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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Treatment for Scabies


PJS

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My grandfather was twice hospitalized for Scabies in WW1. First in Egypt in November 1916 for 9-days (at a Field Ambulance) and then 4 months later in France (at a Stationary Hospital) for 13-days. Can anyone provide a detailed description of how Scabies was treated by the Army in WW1 and an explanation of why it took as many days as it did to treat?

 

Peter

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See Chapter II - Skin Diseases, pp.68 &f of the Official History - Medical Services Diseases of the War, Vol. II (WG MacPherson et al., 1924), Scabies is covered in detail on pp.82-86.  The chapter Bibliography on pp.112-117 gives further references.

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7 minutes ago, MBrockway said:

See Chapter II - Skin Diseases, pp.68 &f of the Official History - Medical Services Diseases of the War, Vol. II (WG MacPherson et al., 1924), Scabies is covered in detail on pp.82-86.  The chapter Bibliography on pp.112-117 gives further references. 

 

Thank you. https://archive.org/stream/medicalservicesd02macp#page/70/search/scabies

 

Peter

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Scabies was quite common during the war among the civilian and military population....there were cases of it breaking out at schools resulting in scabie treatment  which was lotion applied to skin.Being contiguous,it might have been a wartime reportable infection since as far as I can remember there was infection medical support  centre,external to GP services in town.Head lice was another problem among schoolgirls...I remember my mother performing the ritual of using the special comb on my young sisters' hair in the evening after returning from school.

 

Regarding the services.Some time ago I read the account of a RAF evader who was downed in France in the summer of 1944.He was on the run for 3 months or so with help from the French Resistance circles.When his location was overrun by the Allies,he was repatriated back to England and had to be deloused as he was found to be subject to a lice infection and also had picked up scabies. FFI at its best.

 

 

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