Ondine's Curse
The tale is the basis for "Ondine's Curse," the historical name for Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS), a severe form of sleep apnea. CCHS causes patients to lose autonomic control of breathing, resulting in the need to consciously initiate every breath. If untreated, patients with CCHS will die—like Ondine's unfaithful spouse—if they fall asleep and can therefore no longer consciously breathe.
Read more about this topic: Undine (alchemy)
Famous quotes containing the word curse:
“There is nothing worse than an idle hour, with no occupation offering. People who have many such hours are simply animals waiting docilely for death. We all come to that state soon or late. It is the curse of senility.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)