Burning Sickness

what happens when water is unfriendly?

one of the most common sicknesses in The City of Metal, sometimes called "water leech flu", while it has a simple name, it is a nasty infection of the pulmonary system and autonomic nervous system found out in the pools of water in the Deserts of the The Burning Sands, the virus requires moist conditions and a lot of water to survive, large pools that have been left undisturbed for months are usually breeding grounds for Burning Sickness. If infected, an individual wont notice anything for about a week or so, then will find that they sweat a lot more and their heart-rate might be elevated, a normal feeling out in The Burning Sands so usually overlooked. After that, the infected persons health with slowly degrade unless treated and kept stable

Transmission & Vectors

usually starting in pools of stagnant water, it can also be transmitted by body fluids including urine, blood and especially mucous, while not virulent, if the person is already of poor heath, it can cause major detrimental effects

Causes

while not excessively studied, it is understood that shaded pools with little to no water movement are the major spots for where Burning Sickness comes from, usually an unsuspecting traveler or desperate wanderer takes a drink from the pool without filtering the water and gets infected, normally not knowing for days (or rarely weeks) until it ramps up in severity

Symptoms

phase 1 onset: For the first couple of days or so, nothing is really noticeable, as the viral load hasn't been reached yet, for some this can be as little as 4 days, and for others it can be in the area of 3 weeks before any symptoms are truly noticed. for the first week or so after that point, the person will experience a slight elevation in sweating and their heart-rate might rise a little from the requirement of extra white blood cells in the body.
phase 2 progression: After the virus has started to take hold and if it is not noticed, the person will experience a mildly runny nose and increased urination as the body tries to fight off the infection and eject what it can, most people wont really feel any different aside from that at this point, but if they have a weakened immune system, the next stage hits harder and faster than normal. as it slowly progresses the infected persons throat and sinuses will start to ache, causing discomfort and minor problems with breathing.
phase 3 peak: If remaining untreated, the infected person will suffer from a sore throat, and struggle to keep a lot of foods down, usually uncontrollably bringing it back up, at this point, the person will normally require medical treatment and (usually) a limited form of quarantine to minimize the spread to others. the virus begins to really attack the body at this point, pulling all the moisture it can find and causing the infected persons skin to dry out and start flaking, if the person has any open wounds this can also cause problems in healing and keeping the wounds clean as skin flakes break off around it and get into it, even under bandages and dressings. and in the later stages of the peak, some people may experience shakiness in their hands and feet as both the body and infection draw huge amounts of energy and resources to fight eat other.
phase 4 remission: most infected people, if looked after and treated right, will begin to feel better, the shakes slowing to a stop and will be able to breath much easier, their skin starting to repair itself and fluid levels returning to normal. most people will feel drained of energy from not only their body fighting the sickness, but also the constant body shakes and limited sleep that is gotten, but it will slowly improve if given enough time.
phase 5.A recovery: if the person is treated and manages to fight the sickness off, they will find their strength and breathing returning to normal, their muscles will likely ache for a while yet from the excess strain put on them and sometimes will mean the person is still stuck in bed for a few more days as their body recovers and heals itself, some people may feel disoriented as their body recovers. some people experience insomnia, immense boredom and mild paranoia as the recovering persons brain isn't quite sure how to process the recovery, jokingly referred too as "having burnt brain" it is an effect of the shakes and breathing problems subsiding and the brain able to relax and think once again, it should only last a few days at most and then disappear, after this point the person is fine and can continue on with their everyday life.
phase 5.B expiration: if the person is NOT treated or their immune system is just too weak to fight the infection, the symptoms will seem to subside for a few days before going out of control, the infected person will find it near impossible to breath and their shakes will continue to worsen, those with weaker skeletons will start to break bones from the convolutions and cause major damage to their own internal organs and tissues, usually at this point, the dehydration, viral load, or internal hemorrhaging will kill the infected person, occasionally they can also suffer from Myocardial rupture if the heart is overworked or ribs are severally damaged. it has been noted that in medical facilities there have been instances where multiple people in the late stages of Burning Sickness have just stopped convulsing as their limbs have given up and either lost too much oxygen or done so much damage to themselves that the limbs cant move anymore, causing gasping roars of pain and usually a quick end to the individual not long after

Treatment

usually requiring a lot of fluids and to stay in the shade or limited to the confines of a cooled building or the medical center to limit sweating, if it is not caught by phase 2, the person requires drastic medical care and enormous amounts of fluids, the medical center in The City Of Metal has a dedicated group of workers specifically for the treatment of those with Burning Sickness. when treating the persons sore throat, a moisture of several local plants in boiling water is used to sooth and try to open up the airways to allow the individual to breath better. it is very important that when the convulsions start, the individual is to not be restrained or held down as this can cause more harm than good, and when the skin starts to flake, high water content moisturizers are to be applied to all affected parts of the body to try and limit skin damage.

Prevention

usually the filtering of all drinking water and either removal of ones self from around those that are infected, or, if not possible, no physical contact and regular hygiene and personal cleaning of those in the same household as the individual

Type

Viral

Origin

Mutated

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Common