What is ‘Sick Santa Syndrome’? Doctor warned of hazards of dressing as St. Nick in the ‘80s

Forget “naughty” and “nice” — Santa should probably be checking twice for “nauseous” and “feverish.”

Unfortunately, the many men donning Santa suits every December don’t have the power to know where viruses might be lurking, inspiring one doctor — and sometimes Santa Claus — to publish his warnings about “Sick Santa Syndrome” in a 1986 medical journal.

In 1986, Dr. Mark Dembert published a warning about “Sick Santa Syndrome” in a medical journal. Impact Photography – stock.adobe.com

Dr. Mark Dembert, an epidemiologist from the Navy Environmental Health Center in Norfolk, Virginia, had a merry side gig in the ’80s: When he wasn’t studying diseases, he dressed up as St. Nick to entertain kids at children’s hospitals.

As it turned out, being Santa did teach him a bit about how disease spreads, and he wrote about his finding in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December 1986.

“I know of no epidemiologic work published on the morbidity associated with being Santa Claus,” he said. “However, my background as an infectious disease epidemiologist and my several years of experience as a seasonal but well-traveled Santa for kids and adults alike prompt me to describe a new syndrome.”

Sick Santa Syndrome, he said, has some combination of the following symptoms: low-grade fever, muscle aches and pains, headache, nasal congestion, mild sinusitis, painful swallowing, cough, increased thirst, decreased appetite, and enlarged lymph nodes.

He said the malady can crop up in patients of any sex or age but typically occurs between December and mid-January.

“Risk factors for this syndrome … include ho, ho, ho-ing; hugging; listening; reassuring and winking done face to face,” he continued.

In the tongue-in-cheek article, the doctor said people who dress up as Santa face an increased risk of getting sick due to exposure to sick kids. Anneke – stock.adobe.com

“There is little one can do to prevent the syndrome. Influenza shots are warranted for this high-risk population. Vitamins may be worthwhile.”

Though tongue-in-cheek, the details of Dr. Dembert’s article likely struck a chord with mall Santas at the time — and his “deases” earned attention.

Speaking to UPI that year, he had to pause the interview to cough due to his own Sick Santa Syndrome flare-up.

“I’m pretty sure I picked it up Saturday, playing Santa for 150 kids and the children’s hospital,” he said.

“Kids are kids and they sneeze in your face and wipe their hands in your beard, and of course, I encourage that,” he said. “I enjoy being close to the kids, but it’s very easy to get colds, and other things such as measles and influenza.”

Professional Santas are certainly well acquainted with the hazards of the job. John Sullivan, a professional Santa in Chicago, previously told ABC News that he never turns down a child, even if they’re visibly sick.

“I’ll see him. I’ll talk to him,” Sullivan said. “That’s just a risk that frankly comes with the job … Santa can’t go around wearing a surgical mask!”

In fact, he said he could sometimes sense a kid was sick even if the parents didn’t know yet.

“A lot of times when you pick up a baby, you can feel in their lungs that there’s congestion,” he said. “I’ll tell the parent the baby has cold … Frankly, if I’m Santa, I never reject a child.”