Something wicked this way comes.
wildly popular in The musical film is set for release this weekElphaba – who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West – arrives at Shiz University with bright green skin, the result of her mother drinking a suspicious elixir while she was pregnant.
But here in the real world outside Oz, there Is Evidence of a non-magical condition that causes young women’s skin to turn green.
according to National Library of MedicineChlorosis, a type of hypochromic anemia, was frequently seen in inactive girls and young women in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Hypochromia occurs when red blood cells become paler than normal. It results from insufficient hemoglobin, the pigment that carries oxygen in the blood.
Also called “green sickness”, chlorosis is characterized by a greenish-yellow discoloration of the skin, accompanied by tiredness, shortness of breath, stoppage of menstruation, loss of appetite, bluish discoloration of the sclera or whites of the eyes, and Taste of sour foods like pickles.
according to time magazineChlorosis is very similar to “AAA disease”, a condition that suffered from the ancient Egyptians and was immortalized in hieroglyphs.
Because the young population most commonly suffered from it, doctors in the Middle Ages called it chlorosis morbus virginius or virgin disease.
Double whammy on virgin association, William Shakespeare called the “green sickness” To describe a chaste Juliet in his play “Romeo and Juliet”, suggested that this condition was caused by prolonged virginity and that the only anecdotal experience was accepted sexual experience.
Chlorosis was also a popular subject for portrait painters, as the distinctive color of green has long been associated with nature, luck, youth, inexperience, and jealousy.
The condition was believed to be caused by iron deficiency and was commonly treated with iron supplements, in addition to sex under the banner of marriage.
Iron deficiency is troubling young women. A 2023 jama study found that nearly four out of every 10 teenage girls and young women in the US are deficient in iron, which can lead to low energy and brain fog.
In 1903, a doctor wrote that chlorosis “usually” occurs [hearlds] Some disturbances in menstrual function, but mainly characterized by a decrease in hemoglobin in the blood.
He said it was not commonly seen in girls of childhood, nor in women over the age of 30, and was most common at the beginning of puberty.
“Sedentary occupation, indoor life, improper diet, excessive physical and mental activity, emotional or mental disturbance are all the causes of most cases of chlorosis,” he said, adding, “It is remarkably common in girls who Those who menstruate before time.”
After World War I, the incidence of chlorosis declined, it is believed change in diet and better understanding of conditions such as anemia.
In 1936, Professor Willis Marion Fowler of the University of Iowa Published condolence message of illness In the annals of medical history.
“The causes of the disappearance of chlorosis remain in the dark, and with its disappearance, its etiology becomes harder to explain,” he explained at the time.
Many scholars believe that the disease was not a single disease, but that its name applied to two separate conditions, the hypochromic anemia described above and “chloro-anorexia,” a psychological condition related to anorexia nervosa that flourished in the nineteenth century and was also known as ”virgin disease” or ”febrile amatoria,” love fever.
In this example, the color green may be less literal and more metaphorical, indicating innocence rather than a physical descriptor.
