What sort of illnesses or afflictions do you see the Turtles having.

[victory_angel]

We have seen the Turtle sick before and there are people who have gone as far saying Donnie has been sickly since childhood. Or Raph is sensitive to the cold and such.

Those are more or less why not assumptions. But what sort of illnesses or afflictions can you see the Turtle's having? It doesn't need to be an illness, it can be a disorder.

For example, I can see Leo having Asthma as a child. This is an affliction he grows out of with help of training regimen, but when he is really stressed out he sometimes finds himself having asthmas attacks.

Raph, I can see having heart disease. Moderate intensity exercise alone for over 150 minutes a week has been known to cause heart problems in men.

Donnie, I can see maybe having psychogenic fevers (stress related fevers) because of all the stuff he carries on his shell. From making sure things in the lab are fixed to making sure they have various antidotes, serums, or whatever else they need to save the day. At times he foregoes eating and sleeping because he absolutely needs to have the solution to whatever problem their facing.

Mikey, I can see winding up with type 2 diabetes from all the Pizza he eats. Yes, all the Turtles eat pizza rather frequently, but Mikey eats it to a near obsessive level. So yes, I can see him becoming diabetic.

[wpugh2424]

Originally Posted by victory_angel

We have seen the Turtle sick before and there are people who have gone as far saying Donnie has been sickly since childhood. Or Raph is sensitive to the cold and such.

Those are more or less why not assumptions. But what sort of illnesses or afflictions can you see the Turtle's having? It doesn't need to be an illness, it can be a disorder.

For example, I can see Leo having Asthma as a child. This is an affliction he grows out of with help of training regimen, but when he is really stressed out he sometimes finds himself having asthmas attacks.

Raph, I can see having heart disease. Moderate intensity exercise alone for over 150 minutes a week has been known to cause heart problems in men.

Donnie, I can see maybe having psychogenic fevers (stress related fevers) because of all the stuff he carries on his shell. From making sure things in the lab are fixed to making sure they have various antidotes, serums, or whatever else they need to save the day. At times he foregoes eating and sleeping because he absolutely needs to have the solution to whatever problem their facing.

Mikey, I can see winding up with type 2 diabetes from all the Pizza he eats. Yes, all the Turtles eat pizza rather frequently, but Mikey eats it to a near obsessive level. So yes, I can see him becoming diabetic.

Framingham risk scores with high hdls which can increase from moderate exercise will actually lower your ten year risk of heart disease.
But the others make more sense to me

[Andrew NDB]

None. Their antibodies and immune system is probably so sky high from living in a sewer, nothing can touch them.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

None. Their antibodies and immune system is probably so sky high from living in a sewer, nothing can touch them.

I agree with you fully here.

Make them lean, green and efficent killing machines, or pizza eating machines depending on the verison

[neatoman]

Dick Grayson has some ideas.

[newfan]

hard to know what they could be affected by given that they are mutated into something making them no-longer a natural lifeform of the planet, so though they are still turtles, all the rules may not apply. Same I suppose if you wanted to consider the part human infused incarnations.

Edit: LOL to the above, actually I remember Nick's Mikey joking that they had Salmonella to Rocksteady when they were trying to distract him.

[Candy Kappa]

Realistically they'd all be suffering from D3 deficiency and have MBD since they rarely go outside while there's sun. Although they could get their calcium from human food since they can process dairy which normal turtles can't. And with that they might even be resistance or immune to the effects of oxalic acid and could eat spinach to add more calcium to their diet.

I don't think the Turtles would have any sort of disorder or condition, at least not same as a human.

[Utrommaniac]

With these boys living in a sewer, I'm surprised they don't get tetanus with all the injuries they'd receive on a regular basis, even just in training-based combat.

And along with the lack of antibiotics listed above, they would basically have had no vaccinations whatsoever, so god only knows what they could get.

There would be an issue of food scarcity, probably having to only go up to dig in dumpsters (or Splinter doing it for them if he only decides to let them loose when he decides they're "ready" to kill Shredder), so alongside undernourishment, they would have...all the vitamin deficiencies. Finding clean water would probably be harder to find than food, so that would affect every single aspect of their health from cleanliness to actual hydration.

Honestly, it's a wonder they're even able to climb and jump around buildings like they do. All things considered, their health should be an absolute garbage fire.

And, on top of their only socialization be each other and Splinter...having garbage fire social skills. They'd just be a little pack of overworked, under socialized, very sick gremlin children.


I'm going to drop this here for diseases they'd risk as turtles...with a note of warning to some...rather unpleasant prolapse that we don't want to think about

Basically, it doesn't matter if a sewer is the most secure hiding place...because that's the only "pro" to the list. I for one vote for April getting them all the hell out of there, because Splinter would be having some health problems on his own...on top of the "I'm going to raise these four mutant children to know nothing in life except continuing a toxic revenge cycle and not give them a path forward afterwards" psychosis.

Lesson of the day: Keep your children and your reptiles and your mutant reptile children away from literal systems of refuse, it is a bad idea.


With all this in mind, I'd actually like to see a "Shredder turns the turtles against Splinter" story line that takes all this in mind. There's no honor in slaughtering four boys that are sicker than sick dogs, even if he would consider it a mercy kill. Besides, I imagine there'd be a much greater satisfaction in collecting up his enemy's students and giving them a healthier lifestyle and greater security of livelihood? Gloating "Ha, look how much better of a teacher and caregiver I am than you!" when he presents them stronger, healthier, cleaner, and buffed up?

[victory_angel]

Kinda reminds me of a mirage comic where the turtles are holding their weapons and contemplating how useful their weapons have been in the many battles they have faced. But now they are up against a foe where their weapons will be unable to help them.

Then they all approch Splinter nervously. Splinter then tells them Shellrot is fatal if left untreated and to kindly bend over and take their medication like men.

[Utrommaniac]

But where do they get the medication from??? And at the proper dosage?

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

But where do they get the medication from??? And at the proper dosage?

Never explained, the story is just a one-shot in a story in one of the Turtle Soup issues, so more than likely just TMNT story that isn't really canonical even though it is in the Mirage universe. The title of the story is called "Bearing the Burden"

And then, of course, the is the episode of the 1987 series where the turtles come down with the flu. The writers come up with a BS explanation of it being turtle pox which is an illness that only affects Mutant Turtles as an excuse for no one else to get it.

First thing wrong...the TMNT are the only mutant turtles in existence, so there can't be a known illness that affects only them aside from maybe any that affect Turtles in general.

Two pox is an illness that involves small itchy pustules and eruptions to appear on the face and body. So the turtles would have to look more like they came down with a case of the measles if you were going to call it Turtle Pox.

[Hamato Yoshi]

They get their medication illegally delivered at airports , like Presley

[Utrommaniac]

So apparently in regards to the food issues, turtles (and alligators) can digest even rotting food and not have worry about some parasites (as explained here), so there's probably going to be a little less issue, but there's still the problem of nutritional deficiencies.

[IndigoErth]

While I don't personally equate that much regular turtle stuff to them, being mutated and all and gaining a lot of human qualities... if they still had a boost in the tolerance level, well I suppose it would kind of explain some of the gross concoctions Mikey might willingly eat.


Was trying to go to sleep last night and was laying there considering the fact that, given their lives, these poor boys at one point or another would very possibly suffer from night terrors or a similar panic some PTSD suffering veterans might experience.

[Ulisa]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Was trying to go to sleep last night and was laying there considering the fact that, given their lives, these poor boys at one point or another would very possibly suffer from night terrors or a similar panic some PTSD suffering veterans might experience.

Truthfully, all the turtles have the potential for not only PTSD but Complex PTSD. I was actually surprised that the 2k3 series actually addressed it, though briefly in Season 4. When I ran Leonardo of that series through the diagnosis for it, just for fun, he met every single one of them.