Air Purification Device

One of the newest advancements in medical technology is the air purification device, a tool designed to help stop the spread of infection by cleansing the air of a room during surgery or childbirth.

Discovery

As odd as it might seem, the air purification device owes its existence to the fields where the night soil carts spread the waste collected in the city.
Some years ago the men of the research department at LaVellen Engineering took on the task of finding a way to reduce the intolerable stench of the farmlands. After some trial and error it was determined that some success could be seen by the addition of a white crystalline substance extracted from coal tar, impure carbolic acid, to the limewater that was used to treat the waste before it was spread on the fields.
Hearing of the successful deodorization of the farmlands, a midwife in the poor district began to experiment with the substance as a means to freshen the air in the rooms where women were giving birth. Through considerable trial and error, and with the assistance of her husband, an engineer at LaVellen, she developed a means to purify the carbolic acid to a point that it was suitable for use in the air purifying device.

How the Device Works

A fuel burner is used to heat water in a steam chamber, as the steam is forced out of the sprayer it draws carbolic acid from a glass reservoir. The carbolic acid mixes with the water vapor, resulting in a yellow mist with a rather strong odor.
The pungent vapor of the air purification device is sprayed throughout the room before surgery or childbirth, bandages are steamed on a line before they are rolled and wrapped for later use, and both tools and the hands of the surgeon or midwife are washed in carbolic acid before the operation or birth. Often the mist will be sprayed directly on wounds or surgical incisions before bandages are applied.

When the device is used by a devotee of the Goddess Mercedem, there is a brief ritual associated with the preparation of the device and lighting of the burner.
An altar cloth is spread out on a table near a window and the pieces of the misting device are set on it along with:

• a symbol of the Goddess Mercedem
• a new white candle
• a collection of herbs sacred to Mercedem (Such as: lavender, chamomile, aspen bark, valerian, or tipton weed.)
• Stones sacred to Mercedem (such as: quartz crystals, jade, citrine, tiger's eye, and peridot.)

The devotee of Mercedem focuses on the task ahead and lights the candle, then recites an incantation to the Goddess Mercedem, such as:
"Mercedem, Lady of Kindness, I ask that you guide us in our efforts to heal the injured. Give your blessings to this work that, through your grace, it may be successful and that (name) might heal quickly and be free of fever and the wasting disease in the days to come."
The device is assembled with reverence, then the candle is used to light the burner. The candle is considered a part of the healing ritual, so is left to burn to nothing.
The devotee will also often softly recite a prayer, or mantra, to Mercedem as they move around the room with the device.

Does the Device Work?

Originally used to purify the air in a room during childbirth, the device appears to be effective in preventing deaths caused by infection. This has led to the experimental use of it in the temples of the Goddess Mercedem; goddess of apothecaries, midwives, and healers.

Factors Limiting the Use of the Device

Only a few of the devices have been made so far, and it is still being tested and evaluated for its value in surgical procedures. Several factors have contributed to the slow development and acceptance of the misting device.

• Many traditional healers are skeptical of the device, concerned that something intended to deodorize waste fields is being used to clean wounds.
• Justicars look on the invention with distrust, concerned that since the creator is a woman the device might have been created to make the atmosphere in rooms more appealing to demons that are summoned to latch onto the souls of infants or those weakened from surgery.
• Those in the rooms where the device is used, both patients and healers, find the mist to be an irritant to both skin and breathing. Something that only strengthens the opinions of the traditional healers and justicars.

Cost: Special order item, so it is costly but difficult to pinpoint.
Weight: 9.9 lbs (4.5 kg)
Availability: Currently only available to a few places of healing in the Northern Kingdom's crown city.
Built By: LaVellen Engineering
Used by: The device is mostly used by a few midwives in the lower district, and a few surgeons from the Temple of Mercedem.
Restricted Use: No one that is a devout follower of the God of Justice will use the device or allow its use during their surgery or childbirth.

Understanding Infection

In the past few years healers and alchemists have sought to better understand the nature of illness and injury. They have discovered much about how disease and injury affect living things and gained a better understanding not only of illness and wounds, but also insight into the possible causes of infection. This has brought many advances in healing, however, there is still significant danger associated with any surgery. Estimates are that approximately half of those that survive a surgical procedure will still die from infection in the days or weeks that follow.
The dangers of infection are are not restricted to operations, amputations, and childbirth. The worker in the mill or field, even someone putting wood on the fire in their home, is at risk of potentially serious infection from something as small as a splinter. If care is not taken the hand can become infected and require surgical intervention - which often leads to blood poisoning, even sepsis, from the very tools used to try to save the damaged limb.

The Danger of Childbirth

The risk of childbirth is significant, with one in eight women dying as a result of complications during childbirth. Most women continue to work while pregnant, remaining active around the home or even in the fields when needed. Knowing the significant risk associated with childbirth, women who are expecting will usually prepare themselves for death when the time to give birth approaches. When the time comes they give birth at home, aided by their family, neighbors, or a midwife. Even when a birth has no complications, there is a possibility to develop "child-bed fever", an infection that sets in within two to three days. If an infection sets in, the outcome is nearly always death.