Gas Attacks
This is the nightmare of the soldiers in WW1
This is what the soldiers of the war would refer to as gassing. Gassing was the use of a substance known as mustard gas. Mustard gas was a powerful gas that had a brownish yellow type color and remained close to the ground since it is denser than the air that it is placed under.
When a soldier breathed in the mustard gas, at first they would not appear to have any effects as the gas would take 24 hours before showing any physical symptoms. At first the soldier experiences mild skin irritation and itchiness, but as time progressed the soldier would experience large blisters filled with a yellow goo. If the soldier had gas contact with the eyes they would experience soreness to start, then a swelling of the eyelid, followed by temporary blindness. Also when contacted with the skin the gas would cause first to second degree burns varying on how much the soldiers skin was in contact with the gas.
When a soldier breathed in the mustard gas, at first they would not appear to have any effects as the gas would take 24 hours before showing any physical symptoms. At first the soldier experiences mild skin irritation and itchiness, but as time progressed the soldier would experience large blisters filled with a yellow goo. If the soldier had gas contact with the eyes they would experience soreness to start, then a swelling of the eyelid, followed by temporary blindness. Also when contacted with the skin the gas would cause first to second degree burns varying on how much the soldiers skin was in contact with the gas.
Prevention
The only way to prevent some of the symptoms caused by mustard gas was to wear a gas mask. Although it protected the soldier from the effects of inhaling the gas, every other physical effect would still take place, such as the burning of the skin when there was any exposure to the gas. So there was no real prevention, but the gas mask was the best soldiers could do without hindering themselves.
In the early war the only soldiers that had gas masks where the triple entente. They knew ahead of time that there was to be some sort of gas weapon and created the gas mask as a primary, easy to use defense against any weapon. It only occurred later in the war, in which the alliance would use gas masks.