During World war one, in the trenches, there was a huge deterioration. Soldiers not only died from the weapons and wounds, but mainly died due to the spread of diseases. Diseases as small as a common cold was spread or diseases such as shell shock or trench foot infested the trenches. Many of these diseases were contracted due to harsh weather conditions. Men were buried where they were killed, they didn’t have time to provide a proper burial. The trenches were littered with food scraps and trash. This caused an infestation of rats in the trenches, a man recalled that he was woken up by the sound of rats gnawing on a severely damaged hand. Another health issue that had a significant impact on the men is the Trench Influenza. This influenza was caused by lice, this disease was said to have killed more people than the war itself. Trench influenza ran rampant in the trenches due to the men not being able to wash their clothes. This caused the men to scratch unceasingly. The clothes they would wear were covered in lice eggs. When they would put their clothes on it would open up the egg, as a result, the lice, being verily infectious and dangerous, caused the soldiers exorbitant pain. …show more content…
What trench foot is, this disease was caused from cold and wet conditions. The men would stand in puddles of their waste and rain. This would cause the men’s feet to swell up two or three times its normal size. A statement from Harry Robert gives brutal details of having trench foot, “If you have never had trench foot described to you, I will explain. Your feet swell to two to three times their normal size and go completely dead. You can stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are lucky enough not to lose your feet and the swelling starts to go down, it is then that the most indescribable agony begins." (Harry