If you're old enough, you probably remember that shortly after the Desert Storm soldiers started to get sick - real sick.
It began in Indiana in early 1992, when soldiers in two reserve units that had fought in the Persian Gulf war began to suffer a puzzling array of symptoms. Some became unusually fatigued, and others said that their joints ached. They experienced headaches, rashes and hair loss, and their memories occasionally failed them. In some cases, the symptoms were severe enough to require hospitalization.
It gets worse.
As the military prepares for a possible war with Iraq, researchers have identified a new malady among veterans of the first Gulf War: <red>burning semen syndrome</red>.
In these veterans, exposure to semen causes burning, pain and swelling at the tip of the penis and in the vaginal areas of their partners.
A couple of days ago, the LA Times reported:
Contradicting nearly two decades of government denials, a congressionally mandated scientific panel has concluded that Gulf War syndrome is real and still afflicts nearly a quarter of the 700,000 U.S. troops who served in the 1991 conflict.
Apparently, having guys show up complaining that their dicks had turned into flame throwers somehow wasn't really real and it would all somehow just go away over time.
The report cited two chemical exposures consistently associated with the disorder: the drug pyridostigmine bromide, given to troops to protect against nerve gas, and pesticides that were widely used -- and often overused -- to protect against sand flies and other pests.
After I returned from Desert Shield/Storm and started hearing about GWS, I told anyone and everyone who asked that the culprit in GWS was pyridostigmine bromide. Of course, I couldn't pronounce that, so I just called it PB.
By the way, it was approved for the Military by the FDA.
FDA has approved pyridostigmine bromide to increase survival after exposure to the nerve agent Soman. Pyridostigmine bromide is approved only for combat use by U.S. military personnel.
I remember when I was first ordered to take PB, I asked my CO all about it. I recall he told me it was FDA approved and all, and that I shouldn't worry and just take it.
I took it exactly once. It made me feel like I had to squeeze poop out of every pore in my body. The whole experience sucked, so I started to spit it out and bury in the sand whenever it was distributed for consumption. (They really did try to make sure we all took it.)
I have no medical training whatsoever. So how could I have known all this time that GWS was real and not imagined, and how could I have known that the culprit was PB when it took the government 18 years to reach that same conclusion?
I suppose in another 18 years, we'll find out the PTSD is real too?
hink