When we saw in the first chapters Dragon House the ease with which King Viserys the wounds of the throne were infected, many of us thought that he would not grow old. However, he lived to see his children and some of his grandchildren grow up. Also see how they fight each other, but that’s another question. The fact is that his death came much later than we expected. And this happened in a deplorable state of health, caused by the fact that, apparently, leprosy.
His emaciated body, full of open wounds, rotten skin and the cloth or gold mask covering his face to hide his emaciated state makes us think clearly of this disease. However, it is curious that his daughter Reynira and her brother Damon approach him without fear and even introduce him to their two young children. Or for his wife Alicent to take care of him and touch his face without fear. Even his servants take him to dinner with the whole family without any security measures. maybe leprosy is not that contagious?
It is well known that for centuries leprosy patients they were considered pests. Was even reserved islands only these patients, where they crowded in anticipation of death, fearing that they might infect other people. Today, despite being considered a disease of the past, there are still thousands of cases a year. For example, in 2020 alone, 127,558 new patients were identified. And what’s not like time has passed is that it’s kind of they are still considered suffering. Despite the fact that today we know that the disease is not as contagious as we were led to believe. It seems that in Dragon House they had it much clearer than in real life. Or perhaps if the patient had not been a king, the treatment would have been very different.
How do we know that this character from “House of the Dragon” has leprosy?
Given the issues with the injuries caused by the Iron Throne, we might think that Viserys’ illness is more related to complication from the same.
However, it wouldn’t make sense that he had lived with the infection for so many years, and besides, he had visible injuries in other places that could not be exposed to the throne. But besides, in this case we don’t have to make any guesses. There is something to see than Paddy Considineactor playing Viserys in Dragon Houserecently admitted in an interview that his character would suffer from leprosy.
So there is nothing to guess. The king has leprosy, and neither his wife, nor his brother, nor his children, nor his servants are afraid of him. Mainly because it’s not easy to get infected.
When does the disease spread?
Leprosy is a disease caused by bacteria. Mycobacterium leprosyd., mainly affecting skin, peripheral nerves, mucosa of the upper respiratory tract and eyes. This can lead to disabilities such as blindness and, in the worst case, death. Therefore, it is important to treat it antibiotics in its earliest stages. That is today, of course. Before Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, this was not possible.
So all that was left was treat symptoms, with more or less success. At a time when medicine still had a long way to go, treatments ranged from baths in the blood of children or virgins, to cobra venom, through haulmugra oil, a remedy without scientific evidence (like the others mentioned), which is still used in Ayurvedic medicine. It was also decided castrate the sickthough logically it meant no benefit to them.
In the end, the most drastic decision was to isolate these patients and practically let them die. It was supposed to be a highly contagious disease, so it seemed like the only way to prevent outbreaks. However, today we know that in order to infect very close and prolonged contact over time is needed.
Therefore, if such actions shaking hands or hugging a leper, traveling next to him or sitting at a table with himthere will be no infection. AT Dragon HouseReynira knows that her little children won’t get sick if they are put in bed with their grandfather so he can get to know them. And the guests at the dinner, where they are trying to strengthen some kind of family ties, also do not suffer from his presence. Even Alicente isn’t afraid to pat her on the cheek a few minutes before she dies.
Today, in places where the disease is still widespread, the fight against stigma. The term leper is still perceived as a synonym for a person from whom everyone flees for fear of becoming infected. But it shouldn’t be. In this (and only in this) we should learn from the heroes Dragon House. They knew it wasn’t a very contagious disease and didn’t treat Viserys like the leper he really was.
But be careful, because this is not just fiction. There have also been kings in the past who suffered from leprosy. This is, for example, the case Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. In fact, he was known as the leper king, as he suffered from the disease for many years. He finally died young, in 1185, when he was only 24 years old. But this condition did not prevent him from continuing to serve as a monarch until his last breath.
In short, it is not clear whether the rejection of lepers is due to scientific ignorance or to classism. I hope the first. After all, it is much easier to cure it than the latter. And it lies in the fact that for classicism, unlike leprosy, there are no standing antibiotics.
Source: Hiper Textual
