It’s funny what one remembers.  My DH developed a painful infection on his right foot in Vietnam.  He said it was from wet feet.  He remembers that a corpsman cleaned it with soap and water, then used a “peanut-shaped” bristle brush to scrub the wound hard to” get the pus out” and remove the dead skin and bloody residues.  Then he cleaned it with a stinging antiseptic and used clean bandages to wrap the foot up.   The treatment hurt but his wound healed.

This minor true incident got me thinking about the scrub brush.  Was it the same common kind you’d find in a kitchen?  Did the “doc” improvise with a common brush because it worked on these sores?  Or was it a special military-issued field surgical scrub brush?  I haven’t been able to find pictures of 1970s military aid kits showing wound scrub brushes.

I asked my DH if the brush was discarded after it was used on your wound.  Or was it cleaned with something?  He didn’t remember that part.  Do you think he might have used it on another guy after you?  He didn’t know. I’m curious about how these sores were treated!

Today, I’m sure military surgical/wound scrub brushes are discarded after use as medical waste.  But what were the practices in Vietnam in the 60’s and 70’s?  And how big a problem were foot infections in the tropics?     

Ed. note: Well the rot was common enough that I got it on both feet and came home with it.  I also hung around for two years. I finally killed it in 84 or 85 but only with a major medical attack by my doctor. The nail fungus has almost abated but still makes an occasional appearance every 8 or ten years.

NOD