Sea Rot

Impacting the hearing and smell, salt rot is a common ailment of old sea dogs.
Spending a life at sea has many positive effects on the body, such as increasing the intake of fresh air and exposure to beneficial sunlight. It also provides many improvements to the mental wellbeing of sailors. However, it can also lead to the degradation of the eardrum and the nasal passage due to excessive damp.
In heavy swells or lengthy storms, the body becomes vulnerable to bacteria that lives in the ocean. If this bacterium enters the ear canal or the nostrils, where the environment is warm and moist, it can establish itself and cause rot. It can also appear under the arms, in the eye, on feet and in the groin, however it is less common due to these areas been more active, preventing the bacterium from asserting itself.
The salt in sea water provides a saline environment for the colony, which can restrict the abilities of the immune system. Once the bacterium is established it will continue to rot any live cells until it has reached a state at which it can sustain itself as a parasite of the body.
Where sea rot has established in the ear canal it will prohibit the hearing of that ear. In the nose cavity the patient will lose sense of smell. In rare cases where the rot has entered the eye, sight will almost certainly be lost, if not the entire eye. Rot of the groin can lead to impotency and rot of the left armpit in extreme cases can reach the heart and cause death.
There is no known cure for sea rot, although it has been known for sailors to attempt to cut the rot off. Removing the rot would typically leave the problem unresolved as to eradicate the entire rot would require removing live tissue, an extremely painful procedure. Preventative measures can be taken to keep skin dry, cleaning the cavities regularly with a simple rag can reduce the chances of sea rot to a miniscule level.
No studies have been successful in establishing the true nature or pathology of sea rot, as such it is still a large issue for sea dogs.
The bacterium survives in colder waters around the Marinian Isles and Noryth Sea, few cases have been recorded in Thyorn or resulting from anywhere south of the Great Divide.

Transmission & Vectors

Waterborne

Causes

Seawater containing the salinius bacterium establishing in damp environments on the body.

Symptoms

Stinking, rotting flesh. Loss of impacted senses or limbs, impotence if effecting the groin.

Treatment

No treatment.

Prognosis

Caused by bacterium in a moist environment. The bacterium will spread until it can sustain itself off the living flesh. In most cases will result in the loss of hearing or smell, in rare cases where the rot reaches the heart can cause death.

Prevention

No guaranteed prevention, however, keeping areas of the body exposed to sea water dry can minimise risk.

Type

Bacterial

Rarity

Common