Famine

I have never felt hunger that badly before this year. No matter how much I work, I can never get enough food for us five in my family. I am happy that Jingyi sometimes brings me food, whenever she is able, otherwise more of my family would die. I don't want to see more people die.

— Wei Chen

The Great Famine came as a consequence of the The Long Drought, where food became scarce because of the failed harvest. This has caused a severe starvation among the poor and middle-class, though it was severe, the relief responses has helped mitigate the famine-related deaths.

Despite 400,000 has already died from famine-related illnesses, the number could have been much larger. This was all thanks to a large charity movement that began in Shangyun 上云. The name "The Great Famine" was a lingering name from the beginning of the famine that started last year. There has been more severe famines in Feidao's history, but this one is the most recent, and therefore it feels more urgent and "great". There are signs that the Great Famine is nearing its ending.

While famine may not be an illness itself, it does have illnesses that follows this condition. Society in general is affected by famine in several ways, making it such an impactful condition for a population to be in.

Causes

The Great Famine was caused by the The Long Drought that began summer two years ago. The food shortages that followed made 20 millions of people in five provinces and several islands suffer from starvation. The starvation made people look for other food sources, such as bark, grass roots, leaves, bran, and even mud. The mud that some ingested gave the feeling of being full, but it was not digestible nor absorbable. This led to people dying from having too much mud in their body.

Despite famine is not a illness itself, the hunger in the population makes them less resilient against other kinds of illnesses. The Great Famine brought several illnesses with it, mainly malnourishment and exposure to the cold. Typhus, which is a famine-related disease, has been kept low through epidemic prevention measure. In the provinces where rats came, lice became a problem, and currently, the bubonic plague is an issue in Ningchang 宁昌 province, one of the provinces that was affected by pneumonic plague just 10 years before.

by Shenbao (Shanghai newspaper) October 31, 1920

Origin

Natural

Idioms connected to famine

Hungry finds no fault with cookery 饥不择食

Well-known phrases connected to famine

The well-fed do no know how the starving suffer 饱汉不知饿汉饥

The Main Diseases Brought by Famine

From what I can gather, there are several diseases that is brought by famine. I thought looking up some of the diseases and ask a doctor about the symptoms and treatment for these diseases. These are but many of diseases that can be brought by famine. I would mention typhus, but the epidemic prevention measures the government has implemented, has kept typhus and other famine-related diseases at a low. Many who has died during this famine, has died by malnourishment and exposure to the cold.

— Lin Jingyi

Starvation:

Starvation happens when a person has skipped meals for a period of time. One of the first signs of starvation is significant underweight, visible bones, and sunken features. This happens because of the lack of food.

Weakness and fatigue is when starvation becomes more problematic. Since the lack of energy and physical strength which food provides, it makes it difficult to perform even the basic of tasks.
The lack of adequate nutrition can also cause dizziness, light-headedness, and fainting in individuals who experience starvation.
The lack of nutritions can also lead to a pale, unhealthy complexion and dry, rough skin. Hair loss and brittle nails is also a symptom of starvation. In the most severe cases of malnutrition, individuals may develop a swollen or bloated belly because of the fluid retention and nutritional deficiencies.

When treating starvation, it is vital to give food in small quantities and slowly increase the intake. Rest and warmth is also vital, since the body is exhausted from the lack of energy, and is more prone to other illnesses and being cold.

Dysentery

The cause of dysentery is believed to be a bacteria, that is spread through faeces because of poor sanitations. Because of the poor conditions in certain provinces where the famine is worst, there have been reports of poor sanitation and symptoms of dysentery among the population.

The symptoms for dysentery are normally mild abdominal pains and frequent passage of loose stools or diarrhoea and normally shows after 1-3 days, and last no longer than a week. But since famine causes weakness because of starvation, dysentery can easily become severe. The pass of fluid becomes so often that individuals might complain of diarrhoea with blood, along with extreme abdominal pail, rectal pain, and fever.

The treatment for dysentery is maintaining fluids through oral rehydration. If the bacteria has been flushed out of the system, which takes about a week, the prognosis is good. However, in extreme circumstances, death can follow the dehydration which dysentery brings.

Smallpox

Smallpox is a highly deadly and feared disease. It is considered a severe illness that can lead to disfigurement, blindness, or death.

The first symptoms of smallpox is similar to the common cold or influenza; fever, muscle pain, headache, fatigue, and discomfort. Vomiting, nausea, and backache also often occurs.
After about two weeks, small reddish spots appears in the mouth, on the tongue, palate, and throat appears as the first visible lesions. About two days after the first lesions have appeared, a rash develops, and a flat, distinct, discoloured area of skin starts appearing, typically on the forehead that spread across all the face, and lastly to other parts of the body. The reddish spots becomes raised papules which later becomes pustules.

The treatment for smallpox can be inoculation, that involves a small amount of infectious material from a disease, in this case smallpox, which is usually in the form of pustules or scapes from a mild case. This infectious material is then introduced into the body of a healthy individual through scratching the skin or using a needle. This triggers a mild form of the disease that allows the individual's immune system to develop a defence against it. This method has been used for almost a thousand years. The other treatments can include the use of herbal medicines and acupuncture.

To avoid the spread of smallpox, the government and local communities has implemented campaigns to get to have the inoculation treatment and public health initiatives, such as improvement of hygiene and prevention of overcrowding in urban areas. But despite these efforts, smallpox is still a threat.

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