Illnesses in Middle-Earth

[Mumak o' Harad]

In The Houses of the Healing chapter, the herb-master enters and while talking to Aragorn about kingsfoil and athelas he says: "But alas! sir, we do not keep this thing in the Houses of the Healing, where only the gravely hurt or sick are tended."

For me, this explicitly shows that serious sicknesses indeed existed (in paralell to getting hurt).

And let's not forget that King Aragorn had healing knowledge/powers as well probably to cure both the ill and the hurt.

[Mumak o' Harad]

... and there's more:
Excerpt from The Pyre of Denethor chapter:
"... they went towards the Houses of the Healing; and these were fair houses set apart for the care of those who were grievously sick, but now they were prepared for the tending of men hurt in battle or dying."

[Lalwendë]

I would assume that were Elves to get so sick that they died, they would be 'reborn', as they cannot leave the circles of the world. Perhaps given this, there is little need to mention sickness as happening to them. I think more information on this can be found in Morgoth's Ring which explains the 'rebirth' concept extensively.

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

It is possible that these deaths are plot devices rather than representative examples of the health of the populations of Middle Earth

I think this could indeed be the case, as illness is so rarely mentioned throughout the books except where it does drive the plot. With the sickness of Faramir, Eowyn and Merry it certainly does drive the plot along, particularly as it is in the Houses of Healing that the former two meet. And there are surprisingly few deaths of major characters in comparison to 'real world' war. Though, we simply do not know what happened to the milieu of ordinary peoples in Middle Earth and why they did or did not get sick and die. It reminds me of the question posed not that long ago as to why there seemed to be no graveyards in The Shire.

Originally Posted by SpM

On different note, I have always thought it rather ironic that Elves, being the only race that do not seem to indulge in the pipeweed habit (cf Legolas' views on the habit at Isengard), are also the only race that would be immune to its potentially harmful consequences. Then again, there seem to be no recorded instances of pipeweed-related deaths in Middle-earth and the healthy lifespan of most Hobbits would seem to suggest that pipweed in Middle-earth has somewhat less potentially harmful consequences than its real-life counterparts.

This has made me laugh! Perhaps it is why Gandalf was such a keen smoker; after all, did he know that it could not kill him? He certainly seems to have retained the habit even after his fall and rebirth. Or perhaps Pipeweed is that elusive non-harmful type of tobacco that some of us dream about? Or, like Bill Clinton, did they just not inhale?

[Thinlómien]

And while describing the Houses of Healing (LotR: RotK) it's told that gondorians had cure to every sickness/disease except the Black Breath and dying because of old age. (I couldn't quote that, because I don't have the book in english... )