Flare sickness or simply flare, is an illness caused by prolonged exposure to extinct sun crystals. While not extremely common due to extreme prevention measures, everybody knows one or two people who have suffered from flare to some degree.
While active sun crystals protect against malevolent creatures, the extinct state loses this property and instead causes harm to the living. The exact cause is still being researched, but experts suggest extinct sun crystals emit a noxious current which affects living tissue.
The first symptom someone suffering from flare experiences are cold hands and feet. Slowly this shifts to the general experience of not being able to generate heat even on hot summer days. This symptom is often not recognized as such, disregarded as simply being odd or maybe the onset of the flu. More aggressive symptoms often develop before people consult a doctor.
The cold sensation is followed by the experience of nausea, headaches and sometimes vertigo. While these symptoms fade with time, soon afterwards rash start to form on the skin, which might be confused for eczema by the untrained eye. Things start to get serious with the loss of sight, and the rash developing into necrotic blisters.
Most flare symptoms can be treated with medicinal herbs and poultices, but of course most effective is prevention by removal of the extinct sun crystal. In severe flare cases, the affected is left with bad skin scarification, with one or several amputated fingers and toes, and sometimes even completely blind. Usually the crystal is removed and the symptoms treated before this happens.
The people most severely affected by flare are dimmers, professionals tasked with disposing of extinct sun crystals. These men and women often miss a finger or two, and are severely scarred. Upon retirement they sometimes even miss a whole limb, and their sight will have decreased to partial or full blindness.