“GASSED.”

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XL, Issue 11437, 30 November 1915, Page 2

“GASSED.”

■yi. WHAT IT MEANS. V'- t TERRIBLE SUFFERING ,‘lu ' ENTAILED. it: ■ [.•' If any ordinary person fails to I 1 realu;o that modern war is “belli” (■ let him reflect upon what “gassing” means. Tbo following remarks from t” a meagre description of the sutferf, ing it entails, writes “F.R.C.S.” in [' the Daily Mail. i : In a typical “gassed” case the idea r, of impending suffocation predomiu- \ ales. Every muscle of respiration is i called upon to do its utmost to avert tho threatened doom. The imper- !'• feet aeration of the Wood arising !■ ■ from obstructed respiration causes |. oftentimes intense blueness and Ip clamminess of the face, while froth I and expectoration blow from the mouth, impelled by a choking 1 cough. The poor, fighting man tosses and turns himself into every position in search of relsf. But his efforts are unavailing: he feels that ' his power of breathng is failing, that asphyxiation, is gradually becoming complete. The slow strangling of his respiration, of which bo is fully conscious, at last enfeebles liis strength. No longer is it possible for him to expel the profuse expectoration; the air tubes of his lungs become distended, and with a few gasps he dies. The danger of these cases mostly lies in the immediate effects. A fully “gassed” man in the early clays of the war had hut small chances of recovery. Fatalities, therefore, were frequent. This stage of the symptoms usually continued for more than thirty hours. SOME SYMPTOMS. If the “gassed” man survives the first stage of his agony, some sleep • may follow tho gradual decline of • ■ tho urgent symptoms After such sleep, varyiugly lasting, he feels refreshed and belter. Experience has shown that such comparative improvement continues for some hours, and advantage is taken of this to despatch him for hospital treatment at the base. But further trouble is m store for him, trouble which will soon supervene, by which his life will again ho placed in peril and the demand upon his fortitude renewed. Tho ■ intense irritation to which the respiratory passages have been exposed by tho inhalation of the suffocating gas is quickly followed by the supervention of acute bronchitis. In such attacks death may come owing to the severity of the inflammation, This was almost the rule at first ■ when the ''‘gassing’ was of a severe degree. In mild cases of “gassing, ” on the other hand, the resulting bronchitis develops in a modified form, with the result that recovery

now generally follows. Time, howover, can only show to what extent > permanent damage to the lungs is inflicted. Possibly chronic bronchitis may be the lot of such “-gassed” men in after life, or some pulmonary trouble equally disturbing. It is difficult to believe that they can wholly escape some evil effect. ’ When “gassed” cases first came under the attention of the army medical officers the difficulty had to be solved of how best to deal with the symptoms. The condition was one entirely new to surgical practice. Moreover, it was not .known to what precise causes the fatal cases were due. Until, therefore, this knowledge became available the treatment adopted was that upon general principles and of no special character. Now, however, matters in this regard rest upon an entirely different footing. SPECIAL TREATMENT.

As soon as it was found that the immediate cause of death in the fatal cases was acute congestion of the lungs the symptoms admitted of treatment upon special and definite lines. Means were devised tor ensuring tho expulsion of the excessive secretion trem the lungs. Thus it became possible to avert asphyxiation, and much relief was obtained. Again, the practice of artificial respiration was found highly useful, even to the extent of saving life in some apparently hopeless cases. Then the character of the exudation demanded careful attention. Drugs were administered to facilitate its expulsion by renderng it less viscid and tenacious. The risk of a failing heart had also at times to be encountered, and this was accomplished by the use of a special organic compound which recent years has evolved as a valuable therapeutic advancement in medical science. The inhalation of qxygeu was also employed with favourable effect in particular cases, and that “gift of Ood to man”—opium—was found invaluable in cases in which restlessness was assigned more to mental than to physical stress. It may hereforo be concluded from the foregoing that the science and skill of the army medical officers are now capable of rendering all the relief that it is possible to combat the effects of this method of warfare. Since the introduction and use of tho ‘repsirators,” designed to neutralise the gaseous product, the cases have diminished in severity. Doubtless many lives and much suffering have been saved in consequence. Still, the casualty lists continue to show that “gas poisoning” is a cause of men being rendered unfit for their duties.