Tolcham (/tolʧam/)

Tolcham is a disease whose name literally means blood ears and is caused by a fungus that sometimes lives in the thicker coat of a Momzuma. It is a common disease affecting the Tsomowbe people especially during the Frost season when the families spent most of their time in longhouses living with their Momzoma, the spores of the fungi usually travel with fleas and have a big predilection for reproducing in the ear wax causing severe itching in the ears. The person afflicted by the disease sometimes can have heavy bleeding in their ears because of the scratching trying to cope with the itching. The main way of treating it is the application of ice on the affected area to burn the fungi. But it doesn’t mean that it will not come back many times in the same winter as the fleas and the spores remain on the Momzuma inside the longhouse. The best solution would be to shave the animals and wash them with clean water. However, it is completely impossible to do it during the Frost season, as they will need to cope with the low temperatures. It is feared, not because it is a fatal condition, which Tolcham is not, but because it can cause some sort of psychotic break when people get it too many times in the same winter. The victims more often than not lose completely their minds and flee from the longhouse trying to cope with the itch burying their heads inside the abundant snow covering the surrounding fields. However if not rescued they quickly froze to death on the open fields of the flood plains. When the winter does not arrive especially early or when it is not too harsh the Tsomowbe try to comb the Momzuma fur previously to put them inside the longhouses in an attempt to extract the fleas who are the vectors of contamination. The spores get stuck in the fur and they don’t get airborne. Without the fleas, no problem is recorded.

Type

Fungal