seemed in vain. At this time Doctor Alexis Carrel of the
Rockefeller Institute, after consultation with some of the heads of the
French Medical Staff, made a study of this vexing problem and with the
backing of this wonderful institution with its ample funds, working
without the red tape that in most instances goes hand in hand with an
endeavor of this kind, after a surprisingly short time, developed a
treatment known as Irrigation Intermittent Carrel. The apparatus used
consists principally of a reservoir or container attached to the bed of
the injured at the proper elevation to insure a flow of the fluid.
Connected with this and inserted in the wound itself is a rubber tube
by which the fluid is conducted to the field of injury. At regular,
determined periods during the day and night the fluid is released from
the container and allowed to flow through the wound, carrying off
poisonous matter or arresting any infectious condition.
As it was soon seen that this was the best method for handling deep
wounds, they set out to perfect the treatment. The fluid used was very
costly, particularly as such large quantities had to be employed in
this intermittent irrigation, consequently there followed a great deal
of experimenting, which, however, did result in the perfection of the
treatment, but Dr. Carrel went farther. He and his associates compiled
a chart or card, which recorded the age of the patient, the square
inches or area of the wound, and such other facts as enabled them,
through the handling of so many cases, to establish and chart lines of
healing showing the progress of the wound from day to day in its course
of treatment, and giving such other information as the proper time of
closing the wound and the discontinuing of irrigation, etc.
So accurate did this chart work out that it enabled them to control all
cases by its use. Thus, in the event that a wound had not progressed
properly in its healing by a certain day to the requirement shown on
the chart, the deduction was that the case required special treatment
and so it was immediately given the requisite attention. One can see
the far-reaching effects from a military viewpoint of such a system.
With these charts to govern them, the doctors at the different base
hospitals could compute very readily just how many beds in their
hospitals were occupied by cases of this particular kind and with
this method of treatment estimate very closely two to three weeks in
advance how many patients would be released and the number of beds that
would be available for new cases at any given time.
Still another forward step in military medication is in the treatment
of burns. I saw in France a man who had been working with powder which
in some way becoming ignited, burned one side of his face very badly.
He was taken to the hospital and treated by the new method of spraying
paraffin over the burn and allowing it to heal from the bottom—a
method which eliminated all the scar tissue with the result that it was
almost impossible to tell that he had ever been burned.
We see so many cases in this country of people whose faces are covered
with scar tissue caused by burns because they had been treated by
such methods as allowed the air to get at the field of injury,
causing a scar tissue to form, which nothing will ever remove. But
by healing from the bottom and developing toward the surface the
natural functioning of the healthy tissue leaves the exterior
appearance practically without a blemish. This in itself is a wonderful
development. For if a person is burned and treatment is necessary,
there is some consolation in knowing that he will not be forced to
go through life with hideous scar tissue marrying his
appearance for the want of proper treatment. In addition to the “M.
D.,” there is, in each division, the Dental Corps.
[Illustration: German Sacrilege—Christ’s Figure Decapitated]
[Illustration: Ruins of the Church Containing the Figures]