Trench foot is marked by ulcers, blisters on the feet when it is kept exposed to unsanitary conditions for long time. Very often trench foot develops on people who work constantly on wet or damp environment. Is it is one of the syndromes that belong to “immersion foot syndrome”. This disease was first noticed on the soldiers of World War I who were badly affected on their feet due to prolonged exposure to moist conditions without wearing waterproof boots. This disease is quite common on cold weather and rainy days.
Many British soldiers were forced to keep their feet immersed in waterlogged ditches where they were asked to stand for hours together. This would seriously affect the normal blood flow on their feet and cause numbness and in serious cases the entire feet has to be amputated. It was reported that more than 20,000 soldiers were treated for trench foot. Due to this condition the foot gets infected turning into red color due to erythrosis or blue color due to cyanosis. The feet develops stench due to continuous exposure to moisture and when the conditions become worse or left untreated it begins to swell. In advanced stage trench foot develops blisters or ulcerous growth leading to gangrene.
Causes :
The main cause for trench feet is exposing the feet to moisture or wet conditions for prolonged time. It can also be caused due to exposure of feet on unsanitary water or cold conditions. Hours of exposure to wetness will cause itchiness and rash formation on the skin which in turn will promote bacterial growth causing tissue damage. If left untreated this condition will lead to ulcer or blisters or sometimes causes gangrene leading to amputation of the feet.
The trench foot does not develop overnight. It occurs slowly on three stages :-