Abstract

Warm water immersion injuries of the feet are of considerable relevance to military operations in tropical and sub-tropical regions.

An outline of experience gained during the 1939-45 and Vietnam wars is given.

Recently, two distinct warm water immersion injuries have been delineated viz. Warm Water Immersion Foot (WWIF) and Tropical Immersion Foot (TIF), the latter resulting from longer periods of immersion.

The current state of knowledge with respect to pathogenesis, clinical features, histopathology, management and prophylaxis, of these two syndromes, is presented.

A requirement exists for further study, with emphasis on the pathogenesis and prophylaxis of Tropical Immersion Foot.