forum Diseases, Conditions, and/or Maladies in Your World
Started by @Yamatsu
tune

people_alt 40 followers

@Yamatsu

Other than the standard colds, flu, and cancers that plague (heh) our society, what have you managed to come up with that harries the people? I'll start with one that affects dragons and wyverns, specifically:

Y'know how people have their gallbladder or appendix removed due to infection and swelling? Draconic creatures can suffer something similar to this in my world. There isn't a name for it yet, but the flame sac that sits behind the sternum and next to the heart can swell shut due to infection. Because dragons produce an alkali substance that ignites when it contacts air, they need to expel some of it regularly to make room. If they can't breathe fire, then the sac begins to swell. Symptoms include chest pains, shortness of breath, and an orange glow within the chest that slowly grows brighter until the sac ruptures. Not many have survived a rupture, but those lucky few who have aren't able to speak and have a raspy cough due to lung damage. There is no cure, but the symptoms can be easily treated with an anti-inflammatory drug and regular use of fire breath.

super salt shaker

In one of my RP's, because humans and spirits of the dead co-exist somewhat between two parallel realities, spirits are able to travel between these two realms freely, however, at the cost of suffering from inevitable fatigue that follows them for the next few days, if they remain in the mortal realm for too long. In the case of this sickness, they will feel cold and shiver frequently, despite lacking a physical form, and exhibit symptoms that are similar to the common cold, like a persistent migraine and difficulty moving, minus the actual infection. It goes away with time and it isn't necessarily fatal, but prolonged exposure to the mortal realm can lead to the 'death' of a spirit. For this reason, many spirits when traveling between the two realms mostly travel with a partner, often in possession of a specially crafted watch to monitor the amount of time they have before symptoms begin to develop.

@Yamatsu

Can they possess someone to mitigate this, or are they affected regardless because they are still spirits doing something "unnatural?"

super salt shaker

Yes, they can! But most don't possess a human to avoid it as it causes something of a reverse effect and instead results in the slow death of the mortal host the longer the spirit inhabits their body, because it's an otherworldly ailment and their body can't defend itself against it.

@Toxic_Persephone group

I have a race created by a ‘demon’ of my world known as the Llurosse (lure-o-ss). Because they are creatures of imperfect creation, they have a certain DNA makeup that releases a Biotoxin. Just being around the Llurosse and breathing the same air as them can get you sick.
The disease is a slow and painful thing. It causes hallucinations, mood swings, and memory loss. Symptoms include coughing(often times it will be blood they cough up), extreme fatigue, shivers, and tremors. It’s fatal and so the Llurosse are regarded as a cursed race. No one has really seen a Llurosse’s real face either so some believe they are demons themselves.

@Darkblossom group

One of my characters, Enderstorm, has this disease which occasionally manifests itself in bleeding fits, where she will literally sweat blood, and blood will pour out of her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. It is excruciatingly painful, and she inherited it from her mother. There is no cure.

@Yamatsu

Good God! That's horrifying! Is it a clotting issue, or do the blood vessels in her body just kind of redirect towards the skin?

@Darkblossom group

Good God! That's horrifying! Is it a clotting issue, or do the blood vessels in her body just kind of redirect towards the skin?

Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it until now, but you just gave me a perfect explanation. So yes, blood is redirected to her skin and any holes in her body.

@Yamatsu

Good God! That's horrifying! Is it a clotting issue, or do the blood vessels in her body just kind of redirect towards the skin?

Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it until now, but you just gave me a perfect explanation. So yes, blood is redirected to her skin and any holes in her body.

If you're going with that theory, with would have to be the capillaries, specifically, and veins and arteries are far too deep. How long do the blood sweats usually last? It would have to be very short and in certain areas, otherwise, she could risk bleeding out very quickly.

@Darkblossom group

Well, being a dragon, her body is capable of accelerating the pace it makes blood, so it can quickly replace the blood that is lost. The bleeding fits normally last around 1 to 2 minutes. Her species has evolved with this disease for millennia, and are prepared for the symptoms. As a child though, she did commonly suffer from blood loss after a bleeding fit.

@Yamatsu

I can only imagine feeling really crusty when the blood dries and gets under the scales. When does she know it has stopped? I imagine taking a hot bath would only dilate her blood vessels and make the bleeding worse?

@Young-Dusty-the-Monarch-of-Dusteria group

I have a race of avian humans, and you can imagine that their lungs are not only very powerful (they actually have more than one set) but also very sensitive. If something happens to their lungs, these guys can't fly. There's this special sickness they get called (for the moment) Avian Bronchitis. It's caused by air pollution getting stuck in lungs that may already be weak from fatigue or another sickness. Symptoms include a cough that gets worse over time, fever, muscle atrophy, and in worst-case-scenarios, bleeding lungs. There is no vaccine since it's not a virus, and it's one of the few sicknesses that resists the race's magical ability to heal. If the sickness isn't noticed immediately or if the sick person doesn't receive proper care, they can easily die. Even if they survive, their lungs may be permanently damaged, keeping them from ever flying again. :(