Trench foot
The mainstay of treatment, like the treatment of gangrene, is surgical debridement, and often includes amputation. Self-treatment consists of changing socks two or three times a day and usage of plenty of talcum powder. Wherever possible, shoes and socks should be taken off, feet bathed for five minutes, patted dry, talcum powder applied and feet elevated to let air get to them.
Treatment of equine lameness
“Firing”, or thermal injury, includes thermocautery and cold firing. In both cases, firing is performed after the initial inflammation associated with the injury has subsided. The horse is sedated, and the area is clipped and blocked with a local anesthetic. The most common form of firing is “pin firing”, which uses a specialized machine with a hot tip to penetrate through the skin and into the tendon or periosteum. Multiple applications are applied in rows over the site of injury. As expected, horses require analgesia following this procedure. Uses for pin firing include tendonitis, suspensory desmitis, sesamoiditis, splints, curbs, and other soft-tissue injuries. Cold firing is a method similar to pin firing, but uses liquid nitrogen to produce its effects. It is often used to treat lameness associated with the bone, such as sore shins or splints, and usually only after other treatments have failed. Firing forces rest of an injury, and while some argue this is the true reason it leads to any improvement of lameness, others contest that undeniable success in its use has been seen. Pin firing is not taught in veterinary schools in present day.