Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-10-04
To Make SPECIAL STUDY
OF DISEASES DUE TO WAR
Given All Experience They
Desire This Winter.
"sHELL SHOCK" TROUBLESOME
Neurologists Attached to Various
Units Will Study Problem at
French and British Hospitals and
Afterwards Lecture to Officers.

AMERICAN TRAINING CAMP IN
FRANCE. October 3.-American medi-
cal officers will devote the coming
winter to q special study OF tho dis
eases peculiar to tho war and war
conditions. in addition to their work
at the forward casualty clearing sta
tons on the French and British fronts.
AT the casualty stations they will
get all tho experience they desire in
the marvellous war surgery which has
made such, rapid strides In the past
three years. They will be trained In
all the medical phases OF their work
In tho field at special schools.
Ono subject to which much atten-
zion VIII be devotsd Will bo that Of
smell shock" which has proved very
troublesome to both the British and
French medical officers. Ncurologists
attached to tho various American
units will study tho problem at French
ann British hospitals. and afterwards
VIII givo lectures to their fellow
medical ofricers. both in tho hospitals
and attached to the troops in training.
Ihere Is no moro pitiful object in the
world than man acutely suffering
from shell shock. Hypnotism has been
useo frequently as cure 1t stops
the trembling and twitching in most
regarded as not a roal euro. Tho Brit
ish have found that soldiers suffering
from shell shock who do not have
hypnotic treatment invariably set back
TO duty quicker than those who do.
Shell shock often causes deafness.
dunphess and blindness--the effect of
inc conclusion from an exploding mis-
$40 nearby. man may be tossed
ABOUT by three or four shells without
getting h. by fragment or a spi,n-
ter, but the effect OF this tossing al
ways tells on his nervous system.
Somo OF the worst shell shock case.
have been those where soldiers werc
buried under the earth thrown I'D by
huge Drotectiles. Such burial does not
always affect tho mel that way. II
III related that recently when an old
British sergeant was dug out from
under ton or moro OF shell debris
and asked II he was hurt, no replied:
NO, Sir. ! guess not. but am GER
tainly strong for separate peace-'
a remarkable thing about shell
shock cases Ia that none occur dur
Ing n big battle. The reason for this
Is perfectly plain. In battle the men
are ouoyed up by tho great excite
mcnt. arc pressing forward. and often
are engaged In hand -to-hand fighting.
while all about them Is tho continual
roar OF battle. They often become alb
soiutely oblivious to exploding shells
under these circumstances untu ac
tualiy hit. She'll shock comes when
the men are compelled to sit In
trenches for long periods or when they
are out on nerve-testing patrol duty
between tho lighting lines at night and
DIE German missile bursts unc1-
pectedly over them
The treatment OF shell shock CASE,
Is often closely akin to that for tenn.
porary insanity. Tho doctors and
other attendants strive always to get
the confidence OF their patients and
try to start them talking, when the
trembling and other manifestations
frequently disappear.