[SPOILERS] Illnesses fit for a Targaryen to die

[Lord Varys]

4 hours ago, Alyssa of House Arryn said:

But didn't Aegon III eventually die of some illness? He's far from an example of an immune Targ. Daeron II too was of Valyrian descend (his most recent non-Valyrian ancestor that we know of being Rodrik Arryn, his great-great-great-grandfather), but that did not prevent him from dying during the Great Spring Sickness. 

We have to wait and see how Aegon III eventually goes down. And whether that's actually tuberculosis or something else. I mean, Princess Gael also died of a summer fever. But that wasn't the actual cause of death, was it?

Daeron II and his grandsons are part of the reason why we assume or speculate that the Great Spring Sickness might have been another round of the Shivers or a similar disease - and the idea (or at least my idea) is that the Shivers and the Winter Fever are not exactly *normal* plagues - just as greyscale isn't, although they can be transferred like a normal disease.

But we also don't know how exactly this 'magical immunity thing' would work if it is a thing. It could be stronger when you are healthy and in your best years so that you never get sick while you are young and in reasonably good condition (like Dany, say) and then when you get older and age and other maladies start to weaken you an infection might also be able to claim you - like childbed fever often seems to do, and like old Targaryens also catch this or that illness and die of that.

[lysmonger]

1 hour ago, Lord Varys said:

We have to wait and see how Aegon III eventually goes down. And whether that's actually tuberculosis or something else. I mean, Princess Gael also died of a summer fever. But that wasn't the actual cause of death, was it?

Daeron II and his grandsons are part of the reason why we assume or speculate that the Great Spring Sickness might have been another round of the Shivers or a similar disease - and the idea (or at least my idea) is that the Shivers and the Winter Fever are not exactly *normal* plagues - just as greyscale isn't, although they can be transferred like a normal disease.

But we also don't know how exactly this 'magical immunity thing' would work if it is a thing. It could be stronger when you are healthy and in your best years so that you never get sick while you are young and in reasonably good condition (like Dany, say) and then when you get older and age and other maladies start to weaken you an infection might also be able to claim you - like childbed fever often seems to do, and like old Targaryens also catch this or that illness and die of that.

The magical immunity gets destroyed with the death of dragons and being not blood of the dragon. 

[Alyssa of House Arryn]

7 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

We have to wait and see how Aegon III eventually goes down. And whether that's actually tuberculosis or something else. I mean, Princess Gael also died of a summer fever. But that wasn't the actual cause of death, was it?

The very book that suggests Gael died of fever mentions that what she actually did was throw herself into the Blackwater. If Aegon III did not die of tuberculosis, why did Yandel not say so? What reason could there be for people to hide his cause of death? And there doesn't seem to be anything supernatural in the Shivers, or the winter fever, or the Great Spring Sickness Like genes and incest in Westeros work differently than in our world, illnesses and sicknesses work different too, and are more deadly, without being magical and unnatural. Targaryens aren't immune to diseases, no more than they are fire-proof. You can ask Maegelle, Baelon, Maekar and many others to tell you that.

[Lord Varys]

8 hours ago, Alyssa of House Arryn said:

The very book that suggests Gael died of fever mentions that what she actually did was throw herself into the Blackwater. If Aegon III did not die of tuberculosis, why did Yandel not say so? What reason could there be for people to hide his cause of death? And there doesn't seem to be anything supernatural in the Shivers, or the winter fever, or the Great Spring Sickness Like genes and incest in Westeros work differently than in our world, illnesses and sicknesses work different too, and are more deadly, without being magical and unnatural. Targaryens aren't immune to diseases, no more than they are fire-proof. You can ask Maegelle, Baelon, Maekar and many others to tell you that.

My idea would be that he, too, killed himself. If that were the case then the court would have good reason not to reveal that, assuming suicide was as taboo in Westeros as it is in our world. And Gael's fate seems to suggest that.

[The Grey Wolf]

59 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

My idea would be that he, too, killed himself. If that were the case then the court would have good reason not to reveal that, assuming suicide was as taboo in Westeros as it is in our world. And Gael's fate seems to suggest that.

I'm not so sure. Lady Caswell during the Dance killed herself, Lord Rosby after Maegor's death, Ashara Dayne after RR, etc. I don't think the Faith cares much about suicide tbh.

[Rhaemond_Targaryen]

Those who suggest that the Shivers, Winter Fever or the Great Spring Sickness are 'unnatural', 'eerie' or 'magical' because of theri supernatural progress, should read a bit about real-world, historical disease known as Sweating Sickness, English Sweats or just Sweats: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweating_sickness
 

Quote

The symptoms and signs, as described by physician John Caius and others, were as follows: the disease began very suddenly with a sense of apprehension, followed by cold shivers (sometimes very violent), giddiness, headache, and severe pains in the neck, shoulders and limbs, with great exhaustion. After the cold stage, which might last from half an hour to three hours, the hot and sweating stage followed. The characteristic sweat broke out suddenly without any obvious cause. Accompanying the sweat, or after, was a sense of heat, headache, delirium, rapid pulse, and intense thirst. Palpitation and pain in the heart were frequent symptoms. No skin eruptions were noted by observers including Caius. In the final stages, there was either general exhaustion and collapse, or an irresistible urge to sleep, which Caius thought to be fatal if the patient was permitted to give way to it. One attack did not offer immunity, and some people suffered several bouts before dying.^[2] The disease tended to occur in summer and early autumn.

Sounds familiar?

[DarkSister1001]

I agree that their "dragon blood" seems to inhibit some infections.  But there are also a few non-magical things that would contribute to the Targaryen seemingly stronger immune systems.

1)  Royalty, in general, simply aren't as exposed to bacteria and viruses.  They tend to have less contact with the public.  They have a reality small circle.  They aren't cleaning or cooking.   

2)  Dragonstone's climate.  Damp, dark and warm is the perfect environment for microbial growth.  They may have been exposed to enough small doses of fungus (the basis of Penicillin) that they have an abnormally strong immune system.