[1] Trench foot occurs due to prolonged exposure of the feet to cold, damp, and often unsanitary conditions.

[1] Unlike frostbite, trench foot usually occurs at temperatures above freezing,[1] and can be classed as a form of non-freezing cold injury.

[1] Health officials at the time used a variety of other terms as they studied the condition, but trench foot was eventually formally sanctioned and used.

[2] Trench foot frequently begins with the feeling of tingling and an itch in affected feet, and subsequently progresses to numbness or pain.

[1] Later, as the condition worsens feet can start to swell and smell of decay as muscle and tissue become macerated.

[1][7] Advanced trench foot often involves blisters and open sores, which lead to fungal infections; this is sometimes called jungle rot.

Exposure to these environmental conditions causes deterioration and destruction of the capillaries and leads to damage of the surrounding flesh.

[8] The diagnosis of trench foot does not usually require any investigations unless an underlying infection of bone is suspected, when an X-ray is performed.

[1] Self-treatment consists of changing socks two or three times a day and usage of plenty of talcum powder.

[12] Aside from soldiers, the condition has been documented in coal miners,[5] survivors of shipwrecks and plane crashes,[7] as well as music festival attendees at Glastonbury in 1998 and 2007,[13][14] elderly shut-ins trapped in their baths[6] and hikers.