Plerkington's syndrome
Plerkington's syndrome is a condition that appears in the episode "Squidward's Sick Daze."
Treatment
The cure for the condition consists of several steps that are unusual and uncomfortable. Leeches are placed on the patient's body to suck out the blood, they are electrically shocked with jellyfish, the nose is stretched, the lungs are scraped out with a rake, and then cleaned with a toxic eating sea urchin placed on a rod.
Role in episode
Squidward pretends to be sick to avoid going to work, claiming to suffer from Plerkington's syndrome. SpongeBob discovers the condition in a cure book, revealing that it actually exists, and starts the treatment. He begins by placing a barrel full of leeches on Squidward, causing him to run away. Then, SpongeBob electrocutes Squidward while he's sleeping with two jellyfish. Next, he uses a rake to remove several leaves from Squidward's lungs and puts them into a bag.
Squidward tells Mr. Krabs on the phone that he feels better and asks to return to work. Mr. Krabs says he still looks sick and tells SpongeBob to treat him even more. SpongeBob looks at the cure book again and returns with a sea urchin on a rod to continue the treatment. At the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob tells Mr. Krabs about the treatments he performed on Squidward, which makes Mr. Krabs laugh. Then, Squidward arrives, looking in excellent condition and completely handsome.
Trivia
- In reality, syndromes are not diseases, but rather symptom complexes that cannot be cured, only alleviated.
- The condition was named after someone called Plerkington, as the name suggests.
- The condition's name is likely a parody of Parkinson's syndrome, also known as Parkinsonism.