I am Sick Doc...No...Really! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin suffered from numerous undiagnosed ailments throughout his adult life. These ranged from abdominal pain, chest pain, boils, trembling, pains in his hands and his nose and an assortment of illnesses that kept him in bed for months at a time.

They usually occurred during times of stress. He also feared that he would die at any moment. It has been hypothesized that he actually suffered from panic attacks, agoraphobia, or Crohn's Disease. He tried many experimental treatments and lived to the ripe old age of 73 without ever finding a cure for his symptoms.

Answer: Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was responsible for the advancement of nursing by putting an emphasis on sanitation and hygiene. She herself, after the war, had long periods where she remained bedridden by symptoms that came and went. She may have suffered from depression. Possible causes for her unspecified illness have ranged from spondylitis (inflammation of the spine) to brucellosis (a highly contagious disease caused by ingestion of infected milk or meat).

In spite of her long periods of illness, Miss Nightingale lived to the very advanced age of 90!

Answer: Alfred Lord Tennyson

Tennyson was an admitted hypochondriac who was obsessed with baldness and going blind. Throughout his adult life he suffered from trances, fits and seizures. He also complained about seeing animals floating in the air. He indulged himself in many of the questionable Victorian medical practices such as Phrenology and Hydropathy.

Despite his fears of impending death he lived into his 8th decade!

Answer: Abigail Breslin

In 2009, 14 year old Abigail Breslin openly admitted to the press that she suffered from hypochondria. She fears being bitten by poison spiders, and has a morbid fear of broken glass. She has believed that she had the avian flu numerous times, suffers from fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, and head aches.

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon believed he had ulcers, complained of a nervous cough and trouble urinating, and had constant rashes. He would take steaming baths daily that lasted over one and a half hours at a time when daily bathing was unheard of. He gargled constantly with brandy and covered himself with perfumed oils that he believed protected him. Napoleon was described in period writings as being tense, prone to hysteria, and very susceptible to emotional influences.

He lived to be 51 years old.

Answer: Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

Gen. Jackson believed from a young age that his organs were arranged differently to other people's and he believed he could die from bending over and crushing his organs. He was known for his upright posture at all times. He was also known to stand for hours with one arm over his head in an attempt to balance his body.

He also thought at various times that he had consumption, cancer, and malaria. He lost his arm in battle and died eight days later at the age of 39.

Answer: Hippocrates

Hippocrates is credited with coining this term. The word translates in ancient Greek as "hypo" (below) and the word "chondros" which translates as below the sternum. By the 19th century it was used to mean illness that had no known cause.

Answer: Glenn Gould

Glenn Gould was one of the 20th century's great pianists. He was also a hypochondriac who suffered from stomach aches, chest pains, and head aches all his life. He also had a morbid interest in death. He ultimately died at the age of 50 from a stroke.

Answer: Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes was a talented inventor, actor, and playboy. His mother was extremely concerned over her child getting sick and being hurt. In 1946 after Hughes crashed one of his planes he began to display an irrational fear of germs. He used tissues to touch everything.

He suffered from severe constipation, abdominal pain, headaches, and heart palpitations. He believed he was dying from an undiagnosed illness for many years. Hughes suffered from mental illness, possibly an obsessive-compulsive disorder, which caused some of his most bizarre behaviors.

Answer: Andy Warhol

In third grade Warhol came down with a poorly understood nervous disorder called St. Vitus Dance, which causes involuntary movements (chorea), uneven skin pigmentation and a slew of other unknown or poorly understood manifestations. It was believed to be a complication of German Measles.

In his diary, published after his death, Andy Warhol relates how terrified of doctors and hospitals he had become. He was sure that he would contract a rare and/or fatal disease from them. He also related how his fear of AIDS caused him to practice almost total abstinence towards the end of his life. Ironically, in the end he died of complications after gall bladder surgery caused by possible malpractice of his doctors and the hospital.

There was an out of court settlement.