Bluebile
There are some days I wonder if the gods intended us not to live to this age. The muck they make me drink is certainly not worth the extra years of life.Bluebile is a condition which affects humans over the age of seventy years, though some cases have been found as young as sixty-five years. It begins innocently enough with small stomach pains, but rapidly progresses if unchecked into the characteristic violet-hued bile1 being released from time to time. It is painful, irritating, but not itself fatal. The most common treatment is to drink a daily tonic of ground herbs mixed into goat's milk to soothe the stomach. With treatment, the condition will relent for a time before it resurfaces.
Causes
According to folk wisdom, bluebile is caused from the elderly trying to continue eating things their older bodies can't handle. The truth has been debated hotly between herbalists, apothecaries, and scholars for generations. The most popular theory is parallel to folk wisdom, being a sign the person in question is eating too much fatty meat and must alter their diet. The alternative popular theory relies on evidence the condition seems to be limited only to humans, and only to those living inside the Imperium. Investigation brought up a suspect in a type of uncommon red wine made in the Vinland province which uses a few herbs crushed with the grapes to flavor it. Since it has been remarkably difficult to reproduce a case of bluebile, and scholars are not eager to force matters, it's still "a mystery for the ages".
Symptoms
Symptoms usually begin with minor abdominal pain, and feeling disturbed after meals. This will progress during the condition until vomiting of the 'blue bile' is something which happens anywhere from one to three times a day. This is compounded on top of similar issues which result from excessive vomiting. The condition is not fatal, though complications which result can be dangerous to the individual.
Treatment
Folk wisdom has long accepted a traditional blend of herbs mixed into goat's milk is the answer. The herbs are dried, crushed in a mortar, and then three pinches are mixed into a cup of milk at the start of the day. The treatment is repeated daily until the symptoms subside. According to the folk wisdom the herbs are usually those associated with digestive aid, and the goat's milk is a resonant component to elderly people. Scholars investigating the alternative cause who have looked into the topic grudgingly agree the milk and soothing the stomach is important to recovery. More importantly, it may prevent the individual from drinking any of the wine to continue or aggravate the effect.
Prevention
Most who study this condition accept prevention may not be completely possible for many individuals. If either cause is accepted as the truth, the dietary and/or drinking habits may not be readily changed to avoid the condition returning. The popular tonic remedy is a preventative step, to be sure, but detractors suggest it is merely treating symptoms until the bluebile cause is no longer a problem.
1: This is not the same term used in modern-day reality, where bile is created in the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and then used to help digest fats inside the intestines. The "bile" referenced in this article refers to the sort of fluid vomited or spat up from the stomach, which may not actually contain bile in some cases.
The treatment sounds fairly easy to make; also easy to acquire? Assuming the herbs are different in the wine and stomach toxic, they believe it is these specific herbs causing the condition or the combination in the wine? Is there any information about these herbs?
Not as of yet, no. As for how common they are, relatively common, not too expensive . . . but over a long period of time ("until it clears up") it can add up. Consider adding up how much aspirin is purchased in a year. Not expensive, but once you start adding it up you might find it costs a lot more than you thought.