Introduction: In the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), women are increasingly taking on combat roles that previously were reserved only for males. During the ‘’Iron-Swords” war in Israel, female fighters of the IDF took part and fought alongside male soldiers in the Gaza Strip. It was the first time that female combat soldiers of the IDF officially joined the corps across the Israeli borders. This novelty raised a lot of questions about the medical aspects consumption of medical care and medication in this special group. Methods: A 17-question questionnaire was distributed to the female soldiers of the Search and Rescue (S&R) brigade of the Home Front Command in the IDF. The survey contained both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Questions focused on service characteristics, symptoms during the combat period, and medical care they received. Results: • 135 female soldiers serving as active duty or reserve soldiers answered the questionnaire. 98.5% (133) of soldiers were in combat positions, 71.9% (97) took part in fighting across Israeli borders. • Gastrointestinal complaints, headaches, menstrual pain, and low back pain were the most common symptoms (46.7%, 40.7%, 37%, 30.4%, respectively). • Additional complaints unique to female population were dysuria, vaginal symptoms such as pruritus and inconvenience (17%, 14.8% respectively). • Half of the soldiers reached for medical care. 39.2% felt that the medical crew across borders did not have enough supplies and medications to treat them properly. • Dysuria, vaginal symptoms and menstrual pain led to seek medical treatment in more than 60% of symptomatic soldiers (83%, 67%, 64% respectively). • 39.3% of soldiers use chronic medications of any kind. 25.9% take oral contraceptives and 14.1% use nutritional supplements. Conclusion: The concept of female medicine is different from our former understanding of frontline medical support. Standard medical cross-border kits do not include solutions to gender-oriented complaints. Personalized medical education and the provision of suitable medications are essential components of cross-border healthcare initiatives.
Germansky et al. (Sun,) studied this question.