Shrinking Bones
A chronic condition that causes either rot, break or wear down against the muscles. Patients with shrinking bone may suffer from one, two or all three of bone disintegration types.
Transmission & Vectors
Bone sickness is not an infectious disease, though it can be inherited from a parent. It is suggested that the environment in Sanguin causes the illness, but exactly how is unknown. The illness often develops in the patient's youth, sometime from the age of six to the age of sixteen.
Causes
Most patients with shrinking bones were born in Sanguin. Only on very rare occasions can a patient with no Sanguin parents develop the condition outside the continent.
Symptoms
The patient will experience painful limbs and will find their mobility to be restricted. If their bones are rotting, they will develop a potent smell.
Treatment
Medication can slow down the condition and provide pain-relief, while gene therapy may be effective if used in the early stages. Prosthetic limbs can replace loose, ill-functioning or painful limbs.
Unfortunately, most tribes in Sanguin live in the middle of the continent, and do not have access to highly advanced medication that nations such as the Federation have access to. Due to diseases such as bone sickness, the Sanguin peoples have developed sophisticated prosthetics from recycled materials, and can make the most of the scarce herbs that can relief some of the pain.
Prognosis
A patient with gene therapy during the early stages of the disease may survive and become cured. However, without gene therapy, patients will have a shortened life. Medication to slow down the condition, effective pain-killers and prosthetic technology can help make the condition much more bearable, if one could acquire them.
Cultural Reception
Most conditions that occur in Sanguin are heavily stigmatised outside the Sanguin tribes. Within, there is a great deal of empathy and effort to help those who are sick.
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