The hygiène of the Turkish army / by J.N. Radcliffe.

  • John Netten Radcliffe
Date:
1858
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The hygiène of the Turkish army / by J.N. Radcliffe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    head from wet; the existence of any peculiar tendency to evil effects arising from undue action of the sun's rays upon the head, and consequent upon the use of the fez, is doubtful; and although some medical men consider that the fez induces an unusual amount of ophthalmic affections amongst the Turkish troops, yet these affections are so frequently, if not generally, as- sociated with filthy habits, that the correctness of the conclusion may be doubted. Early in the spring of 1855, when attached to the Turkish forces at Eupatoria, I noticed that a large number of the soldiers were affected with ophthalmia tarsi. The disease was almost invariably connected with great personal filth, and it was most commonly found among those men who were crowded in the filthy hovels within the town, particularly in the deserted shops, which had never been fitted up as dwelling- houses. In these wretched quarters the men sought warmth from close crowding and incandescent char- coal, and they rested upon floors of hardened mud. At the same time the food of the men was insufficient and of bad quality, and the water chiefly used was brackish. The infantry are shod with loose strong slippers ; the cavalry with boots which extend to the middle of the leg; and both classes of soldiers wear thick woollen stockings. The soldier loves to have his legs warmly clad, and he often has recourse to sundry effective but ungainly expedients, in addition to the means provided for him.
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