During warfare, gas remains one of the most feared weapons. It inspires emotion out of all proportion to its ability to kill or wound. Now a thematic analysis of statements from war veterans suggests that they view the effects of chemical weapons as irreversible, potent, and debilitating - in marked contrast to objective measures of their health.
Reporting in the British Medical Journal (see http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/335/7633/1313) the authors describe how records from the First World War (when chemical weapons had become an integral part of the main combatants’ armoury) allowed them to explore the ideas and beliefs held by servicemen exposed to gas but not seriously incapacitated. To focus on the psychological effects of gassing, those who had severe disability were excluded. ‘We are reasonably certain that they suffered no longer ill effects because of their long lives, but also because we have lots of follow-up data about their health,’ lead author Edgar Jones (Institute of Psychiatry) told The Psychologist.
Themes emerging from 228 statements from 60 veterans suggested that the veterans believed they had an enduring illness, that it had been caused by gas, and that it was severe enough to lead to a considerable loss of time from work. For many veterans the gas had become an integral element of themselves. In contrast with shrapnel, the chemical agent had no definite physical limits and no operation could remove it. Once absorbed within their respiratory system, veterans believed that gas would continue to damage their health and rob them of the capacity to perform any form of work that required heavy breathing. Some deliberately sought employment out of doors to ensure a ready supply of fresh air.
The authors reject the suggestions that the claims might be falsified or exaggerated, in order to gain a war pension. ‘Many claims were rejected for this reason so the accounts in the sample are those that withstood scrutiny over a protracted period.’
‘The conviction of having been gassed, whether accurate or not, had long term deleterious effects on a person’s beliefs about illness and perceptions of heath and wellbeing,’ write the authors. ‘Our analysis might also assist in understanding the otherwise baffling persistence of ill health experienced by some US and UK military personnel after their deployment to the 1991 Gulf war.’
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The Psychologist
