# What is that white powder medics use in war movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483 "2003-06-26T10:41:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mecaenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@mecaenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mecaenas)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/1 "2003-06-26T10:41:45Z")
What is that white powder medics use in WWII movies? What does it do to the wounds? ---
**Author:** ![GuyMontag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ad7895/32.png) [@GuyMontag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuyMontag)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/2 "2003-06-26T10:53:23Z")
Just a WAG, but maybe styptic powder (to help stop bleeding on smaller wounds)? ---
**Author:** ![Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linus_Van_Pelt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/3 "2003-06-26T11:00:42Z")
My guess would be that it was sulfa powder, put on the wounds to prevent infection. ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/4 "2003-06-26T11:01:15Z")
The precursor to antibiotics, sulphanilamide was pretty new then and was widely acclaimed as a wonder drug - which of course it was - so maybe it could have been that. If so, it was to fight infection ---
**Author:** ![mecaenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@mecaenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mecaenas)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/5 "2003-06-26T11:10:01Z")
Interesting. If it is for infection, why do they do it so urgently? In Saving Private Ryan the medic got shot up and they were frantically pouring powder all over him… surely a soldier’s wounds wouldn’t get infected that quickly and it would be more important to put bandages on and try to get medical help… because when he reachs a hospital they would clean him up (removie the powder) and operate, right? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/6 "2003-06-26T11:37:52Z")
Sulfanilamide (or sulphanilamide outside the US)… as issued to WWII troops, pilots, and sailors, it was not in a pure form. It contained a cauterizing agent as well as actual sulfanilamide; the urgency is because the quicker it was applied the quicker the bleeding could be stopped. ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/7 "2003-06-26T11:39:01Z")
Well, _if_ we are right and it is sulphanilamide powder, for fighting infection AND _If_ the films portray these things correctly and the soldiers did throw the powder around with great urgency THEN I’d say it was because the mechanism of fighting infection would not have been clear to the average Joe Bloggs soldier at that time. Back then, the notion that some of this white powder would stop you getting gangrene or save your life would have to have been a pretty amazing notion. We, as the average folk now know so much more about many things than the average folk did sixty odd years ago. Science and technology will have made other great leaps in the next sixty years and the average folk then will look at the things we do now and some may query why we did it in the way we do. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/8 "2003-06-26T12:26:26Z")
[http://www.sproe.com/s-sulfa.htm](http://www.sproe.com/s-sulfa.htm) > [@](#): > > **sulfa powder** > > Sulfa drugs, the first of which, Prontosil, was discovered by Gerhard Domagk in 1932, are a group of synthetic drugs derived from sulfanilamide that are used to treat bacterial infections. They were commonly used by soldiers and medics in World War II to treat wounds on the battlefield. Sulfa was carried in both powdered and tablet form. Although antibiotics such as penicillin would later replace sulfa drugs as a primary means of treating bacterial infections, sulfa drugs are still used today in parts of the world, and for certain diseases and afflictions. Note that the above is from a site dedicated to the film _Saving Private Ryan_, and maybe should be taken with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/9 "2003-06-26T14:27:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \* > \*\*Note that the above is from a site dedicated to the film _Saving Private Ryan_, and maybe should be taken with a grain of salt. \*\* I can guarantee you that white powder is NOT salt. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/10 "2003-06-26T15:06:39Z")
The sulfa powder needs to be in the wound before the wound is closed. The wound needs to be closed (i.e., bandaged) before the soldier bleeds to death. So there is great urgency, even with pure sulfa; if Dutchboy is correct about the cauterizing agent, the urgency is even more justified. ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/11 "2003-06-26T15:37:45Z")
I betcha it was powdered alum. my father still uses an alum stick to stop any small wounds from bleeding when he’s just shaved. [http://www.rubylane.com/shops/ruthsredemptions/item/AL103](http://www.rubylane.com/shops/ruthsredemptions/item/AL103) ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/12 "2003-06-26T16:53:35Z")
"Interesting. If it is for infection, why do they do it so urgently? " To stop from getting shot seems like a pretty safe bet. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/13 "2003-06-26T17:32:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by plnnr \* > \*\*"Interesting. If it is for infection, why do they do it so urgently? " > > To stop from getting shot seems like a pretty safe bet. \*\* But you’re not supposed to take shots at medics in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/14 "2003-06-26T17:41:11Z")
> [@](#): > > But you’re not supposed to take shots at medics in the first place. And? Not all bullets hit the targets at which they are aimed, but they will all hit _something_ eventually. If the medic is in front of the bullet, the medic will be hit. In combat, a soldier shooting at various colored uniforms in the heat of battle may not note the armband or helmet badge on the guy with the red crosses on the arms or helmet (especially if the medic is carrying something that obscures his badges or is turned so that his body obscures them). Not every soldier in the heat of battle cares whether or not he is shooting at a medic. * * * The white powder was, indeed, sulfa. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/15 "2003-06-26T20:13:56Z")
Note that belly wounds are the most likely to cause infection problems. The insides of your intestines contains bugs that do a lot of damage in a short period of time once freed to roam around. So a belly wound would require immediate steps to stop sepsis. In general, with any wound “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. The sooner sulfa is put on, the better. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/16 "2003-06-27T06:03:02Z")
At some point in WWII, german soldiers actually started shooting at medics. Medics were getting so good at getting people off the battlefield and patching them up that if they shot one medic, it was like shooting four regular infantry. This was on the history channel. ---
**Author:** ![mecaenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@mecaenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mecaenas)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/17 "2003-06-27T10:32:27Z")
Thanks all! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/18 "2003-06-27T14:39:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by asterion \* > But you’re not supposed to take shots at medics in the first place. \*\* I was just going to chime in with what Ficer67 said. Besides, since most bullets are addressed “to whom it may concern”, I would think that getting to safety would be a priority - red cross armband or not. ---
**Author:** ![hermann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b487fb/32.png) [@hermann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermann)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/19 "2003-06-28T01:57:57Z")
Huh? Intestines are full of bugs? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483/20 "2003-06-28T02:51:22Z")
Bugs as in bacteria. E. coli is safe (and, IIRC, neccessary) in the intestines, nasty if it gets elsewhere. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-white-powder-medics-use-in-war-movies/184483.md?page=2)