Show f sulfa drugs blood pla Plas S wi maNew rew techniques have flave doubled dou bled soldiers chanes chances of survival only 3 of woun wounded ale C die now as against 7 in world war I 1 A man wounded in action now jias has a much better chance of recovering than ever before thanks to the advances of medical science says maj gen norman kirk surgeon general of the U S army chief reasons for the improvements are the use of blood plasma to overcome shock and hemorrhage sulfa drugs to hold down infections and the greater mobility and superior organization of medical units so far in this war 3 18 per cent of those who were brought in wound 0 army nurse dorothy feol stein neatly bandages ban diges seaman doug douar las St raters head ile he was wounded by a fragment of a 37 mm shell fired from a nazi plane while lie ile was serving on a sub chaser in the harbor ot of palermo sicily dangling Danell ng tn his bare chest is the purple heart awarded for his hii part in this action army photo ed have died as compared with per cent in the last war or less than half while these thes figures gulp arf are not entirely comparably compa comparable mince ance m morte ort men tire are killed outright by the more lethal modern weapons nevertheless a very substantial lal improvement has been made the lifesaving branches of the services have more than kept up with the deadliness of the latest bombs and shells for instance in one of the egyptian campaigns head wounds resulted in a mortality rate of only 9 per cent in world war 1 I from 50 to CO 60 per cent died head wounds are injuries to the scalp skull or brain losses of extremities will be much smaller than last time it is is predicted on experience to date largely because infections can be better controlled now control of infection ly by use of tic the highly publicized sulfonamides and the mysterious and rare penicillin Is popularly misunderstood army doctors warn the sulfa drugs told hold the infection in check until the natural defenses defense of the body are arc able to kill the bacteria penicillin prevents the growth ot of new bacteria it has been found gratifyingly successful in treatment of and other stubborn types ot of infections that will not yield to sulfonamides t while these miracle drugs do not mean the end of infected wounds surgeons say that this most serious danger is being conquered I 1 wounded get speedy aid sp speedy cedy treatment is probably the most important point in saving lives after the new techniques it is estimated that 80 to 00 90 per cent of wounded men receive first old aid within an hour after being hurt every soldier carries a little kit with him containing sulfa tablets and dressings if 11 he Is hurt badly and unable to apply those himself a comrade will do it then as soon ns possible stretcher stretch er bearers come for cor him and carry hirn him to a first aid tent the battalion vid aid station only a few hundred yards behind the firing line here a doctor examines the wound and checks the treatment administered tere d by the medical aid soldier the doctor treats the shock with injections of blood plasma and gives pi morphine orphine to case the pain lie he puts pitts on necessary unnecessary splints or dressings As suon soon as the mans condition permits he is moved by ambulance jeep or litter to a collecting station which is also a mobile unit placed as close to the front as Is at all safe here the patient is classified as to type of oc injury head chest leg etc A complete record is made of the injury and treatment received so far next the injured soldier goes to the clearing station where a mobile surgical unit is on hand to ta talce ke care of desperate cases by the time the clearing station has been reached men with minor wounds are aie ready to return to service men with serious wounds are sent on to evacuation hospitals hundreds of miles away airplanes are frequently used to move casualty cases swiftly ater treatment at the evacuation hospital a man may be returned to service or sent back to the states for prolonged treatment if he is unfit for any service he is given a medical discharge navy much the same naval medical care is similar to the ardys small ships such as submarines and destroyers have little more than first old aid equipment while battleships have a complete hospital aboard known as the sick bay this includes a ward room of 36 to beds a surgical dressing room an operating room dispensary laboratory and doctors and dentists wounded seamen from smaller ships are aie moved to these sick bays first aid supplies are located in many parts of every ship so that destruction of one section will not deprive men in other parts of aid the marine field hospital system resembles the ardys with certain differences necessitated by the special problems of that dashing corps base hospitals hospital sare are much like those of the army being large and completely modern treatment of mental cases has received much attention in this war first every effort is made at in induction stations to reject men who would be likely to break down under er stress of war dangers and end hardships despite this caution many men cr crack ick under the strain rn in various overseas hospitals admissions for mental ills amount to 20 to 25 per cent of all cases soldiers who collapses are sent to evacuation hospitals where they are treated by sedatives seda tives prolonged rest food and certain techniques that allow them to release their pent up emotions they are encouraged to talk about their frightful experiences from 50 to 70 1 5 li f N I 1 pharmacists mates on board a U S destroyer in the mediterranean inject blood plasma into the arm arin ot of a captured enemy lie lid was a crewman on a submarine sunk by the destroyer per cent will recover in from two to five days most of the others are eventually sent home the navy has had similar experience and employs about the same procedure reconditioning the army medical department is developing a program to put the wounded soldier in the best possible condition upon his dismissal from the hospital ails is called reconditioning one phase is designed to reorient the handicapped man the blind deaf and crippled blind men are a re taught braille writing and reading and other skills that make life easier the deaf learn lip hp reading men wh who 0 have suffered red amputations imputations get artificial limbs and special training when possible these unfortunate pate men are helped to earn a living 11 v in some new trade those men who can return to service are encouraged to do so as the army believes that a veteran who wh 0 lip ha been wounded in action is the most valuable kind of soldier these men fully appreciate the widd wisdom m and necessity of instructions tor for escaping injury in combat the reconditioning patients are divided into four classes 1 those nearest the point of recovery who are arc capable of eight hours of physical training daily 2 those who can stand six hours of physical exercise daily 3 walking cases still receiving treatments 4 convalescent cases still confined to beds men in the first two classes are segregated from other patients put back in in uniform and placed under regular discipline anese soldiers go on marches up to 15 miles engage in training maneuvers play body contact games and work at such projects as victory gardens poultry raising and construction work generally these men are willing and edger to return to service soldiers in classes three and four receive every treat treatment rilent possible to hasten recovery massage sun bathing supervised exercise exercise those who can help the ward attendants in their duties and engage in such games as their condition permits A program of education in military and cultural sciences and entertainments helps to keep their minds occupied and at case the army maintains about 80 general era hospitals in the united states each containing about a thousand beds there are about smaller institutions at various various posts throughout the world army personnel have about beds available and more hospitals are in construction tion the navy operates 36 general hospitals and seven convalescent institutions in the united states totaling beds facilities at posts and stations amount to an additional dit ional beds prevention another important service of the medical departments is is prevention of diseases by antitoxins and sanitary measures inoculations in both a army and navy include serums to prevent typhoid fever s smallpox mall pox tetanus yellow fever typhus cholera and plague so some me are given to every man in service service others only to those who will likely be exposed to a particular disease results have been most satisfactory during 1942 there were no cases of yellow fever or cholera in the army and only a few cases of smallpox and plague about 50 men became sick with typhus but only less than halt half a dozen died scarcely any man who had been inoculated moru for tetanus developed infection the navy reported similar success in battling diseases last war the influenza epidemic swept through army camps causing 80 per cent of the disease deaths in 1918 A mild epidemic threatened in in december 1941 and lasted until march 1942 but it was easily co controlled n troll ed and practically no deaths resulted A form of pneumonia called a has been widespread and has put many men in in the hospital but the mortality rate is is low recovery is slow so loss of time from duty is serious servicemen in in the tropics are exposed to some bizarre diseases such as fil anasis a parasitic ailment transmitted by mosquitoes the ailment breaks forth in lesions and glandular swellings only about seven cases per men have been reported fighters in the south seas have encountered malaria in in the swampy islands in 1942 the ardys rate of malarial infection was about 30 men per thousand it rose to 80 per thousand during 1943 because of increased activities in the steaming jungles the marine marine landing forces report leport a rate of 1555 5 per thousand or nearly 16 per cent this despite mosquito repellents repel lents screens spraying of mosquito larvae and edmin admin of drugs including quinine compounds to servicemen malaria is called a serious health menace by the medical authorities widespread battlefronts have multiplied the problems of the medical dental care is a constant need among the fighting men george fry is one of the navy dentists I 1 who is keeping the marines teeth in first class condition A marine larine corps photo corps this time but advances of science and improved organization have combined to make the service mans chances of returning to civilian life unimpaired much better than they have ever beem beau in the long his 1 tory of war var |