Trench foot is an injury that pops up if feet are exposed to cold and wet conditions.
It is one of three types of immersion foot.
This results in a lack of oxygen supply to the feet and damage to tissue.
Huntstock / Getty Images
Symptoms of trench foot include numbness, pain, redness, and swelling.
Huntstock / Getty Images
What Is Trench Foot?
Trench foot is an immersion foot disorder resulting from exposure to cold and moisture.
Over 20,000 British troops were reportedly treated for trench foot during World War I.
How did soldiers get rid of trench foot?
Prevention was the most important strategy for managing trench foot.
These measures were found to decrease the incidence of trench foot.
Causes
The main cause of trench foot is long periods of wet,cold feet.
When the feet get wet, they lose heat 25 times faster than dry feet.
But, unlike frostbite, this occurs without freezing temperatures.
Can sweaty feet cause trench foot?
In very severe conditions it can cause swelling of the leg all the way up to the knee.
How long does it take to get trench foot?
Some people can be exposed to a cold, damp environment for up to a week before symptoms appear.
In addition, other possible causes (such as an infection) must be ruled out.
Therefore awhite blood cell count(WBC) may be ordered.
How Do You Treat Trench Foot?
Many treatment and prevention measures for trench foot are the same.
These include:
Forneuropathic pain(nerve pain), your healthcare provider may prescribe amitryptiline or other medications.
Prevention
The best treatment for trench foot is prevention.
Homeless people may be at risk for trench foot as well.
Hall A, Sexton J, Lynch B, et al.Frostbite and immersion foot care.Mil Med.
2017;28(2S):S82-S89.
doi:10.1016/j.wem.2017.03.010
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.Cold stresscold related illnesses.
= = Emerg Med.
UpToDate.Nonfreezing cold water (trench foot) and warm water immersion injuries.
Zafren K.Nonfreezing cold injury (trench foot).Int J Environ Res Public Health.
