Get a Sick Day off from School Without Going to the Doctor

It happens to be a school day but you feel like staying home to get a little rest and relaxation. Feigning sick is a popular approach, but you risk having to go to the doctor if you don’t play it right. There is an art to pretending to be sick that will leave you exactly where you want to be if you play it right. If you can pull it off, you’ll be lounging in bed without worrying about getting a doctor’s note in no time!

Steps

Setting the Scene

1. Pick the right ailment. If you want to stay home but avoid a trip to the doctor, you have to choose a sickness that’s not too severe. You'll have to feign an illness that can only be cured by staying at home and avoiding any hard work, (like going to school)!
   • A stomach virus is a good choice because it leaves you unable to go to class but isn’t necessarily severe enough to call for medical attention.
   • The most awful symptoms of a stomach virus include diarrhea, vomiting and cramps.
   • A fever also works because it makes a good excuse to stay home but usually just requires a little rest and relaxation.
   • Fever signs and symptoms might include sweating, shivering, headache, muscle aches, loss of appetite, dehydration and general weakness.
2. Complain about the ailment. People don’t generally get sick all of a sudden, so you'll have to begin feeling bad the day before you want to stay home and let your guardians know about it.
   • Tell your guardians that you’re not feeling your best. You can do this by saying some key phrases like:
     • "My head hurts.”
     • "I ate something funny at lunch today."
     • "A lot of my classmates have been out sick lately, I hope I didn't catch anything!"
3. Don’t overly stress your performance! If you want to stay home without going to the doctor, you have to convey that you’re sick but not sick enough to need medical care.
   • Avoid suddenly showing all of your symptoms at once.
   • Pretending to vomit may make your guardians concerned enough to bring you to the doctor, so it’s best to stick to feigning the other two symptoms.
   • Avoid showing only the symptoms that you know your guardians usually treat with medication, like a headache.

Playing it Right

1. Plant the idea that you might need to stay home the following day without being overly dramatic. At this point in your performance, you’re just starting to feel sick and need to be subtle or else risk being figured out.
   • The “art” of your performance lies in subtlety revealing your ailments.
   • To help you find the right balance, think about what happened the last time you started to get sick.
   • Avoid using direct phrases such as:
     • “I don’t think I’ll be able to go to school tomorrow.”
     • ”I’m not feeling well enough to make it to class.”
     • ”I’m too sick for school.”
2. Alter your afternoon routine. Don’t engage in the normal activities you would do if you felt well to show that you’re not feeling your best.
   • Decline to participate in a favorite activity, such as watching a movie or playing a board game.
   • Seem disinterested in engaging in the things your guardians know you usually enjoy doing.
   • Contribute little to the conversation, so that you seem too tired to be involved.
   • If your parents ask if you’ve been feeling sick for a while, tell them that you’ve been feeling slightly off all day.
3. Don’t eat much at the dinner table. If your stomach really hurt, eating a big meal is the last thing you want to do! If you had a fever, you could be experiencing a loss of appetite, which also would make you not want to eat much.
   • Excuse yourself to use the bathroom and don’t come out for ten minutes to give the impression that you are feeling bad but that you can still function enough to not raise too much concern.
   • When you return to the table, let your guardians know that your stomach is hurting by saying things like:
     • ”Sorry I was gone for so long, my stomach feels really weird.”
     • ”I’m not sure if I can finish dinner, my stomach really doesn’t feel well.”
     • ”Can I be excused? My stomach is hurting and I think I want to lay down for a moment.”
   • If possible, sneak some snacks into your bedroom to eat later so that you don’t get really hungry at night!

Making Yourself Seem Sick

1. Feign tiredness. Generally, being sick is really taxing on your body! Your body works hard to fight off stomach viruses and other fever-causing ailments so you'll need to show your guardians that your body is hard at work because you're "really" sick.
   • Some well-known symptoms of a fever include body aches, fatigue and muscle weakness.
   • You can show that your tired by moving slower than normal, laying down on the couch or resting your head on the table at dinner.
   • When you’re tired, your body temperature may drop slightly causing you to feel colder than normal. Get a blanket that’s heavier than normal to put over yourself when you’re sitting on the couch.
2. Feign a temperature increase. If you know that your guardians will want to touch your face or use a thermometer to check for a fever, you first need to elevate your body temperature.
   • A fever is also known as a “high temperature.” You have a fever when your temperature rises above its normal range, which is about 98.6 F (37 C).
   • Depending on what's causing your fever, additional fever signs and symptoms might include:
     • Sweating
     • Shivering
     • Headache
     • Muscle aches
     • Loss of appetite
     • Dehydration
     • General weakness
   • Pretending you have an increased body temperature should be done by demonstrating that you have the symptoms of a fever and by showing that you have above-average body temperature.
3. Increase your body temperature. You want your face looks red and to feel hot to the touch.
   • Put on a sweater or heavy clothing to begin making your body warm.
   • Without anyone seeing, do jumping jacks, high-knees, or mountain-climbers for one minute.
   • If you’re not hot after one minute, repeat your method until you start to feel hot and sweaty.
   • Don’t overdo it! You don’t want to push yourself too hard and risk injury. Be careful and only perform until you feel hot.
   • Take off your added layer of clothing and immediately go to your guardians and say you don’t feel well. They will see that you’re sweating and if they touch your cheek, they will feel that you’re hot.
4. Make your face red and your neck hot whenever possible. If you show that you’re consistently warm, your guardians will be more likely to believe you’re sick.
   • Run a cloth under hot water and put it on your face and neck when no one is looking. Be sure that the water isn’t too hot, because you risk burning yourself.
   • Pat off the excess water with a dry towel. You want to seem warm and have a little bit of water remaining. This will make it look like you’ve been sweating.
   • If you don’t have access to a cloth, rub your face with your hands. This will create friction and warm your face quickly, as well as make it red.
   • Ask your guardians to feel your head or cheek. Once you’ve warmed up, tell your guardians you don’t feel good again and let them touch your hot forehead.
5. ”Trick” the thermometer. If you know your guardians will want to measure your temperature, you’ll have to plan ahead to make the thermometer hot to show your temperature is elevated.
   • Rub the tip of the thermometer with your fingers. The faster you move your fingers, the faster the thermometer will heat up to the temperature you want.
   • If you have a heat source nearby, like a light bulb, put the thermometer next to it for a few moments.
   • If your thermometer is one with mercury inside, then you can also raise the temperature by soaking it in hot water. Make sure that the water isn't boiling hot, as this could cause the mercury thermometer to explode. The water temperature should only be a few degrees hotter than your body temperature, around 99.5F.

Making it All Count

1. Gather supplies. Like any actor, you'll need some props to show your guardians that your symptoms are persistent and aren’t going away.
   • Hide a cup of water somewhere by your bed. This will be used at night to really convince your guardians that you are sweating.
   • If you have an electric tea kettle that won’t be noticed if missing, that’s even better than a cup of water. This way, you will be able to show that you’re both hot and sweating.
   • Get a face cloth to hide by your bed next to the water. The cloth will be used to apply the water and also to make your face red.
2. Set your alarm. Wake yourself up In the middle of the night to show your guardians that you still have symptoms.
   • Around 2AM or 3AM is a good time to wake up.
   • Use the cloth and water that you hid by your bed to rub your face until it looks red.
   • Don’t dry your face completely, so that it is still slightly wet and will look like sweat.
   • Walk into your guardian's room and ask them to feel your head because you think you might be sick.
3. Don’t perform too much! If you complain about feeling extremely sick now your guardians might strongly consider taking you to the doctor.
   • If your guardians come to sit with you at night, wait a few minutes before pretending to fall asleep.
   • Tell them you feel thirsty and ask for water.
   • Pull the sheets tight over you to show that you’re cold.
   • Avoid talking or complaining too much: let your performance speak for itself!
4. Stay in bed late in the morning. If you stay in bed, your guardians will be more likely to think that you’re tired and simply need to sleep. If they believe you need rest, you’ll be able to avoid both school and the doctor.
   • If your guardians come to wake you up, try to rub your face with your hands before they come into your room to make your face red and hot.
   • Tell your guardians that you couldn’t sleep much.
   • Say you now you’re even more exhausted than you were yesterday.
5. Don’t fizzle out. Continue “showing” your symptoms during breakfast or else your guardians will know you don’t want to go to school.
   • Eat little at breakfast to show your still not feeling well.
   • Wear a heavy sweater and ask for an extra blanket because you “feel” really cold.
   • Lay your head on the table to show that you’re really tired and disinterested
6. If you followed these steps closely and your parents seem to buy into your story, ask them if you can stay home for the day!

Tips

• Don’t over exaggerate! If you play it up too much, your guardians will realize that you’re lying to stay home from school.
• Make your face red and forehead hot whenever possible to make it seem like you have a fever by using your hands or a warm washcloth.
• Play it cool. If it doesn’t work exactly the way you want it to, don’t show that you’re disappointed!
• Don't do it too much, maybe 4-5 times a year and don't do it on a day of an exam/test or you will miss out on information in school.

Warnings

• Don't do this too often: four times a year at most. If you use this method too many times, your guardians will see that you’re lying and you’ll have to go to school.
• If you fake too sick, you run the risk of your guardians taking you to the doctor. Make sure not to over exaggerate!
• Turn down 'all offers of medicine'! Say you just need to sleep. Taking medications when you don't need them is dangerous. If you are forced to take them, take them into the bathroom and throw them away. Turn on the sink and drink some water to "wash down" all the fake signs of the medications.
• Weigh the pros and cons of getting caught. If you weren’t able to follow these steps carefully or if your story doesn’t seem believable, ask yourself if not going to school is worse than getting in trouble for feigning sickness.

Things You'll Need

• A sweater.
• A blanket.
• Hot/warm water.
• A cloth.

Related Articles

• Call in Sick
• Call in Sick when You Just Need a Day Off
• Spend a Day when You Are Sick from School
• Fake Sick to Stay Home from School
• Fake Sick to the School Nurse
• Cope with Being Sick
• Get Through the Day on Less Than Four Hours of Sleep

Sources and Citations

See also

• Fake Sick to Stay Home from School
• Fake an Injury
• Fake an Ankle Sprain
• Get out of Class
• Fake a Fever
• Ditch School and Take a Mental Break
• Skip a Class in High School
• Skip One Class Without Leaving School for the Day
• Skip Class
• Fake Sick when You Are Too Lazy to Go to School

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