Diseases of the Known World

Diseases throughout the Known World vary greatly, from mild, short-term conditions to chronic illnesses and those very quickly fatal. No people in the Known World are known to be immune to disease, and as such basic understanding of medicine and healing is one of the few themes considered central in all cultures and settlements of the Known World.

### Notable Diseases

* Blood Boils - It is known that the Unsullied drink Wine of Courage made from bloodfly larvae, but if the flies are allowed the mature they can cause a number of afflictions, blood boils principal amongst them. In hordes of thousands of insects, bloodflies may ravage a settlement, in their wake leaving those bitten with dozens of small pimples that burst after a few days, leaking blood and pus. It has been noted that the fewer blisters that burst, the better the likelihood of survival generally is, but the swellings are fragile and often split of their own accord.
* Bloody Flux - Bloody Flux is a well-known disease with little treatment beyond prevention in the form of quarantine and avoiding contact with carriers. It has a very high mortality rate, having been described as killing three of each four men in armies by reports from areas of outbreak. Considered the bane of armies since the Dawn Age by many, it has been known to decimate entire fighting forces if left unchecked.
* Bronze Pate - Not a disease in the truest sense, but rather a condition spread amongst those that spend time within the forests of Sothoryos for any extended time. As such, it is rare to find a case that is not masked by other diseases contracted at the same time, but reports suggest that it presents primarily as a rash along the chest of the afflicted. The skin is soft to touch, and after several days grows dark, not dissimilar in appearance to polished bronze. Why this occurs is still unknown, but it is thought to be a reaction to the miasmas and foul odours that reside within the forest.
* Brownleg - Thought to be brought on through the consumption of rotten food predominately, brownleg is characterised by near continuous diarrhoea, resulting in a deeply embarrassing and unpleasant death from dehydration and exhaustion after a few days.
* Burning Decay (also known as the Revenge of R'hllor) - Victims of the condition first display an intense, unyielding fever that persists throughout the disease's progression. As the condition worsens, red marks, warm to touch, start to spread upwards, starting at the soles of the feet but quickly reaching the knees and hips. Within a moon, the tissue blemished by the marks begins to slough and come away, leaving deep sores which seep blood, pus and other foul humors. The victim does not survive much longer once this has started.
* Butterfly Fever -The so-called butterfly fever is a disease native to the isle of Naath. It is believed to be transmitted by the local butterflies, particularly a large black-and-white variety with wings as big as a man's hand, according to Archmaester Ebrose. Even though the Naathi themselves are immune to this sickness, all outsiders who remain too long on Naath fall prey to it. Fever is the first sign of the disease, followed by painful spasms that make the victims seem to be dancing wildly and uncontrollably. In the last stage, those afflicted sweat blood, and their flesh sloughs from their bones.
* Dancing Plague - Two cases of dancing plague outbreak have been recorded, both taking place in the Basilisk Isles and Sothoryos. The more devastating and most recent account started upon the isle of Talon, and spread from there through Barter Beach to the other islands, and a few isolated cases in Ghiscar. As the name suggests, it is characterised by spontaneous contractions that give the victim the appearance of dancing, often for days at a time until they finally collapse and die of exhaustion. It is thought to be a distant cousin to shaking sickness, for the presentations are similar, although dancing plague presents a much greater risk to life, in the sense of both speed of progression and severity of symptoms.
* Gout - Characterised by aching joints that present swollen, red and warm to the touch, gout is commonly only found in the very wealthy, giving it the smallfolk name of *Rich Man's Disease*. The swelling can make walking near impossible for those afflicted, as more often than not it is the toes that are affected.
* Green Fever - Thought to be spread by the stinging insects of the Basilisk Isles and Sothoryos, green fever is a condition characterised by drastically raised body temperature, and named for the viridescent colouration that develops in the eyes of those that survive its course, which represents around two in five of those that contract it. In those that die, the only outstanding feature is the abnormally swollen liver and gall bladder, the largest recorded specimen nearly double the size of that expected in the individual in question.
* Greywater Fever - Greywater Fever is a condition found only amongst the crannogmen of the Neck, thought to be spread by the foul air that resides over many of the bogs, mires and quags. It commonly affects the very young and the very elderly, as well as those afflicted with other conditions, and can prove to be fatal.
* Grey Plague - The grey plague, also known as the grey death, is a virulent disease that fatally turns its victims' flesh to stone. The plague is a swift form of its cousin, greyscale. Those who have survived a bout of greyscale are thought to be immune to grey plague.
* Greyscale - Greyscale is a disease that can leave flesh stiff and dead, and the skin cracked and flaking, mottled black and grey and stone-like to the touch. Greyscale is one of the many virulent diseases common in Sothoryos. Cold, damp climates like the Iron Islands and Dragonstone are also prone to the disease, and it is a danger for those travelling down the Rhoyne through the Sorrows.
* Pox - Common throughout the brothels of Westeros and Essos, poxes are often considered trivial and minor, although this may be simply because deaths from the conditions are reported as else-wise to spare the embarrassment of the deceased. The Goddess' Touch in Lys claims to screen its courtesans daily for signs of pox, and will cast aside those that develop symptoms.
* Pus-Eye - Blindness is a common end result of pus-eye, a condition common in Sothoryos and characterised by a pale discharge from beneath the eyelids of the afflicted. It is highly infectious, and as such it is not unheard of for captains to maroon sailors behind if they contract the disease.
* Redspots - Redspots is a common childhood disease in both the nobleborn and smallfolk. It is harmless to anyone under the age of ten and once one has it, he'll be immune to it for the rest of his life. However, adults who do not contract it in childhood remain at risk for infection and may die from it. Redspots causes red dots to appear on the face and body and an itching which is soothed with salves. Richer families may use firemilk and other such substances, whereas smallfolk will often mix honey with ground birch bark and apply to the area.
* Red Death - The Red Death was a disease that erupted in the slave pens of Gogossos seventy-seven years after the Doom of Valyria. It swept across the Isle of Tears and then spread across the rest of the Basilisk Isles. It killed nine of every ten men, who died screaming, bleeding copiously from every body orifice, their skin shredding like wet parchment. It is the reason that explorers shunned both the Basilisk Isles and Sothoryos for a number of decades, before tales of the riches to be had finally drew people back once again.
* Sailor's Bane - Common throughout the Known World in those that spend long periods of time at sea, common symptoms include general weakness and lethargy, as well as aching limbs. As the condition progresses, loss of hair and teeth is common, as well as spontaneous wounds in the skin that bleed and fester. It has been noted that onboard provision of oranges and lemons seems to ward against its development and progression.
* Shaking Sickness - The shaking sickness causes its sufferers to twitch, tremble, and have violent seizures. Such seizures are often treated with dreamwine and leeching with the belief that they are caused by bad blood resulting in rage.
* Sweetrot - Following what is said to start as an insect bite, swelling, blistering and mass sloughing of the tissues occurs, after which the victim's fever worsens, their body deeply dehydrated. The name is taken from the sweet, honey-like aroma of the blisters that develop take before they burst, and as such, common treatments are said to involve the application of ash and salt, to counter the sweetness, although this has proven to be widely unsuccessful. Some Archmaesters of the Citadel have noted that the outbreak of Burning Decay across Essos between 219 and 224AC may have been a variation of sweetrot that had somehow spread from Sothoryos.
* Wormbone - Upon examination of the bodies of those deceased that suffered from the condition, the bones in those that contract wormbone are often found to be pock-marked, as if eaten through by smaller versions of the burrowing flatworms sometimes found in the bones of whales and leviathans that wash up on the beaches of the Known World on rare occasion. Death usually comes when bone strength is compromised so that the victim suffers multiple spontaneous fractures of bones throughout their body, leading to massive blood-loss and death.
* Yellowgum - One of the many diseases found on the continent of Sothoryos, yellowgum is thought to spread through foul miasmas above water sources. Those suffering from it experience sloughing of the flesh around their teeth, leading to tooth loss, spontaneous bleeding from the mouth and severe tenderness that prevents the consumption of food and drink, leading to many victims dying of dehydration and malnutrition.