In sickness and in health

PastMidnight · Apr 16, 2009

I'm always hesitant to make my characters sick, because so many things were (obviously) much more serious back in the day. So I'm looking for suggestions.

So, it's 1920. I want to give a character something that is bad enough to keep him home from work (his employer isn't one to take excuses lightly), but not so bad that he's really going to be laid up in bed. He needs to be well enough that his wife can leave him alone (possibly with the baby) to go out and get a few groceries. Any ideas as to what would get him out of work for a few days?

TheIT · Apr 16, 2009

Flu? Or perhaps a physical problem like a sprained ankle or wrist. Does his work involve manual labor?

ETA: Maybe food poisoning?

PastMidnight · Apr 16, 2009

Already I like the idea of food poisoning. Wouldn't last too long and would be believable for the time. What should I feed him? I've only ever had food poisoning from bad cheese.

He works in the general store/grocery where his wife is shopping (I need him out of the way for this scene). His employer would probably expect him to be there with a sprained something-or-other.

TheIT · Apr 16, 2009

1920 in what location? I'm not sure of my history, but food safety laws might have begun to come into being during that time in the US.

Bad fish or beef come to mind. Milk products, mayonnaise. Something which needs proper refrigeration.

ETA: Is it necessary to pinpoint the exact cause? I've been hit by food poisoning a couple of times, and I usually trace it back to my last meal but I couldn't say exactly what it was. If he needs to be sick but not the rest of the family, maybe whatever he ate for lunch at work didn't agree with him. Packed lunch, perhaps, or something from a deli?

Puma · Apr 16, 2009

Or blood poisoning from an infected cut. My Dad had it in a leg in the late 40's and had to stay off his feet for a couple days. He had hideous purple streaks running up his leg from the wound area. The real name is sepsis (or something like that).

There were polio epidemics back then - some cases not as bad as others.

If he's working in the food industry, a bad cold might be possible.

Pleurisy - lung inflammation.

Gravel - what we now call gall bladder attacks.

You might check to see what type of flu outbreaks there were that year.

Hope those ideas help. Puma

BAY · Apr 16, 2009

You wouldn't want to leave a baby with someone who has flu. In real flu, you're weak, feverish, and feel like you've been run over by an 18 wheeler. Try for something that's not contagious if you've got a baby in the picture. Suggestions:Gall stone attack hurts like heck, I would go with it. Back pain as in stooped over, allergic reaction to a bee sting or food-eyes swollen shut. A burn on his arm-painful and ugly.

BardSkye · Apr 16, 2009

Gout?

Doogs · Apr 16, 2009

What's his profession?

Barb D · Apr 16, 2009

A migraine.

My grandfather (96yo) tells me that when he was a little boy his mother got them. They called it "the neuralgia." The kids all had to be quiet and she stayed in a dark room.

Doesn't Amelia Peabody (Elizabeth Peters' series in 19th century England/Egypt) get "sick headaches"? And I think Ursula Blanchard (Fiona Buckley's series in Elizabethan England) does too. I'm in good company.

Tocotin · Apr 16, 2009

What about a toothache?

TerzaRima · Apr 16, 2009

"Blood poisoning" or sepsis would have been fatal in 1920. How about the time honored common cold?

PastMidnight · Apr 17, 2009

Wow! I wake up to a ton of ideas. Thank you all! Let me see what fits in best for the scene.

In sickness and in health

PastMidnight

Oponionated

TheIT

Infuriatingly Theoretical

PastMidnight

Oponionated

TheIT

Infuriatingly Theoretical

Puma

Retired and loving it!

BAY

BardSkye

Barbershoppin' Harmony Whore

Doogs

Barb D

Tocotin

deceives

TerzaRima

Absinthe O'Malice

PastMidnight

Oponionated