Overspent Element Syndrome

A condition characterized by a gradual loss of control over ones own element. Often simplified as OES, this condition is most commonly seen in Flame elemen, specifically those who live in Stendrion.

Classification
OES is a serious condition in which the elemental circulatory system malfunctions. The veins in which liquid element pass through become swollen and the element cannot pass through the body as easily. The strain forces an afflicted eleman to use more element than necessary in order to accomplish the same task. Eventually, the excess liquid element mutates the veins and forcibly creates ports for element to be produced. Since ports are not designed to function deep within the body, they are easily activated and cause unintentional bursts of an eleman's element beneath the skin, often damaging the muscle tissue in the surrounding area.

Signs and Symptoms

 * An afflicted eleman may notice that it takes more energy for them to perform the same tasks overtime.


 * They will need more food for their elements to work properly and they won't be able to use their elements for as long as they may be used to.


 * Pain in the localized area where the element is being dispersed.


 * [Flame] The roots of the hair become dark, and may begin falling out.


 * [Thunder] Increased heart rate with decreased activity.


 * [Wind/Aqua] Bulging skin or increased pressure in the area.

Once element-specific symptoms begin to show up, a patient will be diagnosed as having Late stage OES. Please note that this does not necessarily reflect on the mortality of the condition, depending on the severity of the symptoms, location of the malformed ports, and the type of element present.
 * [Gardens] Large growths in the area, as well as possible disfiguration in surrounding tissues.

Prognosis
The effects of OES tend to vary based on which element the patient has.

Flame Eleman
The effects of OES have been well documented in Flame elemen, for whom the disease has been considered the main cause of death. The ports form deep inside the body and slowly burn the patient from the inside out. However, due to elemental affinity, the flames never lose control and cause spontaneously combustion of the eleman. Instead, muscle tissue is gradually lost and the damage to organs becomes gradually more severe until the patient's entire system begins shutting down. Once the flames reach the brain stem, it's over.

For most flame elemen, symptoms start in the chest cavity, where the elemental duodenum is located. Flames begin to form around this second stomach, often causing pain when eating. If it reaches the lungs, the patient may begin coughing up spots of blood when using their element. The next symptom is the darkening hair, which begins growing in black near the roots. In a few months, the eleman's hair has begun falling out. Once this stage has been reached, a small fire may light in the elemental duodenum each and every time an eleman uses their flames. By now, the damage to the patient becomes irreversible. There is presently no cure, nor treatment for Flame OES.

The average rate of survival for Flame OES after the first symptoms appears ranges from a few months to a few years, varying based on the amount of control an eleman has over their element.

Lightning Elemen
In the case of Lightning elemen, OES can have varying degrees of severity depending on how dependent the patient is on their element. Most elemen will experience an increased heart rate during periods of rest, or may find themselves more susceptible to static shock. For the most part, OES is not fatal in Lightning elemen, save for ports that are formed dangerously close to the spinal cord, brain, or the heart. In the spinal cord, signals trying to reach the brain may be intercepted by stray sparks within the body, causing sudden muscle weakness or numbness in parts of the body. Near the brain, temporary memory loss has been reported on top of severe migraines and black outs. The heart is the most dangerous, as with all elemen regardless of element. For lightning elemen, the body's natural pacemaker may be thrown off due to the stream of constant electricity from the rogue ports, resulting in spontaneous heart failure. An artificial pacemaker is generally put in place to help control the electricity that goes through the heart.

Garden Elemen
OES is extremely rare in Garden elemen, with only two known cases world wide. Both patients presented with large tumor-like growths below the skin in the areas where the ports had formed. One patient, whose ports had formed near a joint, as experienced both fusion and strange bone-like structure protruding from the joint. In both cases, amputation of the limbs were necessary to treat the symptoms, and the patients later died due to complications from the surgery on account of their ages (155 and 167, respectively).

Aqua Elemen
OES, while not uncommon in the Cities of Aqua, is relatively harmless when found early on. Small growths appear in the centralized area around the rogue ports as water builds up in small sacs of matter similar to that found in the ports themselves. Once found, the growths can be easily drained with a long needle, relieving the pressure to the area as necessary. There is no cure, however, regular body check-ups can easily be performed via elemental affinity, allowing a doctor to quickly determine areas in the body where excess water is being stored. Furthermore, the symptoms have been known to disappear almost entirely should a patient regulate their water intake and cease use of their element.

Wind Elemen
For wind elemen, OES poses the same symptoms that Aqua elemen face, only to a higher degree. Small sacs of air build up near the ports, disrupting the tissues in the nearby areas. Should they burst, these sacs cause intense pain and can severely damage nearby internal organs. The process for removing the sacs is a delicate one, as merely puncturing it would cause it to burst. Instead, invasive surgery is performed so that the sac is let open to the air. The air within is then released slowly, preventing it from being trapped within the body. In extreme cases, burst sacs have been known to flood the chest cavity with air, preventing the patient from breathing properly and constricting the heart. In cases of chronic OES, patients are given a chest tube for the air to escape freely, as well as medication for dealing with the pain. Unlike other elemen, wind elemen are encouraged to go on using their element after it has reached these extreme stages. The constant production of liquid element encourages the sacs to burst as faster rates, when they are still quite small. Thankfully, very few cases of Wind OES have been reported to exist.