How to Hide Being Sick
Take care of yourself, albeit secretly., Be very hygenic to avoid getting your family members sick., Avoid people as much as possible., Avoid coughing, sneezing, or sniffling in front of family members., Avoid touching people, or rather letting them...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Take care of yourself
Get as much rest as you can, drink a lot of fluids, and don't work too hard or eat something that would make you feel sick.
Taking care of yourself is the best way to both get better fast and not appear as sick to other people, but make sure family members don't see you doing things you don't normally do in order to make yourself better.
When getting extra rest, don't make it obvious.
Don't announce to everyone that you are going to bed early, and don't mention taking naps if you don't normally.
If eating makes you feel sick, don't eat much but don't specifically say you aren't hungry or anything about not eating.
Instead of pre-making excuses, assume no one will notice or ask.
Don't force yourself to be more active than you should be in order to not raise suspicion.
Make non-sickness-related excuses in order to get out of participating in family activities, going out with the family, etc.
You may be tempted to fight through it, but this will make you sicker and will probably result in people discovering you're sick. -
Step 2: albeit secretly.
This is purely kindness; if your family members don't know you're sick, they are not going to take any extra precautions and as a result you need to.
For example, just because a family member says they don't care about sharing a cup, don't let them drink off yours to avoid raising suspicion or because it doesn't really affect you.
That is rude, and your family member will be upset if they get sick later and find out you were sick.
Wash your hands excessively.
Before touching anything anyone else in the house might touch, wash your hands.
Wash them before eating, etc.
If you think your family will notice, wash them in a bathroom sink or somewhere they won't hear.
Don't do chores or work that may cause your family members to be exposed to your germs.
If it's your responsibility to cook a meal or set the table, etc., find a non-sickness-related excuse in order to not do it.
Your family may be annoyed, but know you're doing it for them.
If you truly can't get out of something, wash your hands excessively and if you are blamed for making other people sick later, remind them you tried not to. , This does sound sad, but the truth is that the more time you spend with people or in the open areas of your house, the more time others will have to notice you are ill.
Until you're feeling better, it's usually a good idea to spend all the time you can in your room alone.
This is also good for your health, as hours of quiet reading are more restful than playing games in a hectic living room.
If your family notices you're not spending much time with them, the best option is to deny it or say you weren't aware.
If this doesn't work, come up with a non-sickness-related excuse.
This isn't too difficult, as something as simple as a lot of homework explains alone time easily. , These are usually the most obvious signs of being sick, so avoid doing them in front of people.
This may seem impossible, but there are some tricks that may help you:
If you need to sniffle in order to avoid awkward incidents with running noses, space it out as far as you can.
When you don't wait anymore, a great trick is to say you are thirsty, go into the kitchen, turn on the faucet, sniffle, and then turn off the faucet.
The sound of the faucet hides the sound of you sniffling and you can easily explain using the faucet, even frequently–just say it's one of those days where you're really thirsty.
Suppress sneezes as much as you can.
This is not too hard, although you may make a funny face while doing it.
Just look away from people when you're about to sneeze and fight it.
If you don't want to or can't suppress it, just sneeze.
Perfectly healthy people sneeze, the key to hiding sneezes is to hide at least some so people don't think you are sneezing more than makes sense.
While hiding coughing is the hardest, it can be done.
Suppress your cough if it's possible, provided it is and is not extremely uncomfortable.
If you have a bad cough, it is definitely a good idea to hide from people as much as you can, because this is the hardest symptom to hide.
One trick to concealing a cough that isn't too bad is to keep water or another beverage near you (though this doesn't work well with the anti-sniffling technique) and take a sip whenever you feel the urge to cough.
This will help you suppress your cough, and if you cough anyway, you can say you choked on the beverage. , Don't be over-the-top about this; most people will not feel the temperature of your skin from a quick high-five or hug but will notice you jumping away from them.
However, avoid letting people touch your direct skin, particularly that of your face.
Even someone holding your hand could notice a higher body temperature.
Regulate your resistance to touch as compared to your fever.
If it's only a degree or two high, people are not going to feel the difference very well.
However, if you have a temperature of 103 °F (39 °C), you will feel very hot and shouldn't let people touch or even almost touch your skin (you should also see a doctor if the temperature is over about 103 °F (39 °C)).
Be aware of chills/hot flashes.
As fevers can cause you to have chills or hot flashes, you might want to wear something your family will find odd, like a coat when it's hot outside.
Be aware of this and try to fight your chills/hot flashes so you can make your fever less obvious; you may not think so, but family members do notice extra coats and parents will regularly associate them immediately with illness.
Obviously, wear what you want to when you're alone. , For example, in the case of Laryngitis, Laryngitis is something you can't really hide, but it is something you can prevent.
When you realize you're sick, stop talking as much, especially if you have a cough.
You may not think you'll get laryngitis, but it's always a good idea to be safe.
If you get laryngitis anyway, here are some tricks to make it less obvious:
Temporarily cure laryngitis by eating soup.
Chicken soup works best, but if you're a vegetarian, other kinds of soup will work.
While eating a lot of soup may look weird, it can be a good idea to regularly eat it while you have laryngitis in order to keep your voice working.
Take note of how coughing relates to your laryngitis.
Sometimes coughing once will take your voice away, but coughing again will bring it back sounding normal.
You often will just know if your voice is going to work or not depending on how your throat feels, so try clearing your throat or coughing if you don't think it's going to work.
Don't speak if you just coughed and think your voice is going to sound odd.
Don't voluntarily start conversations, and especially do not start fights.
Your voice may be working in the short term, but if you've had problems with it, it may start glitching as you talk more.
Yelling is a quick way to absolutely kill it, so don't talk about anything that might anger someone and warrant an argument.
You will hate losing and thus might strain your voice trying to make yourself understood or heard. , For example, if you think you might throw up, be ready to go to the bathroom or have a bowl with you (secretly).
Doing something like vomiting on the floor will instantly give you away and be awkward.
If you are a girl, you can makeup to hide the "sick look" you may have, like extra pale skin or dark circles.
Family members, particularly parents, will notice and comment on this.
If they do, explain it away with tiredness and pretend you are annoyed or offended they commented on your appearance. -
Step 3: Be very hygenic to avoid getting your family members sick.
-
Step 4: Avoid people as much as possible.
-
Step 5: Avoid coughing
-
Step 6: sneezing
-
Step 7: or sniffling in front of family members.
-
Step 8: Avoid touching people
-
Step 9: or rather letting them touch you if you have a fever.
-
Step 10: Don't talk very much and take efforts to save your voice.
-
Step 11: Be cautious when you should be
-
Step 12: depending on your symptoms.
Detailed Guide
Get as much rest as you can, drink a lot of fluids, and don't work too hard or eat something that would make you feel sick.
Taking care of yourself is the best way to both get better fast and not appear as sick to other people, but make sure family members don't see you doing things you don't normally do in order to make yourself better.
When getting extra rest, don't make it obvious.
Don't announce to everyone that you are going to bed early, and don't mention taking naps if you don't normally.
If eating makes you feel sick, don't eat much but don't specifically say you aren't hungry or anything about not eating.
Instead of pre-making excuses, assume no one will notice or ask.
Don't force yourself to be more active than you should be in order to not raise suspicion.
Make non-sickness-related excuses in order to get out of participating in family activities, going out with the family, etc.
You may be tempted to fight through it, but this will make you sicker and will probably result in people discovering you're sick.
This is purely kindness; if your family members don't know you're sick, they are not going to take any extra precautions and as a result you need to.
For example, just because a family member says they don't care about sharing a cup, don't let them drink off yours to avoid raising suspicion or because it doesn't really affect you.
That is rude, and your family member will be upset if they get sick later and find out you were sick.
Wash your hands excessively.
Before touching anything anyone else in the house might touch, wash your hands.
Wash them before eating, etc.
If you think your family will notice, wash them in a bathroom sink or somewhere they won't hear.
Don't do chores or work that may cause your family members to be exposed to your germs.
If it's your responsibility to cook a meal or set the table, etc., find a non-sickness-related excuse in order to not do it.
Your family may be annoyed, but know you're doing it for them.
If you truly can't get out of something, wash your hands excessively and if you are blamed for making other people sick later, remind them you tried not to. , This does sound sad, but the truth is that the more time you spend with people or in the open areas of your house, the more time others will have to notice you are ill.
Until you're feeling better, it's usually a good idea to spend all the time you can in your room alone.
This is also good for your health, as hours of quiet reading are more restful than playing games in a hectic living room.
If your family notices you're not spending much time with them, the best option is to deny it or say you weren't aware.
If this doesn't work, come up with a non-sickness-related excuse.
This isn't too difficult, as something as simple as a lot of homework explains alone time easily. , These are usually the most obvious signs of being sick, so avoid doing them in front of people.
This may seem impossible, but there are some tricks that may help you:
If you need to sniffle in order to avoid awkward incidents with running noses, space it out as far as you can.
When you don't wait anymore, a great trick is to say you are thirsty, go into the kitchen, turn on the faucet, sniffle, and then turn off the faucet.
The sound of the faucet hides the sound of you sniffling and you can easily explain using the faucet, even frequently–just say it's one of those days where you're really thirsty.
Suppress sneezes as much as you can.
This is not too hard, although you may make a funny face while doing it.
Just look away from people when you're about to sneeze and fight it.
If you don't want to or can't suppress it, just sneeze.
Perfectly healthy people sneeze, the key to hiding sneezes is to hide at least some so people don't think you are sneezing more than makes sense.
While hiding coughing is the hardest, it can be done.
Suppress your cough if it's possible, provided it is and is not extremely uncomfortable.
If you have a bad cough, it is definitely a good idea to hide from people as much as you can, because this is the hardest symptom to hide.
One trick to concealing a cough that isn't too bad is to keep water or another beverage near you (though this doesn't work well with the anti-sniffling technique) and take a sip whenever you feel the urge to cough.
This will help you suppress your cough, and if you cough anyway, you can say you choked on the beverage. , Don't be over-the-top about this; most people will not feel the temperature of your skin from a quick high-five or hug but will notice you jumping away from them.
However, avoid letting people touch your direct skin, particularly that of your face.
Even someone holding your hand could notice a higher body temperature.
Regulate your resistance to touch as compared to your fever.
If it's only a degree or two high, people are not going to feel the difference very well.
However, if you have a temperature of 103 °F (39 °C), you will feel very hot and shouldn't let people touch or even almost touch your skin (you should also see a doctor if the temperature is over about 103 °F (39 °C)).
Be aware of chills/hot flashes.
As fevers can cause you to have chills or hot flashes, you might want to wear something your family will find odd, like a coat when it's hot outside.
Be aware of this and try to fight your chills/hot flashes so you can make your fever less obvious; you may not think so, but family members do notice extra coats and parents will regularly associate them immediately with illness.
Obviously, wear what you want to when you're alone. , For example, in the case of Laryngitis, Laryngitis is something you can't really hide, but it is something you can prevent.
When you realize you're sick, stop talking as much, especially if you have a cough.
You may not think you'll get laryngitis, but it's always a good idea to be safe.
If you get laryngitis anyway, here are some tricks to make it less obvious:
Temporarily cure laryngitis by eating soup.
Chicken soup works best, but if you're a vegetarian, other kinds of soup will work.
While eating a lot of soup may look weird, it can be a good idea to regularly eat it while you have laryngitis in order to keep your voice working.
Take note of how coughing relates to your laryngitis.
Sometimes coughing once will take your voice away, but coughing again will bring it back sounding normal.
You often will just know if your voice is going to work or not depending on how your throat feels, so try clearing your throat or coughing if you don't think it's going to work.
Don't speak if you just coughed and think your voice is going to sound odd.
Don't voluntarily start conversations, and especially do not start fights.
Your voice may be working in the short term, but if you've had problems with it, it may start glitching as you talk more.
Yelling is a quick way to absolutely kill it, so don't talk about anything that might anger someone and warrant an argument.
You will hate losing and thus might strain your voice trying to make yourself understood or heard. , For example, if you think you might throw up, be ready to go to the bathroom or have a bowl with you (secretly).
Doing something like vomiting on the floor will instantly give you away and be awkward.
If you are a girl, you can makeup to hide the "sick look" you may have, like extra pale skin or dark circles.
Family members, particularly parents, will notice and comment on this.
If they do, explain it away with tiredness and pretend you are annoyed or offended they commented on your appearance.
About the Author
Sophia Harvey
Writer and educator with a focus on practical pet care knowledge.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: