Can any medical experts help ?

[Duncan]

Hello,

I am researching a South African Warrant Officer 2nd Class and his service record states he was admitted to hospital with defective vision, and a short while later with VD. Are there any doctors out there who would know if VD would cause defective vision ?

Thanks for the help,

Duncan.

[nshighlander]

Here`s another one.Is VD a chargeable offence?If you had the decease

would they send you to the front?Maybe away to get out of going to the front?

Could be the same as shootig yourself in the foot to some?Maybe this is not the place to discuss this.

Cheers

Dave

[Muerrisch]

I am sure that bad eyesight might be blamed for VD in some cases. Think about it.

No, seriously, one of my very young officers had both common VDs, a bad case. It did not save him from the line, or death.

[Neil Burns]

Hi All,

I'm pretty sure advanced Syphillus causes blindness.

If I recall didn't you (not YOU personally) get docked pay for being in the hospital with VD?

Take care,

Neil

[Neil Mackenzie]

Not a doctor but the secondary stage of syphilis generally sees fever and swelling of the lymph nodes. During this stage there can also be inflamation of the brain and the iris of the eye (known as iritis).

Neil

[Guest Hussar]

Base Hospital No.9 was set aside specifically for dealing with cases of VD.

To ensure the unfortunates realised that it was all their fault, stoppages were made from their pay. Officers had to pay 2s.6d. for every day in hospital and enlisted men 7d. Officers also lost their Field Allowance and any man in reciept of extra efficiency bonuses had these docked.

Whilst stoppages were normal for any illness not contracted through active service, all other illnesses, except alchoholism, were deemed to be active service illnesses!

Also, as from 27th January 1917, anyone contracting VD became ineligible for any leave for a full 12 months. ( From 'Eye Deep in Hell' by John Ellis)

[nshighlander]

Thanks for the info.The stoppage of pay would be a hard one to tell the love

ones at home.I hope that wasn`t a silly?

Cheers

Dave

[Guest Hussar]

The only silly question is the one you don't ask.

[Michael]

Its funny that this subject should come up. I was writing something for the village newsletter last night and looked up one of the guy's service records. In March 18th 1919 he was admitted to No8 Sty Hosp with "VDS", which I took to mean VD.

The OC of the hospital gave him "Hospl Stoppage 19/3/19 to 12/5/19". I assumed this to be some sort of punishment.

I neglected to include this particular episode in my article because descendants still live in the village.

By the way, he also left the army minus 30 teeth which I suppose might have been a symptom of his "illness".

The guy concerned had a wife and 3 children at home.

Michael

[Kate Wills]

Duncan,

You say that this chap presented with defective vision, and the VD was noted later, which is the reverse of what would be expected. Syphilis can affect the eyesight, even cause blindness, but a couple of years, or even decades, after the initial infection.

Maybe he was worried about his eyesight, forgot his troubles with a night on the tiles, and then had even more to worry about.

[Neil Mackenzie]

Michael.

I am not sure if VD causes loss of teeth.

George Orwell in his excellent 'Road to Wigan Pier' comments on large families where no one had a single real tooth in their head. This was caused by the atrocious diet that many people survived on at the time (and this was in the 1930's!).

Unfortunately, I cannot quote from the book as I have lent it out, but it is an eye opener regarding the conditions large numbers of people lived in.

Neil