Hhrú'as Chánis

General introduction

The move to the East brought not only a change of environment with it for the Duiniken, but also changed the kinds of diseases people might get, especially at older ages. A disease unknown to the Duiniken before is the hhrú'as chánis (Duinis 'Éch for 'stiffness of the feet'), which is an ongoing and worsening condition affecting mostly, but not only the feet. It is associated with the ageing bodys growing inability to handle the harsher climate of Nuat Duinis Talou.

Acquisition

In normal cases hhrú'as chánis sets in at an age of about fourty or fifty. Only few get it earlier and in those cases it can be easily made out why. These early onset cases also led to finding ways to prevent the disease or to treat it. People most affected by it are those working in cold and wet conditions, like fishermen, irrigation workers or órnihhdér. They often spend a substantial time of their days working with their feet in the cold water, causing issues with their joints. After years of such working conditions, these issues can become chronical and affect feet, toes, ankles and may wander further up to the knees and hips. Another area often struck with the disease are the fingers, wrists and hands. This is much rarer, though and is mostly seen in those working by the sea.

Consequences

Hhrú'as Chánis is an inflammatory disease and causes the joints to gradually lose their function. The longer one is affected, the more the inflammation also affects the bone structure, adding pain to the loss of mobility. The first sign of the condition is an inability to move the toes. It can also show in the footprint of a person being flat as the natural arch of the foot can no longer be maintained. The joints also begin to swell and those affected have cold feet or hands constantly as the blood flow is lowered in those areas. In the later stages, walking becomes painful, because the joints can not handle the stresses of movement any more.

There seem to be three forms of hhrú'as chánis, with the standard form most often affecting the órnihhdér in the way described above, but mostly being restricted to the feet and sometimes the knees. Irrigation workers and channel diggers and cleaners sometimes acquire a light for of the disease later in life. As the condition has less time to develop, flat feet and a relative stiffness of toes, feet and ankles are the most likely symptoms to show. Fishermen and seafood foragers suffer from the severest form of this condition, as they do not only have an early onset, giving the symptoms time to worsen over time, but they are also the ones to have the symptoms show on fingers, hands and wrists.

Why there is a light form of the disease as seen in the workers more inland, is due to several factors. They mostly work during the warmer times of the year and also in stagnant water. The bodies of water they work in are often inhabited by leeches, which often latch on to the workers in the channels and basins. Their bites contain a mild sedative that is known to lighten the effects of inflammatory diseases. The worst cases of hhrú'as chánis are known from the coastline, as the waters of the Duinis 'Árforat are cold, due to an ocean current coming in from the North. Also there are of course no leeches in sea water, so these people do not profit from the beneficial effects of their bites. Measures againt hhrú'as chánis can be taken though. It has beenobserved, that protecting the feet and knees from the cold water helps preventing the disease or cause the onset to be delayed. Also selective warming therapies of feet, knees and hands can either prevent the condition from breaking out or slow down its development. For this, special foot and knee protectors have been developed, which keep the flow of cold water around these body parts to a minimum, even keeping a bubble of warmer water around these areas. Also heating packs are used during breaks or after work to aid the joints self-healing. Where available, people deliberately expose themselves to leeches for the healing properties of their saliva. Furthermore different forms of magic and alchemy are used to combat the debilitating effects of hhrú'as chánis.

Type

Physiological

Entry for Worldbuilding Summer Camp 2024

Answering: "A degenerative disease"

Visit Kveldulfr83's Competition Page Check all other answers to this prompt Competition Homepage