Stress and infection.
The pattern of infective episodes during Royal Marines training over a four-year period has been established. There were 4,529 attendances at the Sickbay with apparent infective episodes. Peaks of infection tended to follow three or more nights in the field suggesting that the resistance to infective insult was lessened following these field exercises. The highest incidence of infection occurred during the final weeks of training when the physical and mental pressures were greatest, during the Commando course. This often manifested itself as skin sepsis. A judiciously-placed week of less stressful activity led to a major reduction in all infections at this stage of training. This is evidence that physical and mental stress may lead to infective episodes. The phenomenon is being more fully investigated by the Institute of Naval Medicine.