Illnesses, deaths and St Mungo's

[Milz]

No: HPFGUIDX 18970

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "*Lilith Morgana*" <lilith_snape at h...> 
wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> This is a question that I've been considering posting a couple of 
> times before and I'm sorry if you already discussed it to the 
> breaking point somewhere earlier. It's also something that's been 
> bothering me since I started writing on my fanfiction.  
> What about witches/wizards and illnesses? We know very little about 
> this. 
> What we do know about them is that they didn't burn to death during 
> the Middle Ages, Madam Pomfrey can fix any broken bone in a couple 
of 
> minutes, nobody is ever getting colds and if they do I'm quite sure 
> there would be a potion to cure it immediately. 
> Is it so that only magic can kill a wizard? Is it impossible for 
them 
> to get deathly sick unless it's a magical decease and given to them 
> by another wizard? St Mungo's is a hosptital for Magical Deceases 
> only, right?
> 
> And another thing- do you think that there among the wizards are 
some 
> more suitable to cure and heal people, like Healers, to compare 
with 
> Parselmouths ;-) *grin*

I think the Wizarding population uses medicinal potions the same way 
and for the same reasons as we use medicinal potions (medications). 
Granted the wizarding variety might work faster and might have 
interesting side effects (Pepper Up Potion causes smoke to come out 
of one's ears). 

I do think that the magical pharmaceutical companies are still 
figuring out cures for magical maladies, such as werewolf-ism and the 
madness afflicting the Longbottoms. If magic could cure *everything*, 
Gilderoy Lockhart would probably have his memory back and would be 
writing a new book "Braving the Basilisk".

Lupin tells Ron and Harry that Madame Pomphrey can mend bones better 
than he. I think some magical people have a greater aptitude at 
healing magical arts than others.

Milz