Quoted By:
Diarrhea is one of the most deadly things that can happen to you while in the army, and probably a death sentence in some situations.
Back in the civil war, it was actually the number one killer. For every person shot and killed there were 4 or so killed by diarrhea, probably more.
What didn't help was that early on they tried to treat cases of it with liquor and oil, lol. I imagine dudes just acted like it helps because they were getting drunk.
Also in Vietnam, it was more widespread than malaria which was pretty bad, halved the effectiveness of entire units and was the reason the military put more effort into researching malaria. (The Chinese also had a secret project to help the VC with their malaria problems, lol)
But diarrhea was four times worse than that, so go figure.
In more recent times, it was still a big issue in the Middle East. IIRC, most people in the army reported at least one experience of having diarrhea and not being able to operate fully because of it. Not a huge problem for people that don't partake in far-away operations, but for people who did, it was a nightmare.
The thing is that soldiers refused to get it treated and sat the pain out for a few days instead of just simply getting it over in less than 12 hours with medicine.
Some didn't cause they were embarrassed of seeming like a pussy somehow, and people with certain jobs like special operations have to refrain because they'd be at risk of losing their position if it got found out they're too prone to diarrhea. The kinds of tasks they get have you out in the field for a long time which ends up with you eating nasty stuff and drinking dirty water, so having a strong stomach is mandatory.
Some though, don't get themselves treated just because they believe you're fucking with the natural process of the body if you do anything to treat diarrhea, lol.
If you ever wondered what kinds of things veteran special ops Delta/whatever bullshit operators fear the most, diarrhea is one of them.
