Dogs of War (Canine Variety )

[Motherland]

How did the dogs get gas burns on their feet?  Does chlorine gas contaminate soil?

-Penguin

Chlorine, sulfur etc. are a lot heavier than nitrogen, oxygen etc.

[Babalonian]

11. Dangers to be anticipated from liquid mustard gas.

The great majority of mustard gas casualties in the Great War were caused by exposure to the vapour emanating from collections of the liquid deposited by shell. In the absence of special protective clothing, mustard gas burns are inevitable unless the normal clothing be removed within a matter of minutes. The appearance of these burns will be delayed, and they will be slight or severe, localized or extensive, according to the number and size of the drops of the liquid on the clothing.

Gross contamination of the body with correspondingly severe results may also occur from splashes of liquid mustard gas due to proximity to a bursting mustard gas shell or bomb.

A more insidious danger from the liquid is represented by contaminated material which may require handling where contamination may not be suspected; or, again, when mustard gas in the frozen state is present, and, owing to the reduction of vaporization under such conditions, it is unwittingly handled on contaminated material or otherwise brought into contact with the skin.

A number of casualties have in the past occurred through accidental splashes of, or contact with, the liquid in factories and shell-filling depots.

<large snip>

(3) Action on the skin.

Before describing the effects of mustard gas vapour on the skin it may be useful to mention some of the factors that influence the penetration of the gas or modify the severity of its action.

As in the case of liquid mustard gas, the vapour owes its penetrative powers to its ready solubility in the lipoid tissues of the skin. The degree of skin burning which follows is accentuated if the exposed skin area be a highly sensitive and tender region such as the apple, or if it be a surface which is subjected to constant friction, as is the case in the neck, the wrist and the ankles.

If the exposed skin surface be bare, the attack of the vapour will be direct, and the result more rapid than if the skin be clothed. This temporary protection of clothed areas is due to the fact that ordinary porous clothing material absorbs the vapour and retards its access to the skin; but if such clothing be worn beyond the period of actual exposure, or if the exposure be prolonged, the vapour retained by the clothing will increase the severity of the resulting skin burns.

This temporary protection varies in duration according to the nature, texture, thickness and degree of humidity of the clothing. Thus, a thin openwork cotton garment in close apposition with the body surface will not greatly retard the access of the vapour to the skin, whereas thick close-woven material, such as serge and woollen clothing generally, will definitely do so, and may even save the area from burns provided that it be discarded on leaving the contaminated area. Again, damp and sweaty clothing will absorb more mustard gas vapour than the same clothing when clean and dry.

After the lapse of the usual latent period, which may vary from two to 48 hours after exposure to the vapour of mustard gas, an erythematous blush appears over the affected area and gradually deepens in intensity until the skin looks scorched.

This redness is not unlike the eruption of scarlet fever, and is usually accompanied by only a slight degree of irritation. The erythema is most marked on the skin areas which are hot and moist; dense tissues like the scalp, the palm of the hand or the skin of the heel usually escape unless the concentration of the vapour be high and localized to that area, as, for example, from drops of liquid mustard gas on a cloth cap.

The affected area soon begins to show superficial blistering in the form of small vesicles which rapidly coalesce to produce large blisters full of a clear yellow serum; on evacuating this fluid and removing the overlying epithelium, a raw, red, weeping surface is exposed.

As a rule, vesication is complete by the second day, but blisters may appear in crops for days following exposure, even though all contaminated clothing be discarded at an early stage. Systemic disturbance is absent, unless the burns are extensive and severe; interference with sleep, however, may be caused by the distressing itching which may accompany the developing burns.

Very mild cases may show simply erythema, (Plate 2) followed later by pigmentation with scurfy desquamation, the "blister" stage being absent.

In severe cases the erythema may deepen to a dusky, almost violet, tint, oedema of the skin is marked, and blisters appear over the dark background overlying a deep red or haemorrhagic base. Such blisters progress slowly, and are very prone to sepsis owing to the serious devitalization of the tissues; ulceration is liable to spread beyond the limits of the blister, and healing is very slow. If sepsis occurs it adds to the severity and duration of all lesions ; the necrosed tissues form an excellent medium for pathogenic organisms, and death may result if extensive or deep burns are thus affected.

The healing of an uncomplicated vapour burn is more rapid than one due to liquid mustard gas, but a common feature of all mustard gas bums is the long time they take to heal. The chemical irritant seriously damages the vitality of the affected tissues, and all processes of skin repair are delayed.

The healed stage is characterized by a brownish or coppery pigmentation of the epithelial layers in the areas previously affected by the erythema. (Plate 3) This staining is superficial, and usually disappears with the normal desquamation of the superficial layers of the skin.

Plate 3. Buttocks of man who sat on contaminated ground. Drawing made on Day 11.

As a rule, serious after-effects are absent, and the scars resulting from vapour burns are shallow, but a chronic eczematous condition or a generalized furunculosis may, rarely, follow such burns and prove obstinate to treatment.

[Penguin]

Chlorine, sulfur etc. are a lot heavier than nitrogen, oxygen etc.

Oh, so it's like mixing water and say... mercury?

-Penguin

[morfiend]

 The gas was heavier than air by design so it would sink down into the trenches.Since the dogs didnt have protective foot wear they would be subject to the burns shown in the picture above.


 BTW Masonz,the Rottie wasnt around during roman times despite what you may have heard,however they are from the line on Mollosors which were the type of dogs the Romans used. The Rottie is a mastiff's breed that was used mostly to pull carts,like the butcher's cart or ice cart.this is why they are sometimes called the Butchers dog.




      

[Penguin]

The gas was heavier than air by design so it would sink down into the trenches.Since the dogs didnt have protective foot wear they would be subject to the burns shown in the picture above.


 BTW Masonz,the Rottie wasnt around during roman times despite what you may have heard,however they are from the line on Mollosors which were the type of dogs the Romans used. The Rottie is a mastiff's breed that was used mostly to pull carts,like the butcher's cart or ice cart.this is why they are sometimes called the Butchers dog.




      

Dogs pulled stuff other than sleds?  I learn something new every day.

-Penguin

[Motherland]

Oh, so it's like mixing water and say... mercury?

-Penguin

Actually going from Babalonian's post, mustard gas was distributed from a liquid that vaporized so I guess the dogs probably stepped in puddles (for lack of a better term) of it.

The great majority of mustard gas casualties in the Great War were caused by exposure to the vapour emanating from collections of the liquid deposited by shell. In the absence of special protective clothing, mustard gas burns are inevitable unless the normal clothing be removed within a matter of minutes. The appearance of these burns will be delayed, and they will be slight or severe, localized or extensive, according to the number and size of the drops of the liquid on the clothing.

Gross contamination of the body with correspondingly severe results may also occur from splashes of liquid mustard gas due to proximity to a bursting mustard gas shell or bomb.

A more insidious danger from the liquid is represented by contaminated material which may require handling where contamination may not be suspected; or, again, when mustard gas in the frozen state is present, and, owing to the reduction of vaporization under such conditions, it is unwittingly handled on contaminated material or otherwise brought into contact with the skin.

A number of casualties have in the past occurred through accidental splashes of, or contact with, the liquid in factories and shell-filling depots.

But yeah, what you said's what I was getting at, a heavy gas like chlorine is going to 'sink' below the nitrogen and oxygen that makes up the vast majority of air particles. You can literally pour a heavy gas.

[Babalonian]

Actually going from Babalonian's post, mustard gas was distributed from a liquid that vaporized so I guess the dogs probably stepped in puddles (for lack of a better term) of it.

But yeah, what you said's what I was getting at, a heavy gas like chlorine is going to 'sink' below the nitrogen and oxygen that makes up the vast majority of air particles. You can literally pour a heavy gas.

Any liquid water, be it standing in a puddle, raining from the sky, or soaked into the mud they were all living on in the trenches.

[morfiend]

Dogs pulled stuff other than sleds?  I learn something new every day.

-Penguin

  Yes they did they also worked treadmills to do all kinds of things from pumping water to churning butter!


   

[Pigslilspaz]

But yeah, what you said's what I was getting at, a heavy gas like chlorine is going to 'sink' below the nitrogen and oxygen that makes up the vast majority of air particles. You can literally pour a heavy gas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzLX96VWTkc

proof.

[Penguin]

  Yes they did they also worked treadmills to do all kinds of things from pumping water to churning butter!


   

That makes me think of the poor hamsters running the servers in Skuzzy's office.

-Penguin

[Rash]

The dog on right, looks like it took more damage from gas.  That white area on the face is not normal, and it kind of looks like he/she is in a carring bag.

[morfiend]

The dog on right, looks like it took more damage from gas.  That white area on the face is not normal, and it kind of looks like he/she is in a carring bag.

  The dog on the right appears to be wearing a muzzle,wouldnt surprize me as during treatment they're likely to bite.

  Those terriers were used to control rats and werent exactly "pets" they'd be very game dogs that would not likely take kindly to people handling them,never mind if they were injured!


     

[Curlew]

Who let the dogs out!!
 

[Rash]

  The dog on the right appears to be wearing a muzzle,wouldnt surprize me as during treatment they're likely to bite.

  Those terriers were used to control rats and werent exactly "pets" they'd be very game dogs that would not likely take kindly to people handling them,never mind if they were injured!


     

I have one, your right on the rats.  He has a special way too dispatch rats and other rodents.  However, he is very docile in the house and to people in general.  He killed the neighbors rabbit a few weeks ago, but the rabbit got loose and hopped in my yard.

[morfiend]

 Yes Rash I have 2 english staffies that excell in keeping my yard clear of squirrels!

  So there are no squirrels for my protection and HTC has no pictures of me crashing thanks to my dogs.