Throughout the years with the many wars and conflicts we’ve had, soldiers have been hurt, injured, and needed medical assistance or specialized surgeries. Have we learned anything, you bet we have. Surprisingly enough there have been many new medical discoveries that have come out of each war or conflict that can ultimately save lives in the future both on the battlefield and in civilian life. Let’s explore the various discoveries.
During the Civil War doctors discovered the use
of anesthesia instead of chloroform worked better to put a soldier to sleep
during surgery, especially during amputation of limbs. With the discovery and use of anesthesia,
doctors were able to perfect cleaning out and patching up chest wounds. To
prevent infections after surgery, the discovery of quinine was used during and
after surgery. In the past, all soldiers to kept together in the same area to
help save space on the battlefield, along with allowing doctors and nurses to
better care for the patients. However, doctors soon found that those patients
who developed yellow fever were making others sick within the same vicinity,
therefore, doctors discovered that by quarantining patients after from other
patients with open wounds, those who had contracted yellow fever were able to
get better faster and other patients didn’t contract the horrible disease.
After the war, those soldiers who returned home
without a limb had to use crutches to get around until one amputee soldier, a
Confederate soldier by the name of James Hanger who lost his left designed the
first prosthetic leg and after a while, he developed a rubber foot and attached
it to the prosthetic leg. He patented the design and called it the “Hanger Limb”.
After that was patented, according to the U.S. Patent Office 134 patents were
filed with new and improved prosthetic limbs.
Field Hospitals were always set up furthest
from the actual battlefield, in whatever building or barn was available until there
was no more room. It was at this time that the Army decided it was time to build
a building near the battlefield to house both the hospital unit, surgical unit,
staffing, and morgue. We now know them as MASH Units.
The ambulance corps was also created out of
necessity during the war. This new system allowed wounded soldiers to be safely
transported from the battlefield to the field hospital (MASH Unit) to be cared
for. It was also during this time, WWI that portable pharmaceutical units were
created to allow an Army to carry with them the necessary medicines a doctor
would need to help in surgery or with various diseases afflicting a soldier on
the battlefield, from illnesses to wounds to surgeries. By WWII and Korea,
doctors had better knowledge of pharmaceuticals and how much of a dosage to use
to treat a soldier in need.
By the time Vietnam came around medics as they
were now known would carry a small case filled with bandages, and blood
clotting powder to be able to help stabilize a soldier before being transported
to a field hospital. When Iraq and Afghanistan wars came about, the use of
female tampons was used to plug bullet holes when a soldier was shot on the
battlefield. This new form of triage has prompted the military to invest in
tampons to be deployed with all medical units as well as issuing 1 or 2 to each
military person being deployed in case someone has been shot in their unit.
So as you can see war doesn’t just create chaos
but also creates solutions within the medical field.
Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, and journalist. business professional, creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a Master's in Criminology and a BS in Business Management she stepped out of the loop for a while but is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel, and photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.
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