We don’t have a lot of information about Nostradamus’ self-apocalyptic end-of-life prognostication. But, it’s not unreasonable to assume that even without prophetic powers he might have known that his time was short. He would have been 62 years old in June 1566, when he predicted his own death. He was not only in poor health, but terrible health. Dropsy was just the last in a series of conditions that he lived with as an adult. He experienced gout and arthritis for years, and to add dropsy to the mix, well … it’s not difficult to see how he might have known the end was coming.
Folks nowadays might be more familiar with arthritis than gout or dropsy, the last of which commonly goes by its modern name “edema.” Arthritis — a catch-all term for a variety of conditions — is a swelling and stiffness of the joints caused by a breakdown of cartilage over time. It’s very painful and can occur anywhere, like the hands, wrists, neck, shoulders, knees, etc. Gout is a specific type of arthritis characterized by sudden, painful flare-ups, particularly in the toes.
Edema, meanwhile, is a swelling of the body, particularly the feet, ankles, and legs. It’s caused by a build-up of fluids in or around tissue, and causes difficulty standing or walking. In the 17th century Nostradamus’ therapeutic options for his conditions would have been limited. And the longer edema goes untreated, the more life-threatening it becomes.
