Histories (House)

House (TV series) episode
episode_name = Histories
episode_no = HOU-110
airdate = February 8, 2005
writer = Joel Thompson
director = Dan Attias


season = 1
diagnosis = Tuberculoma and rabies

Histories is the tenth episode of the first season of "House", which premiered on the FOX network on February 8, 2005. When a homeless woman has a seizure, some of the employees at Princeton-Plainsboro think that she is faking her seizures in hopes of getting a free meal. However, Wilson takes her under his wing and convinces House to take the case.

Plot

A homeless woman heads to a rave party, but doesn’t have the $20 to enter. She begs to be allowed in to see someone named James and the doorman agrees. Once inside, the cops raid the party and she has a seizure. She has no ID and doesn’t seem to know her name. She does however have drawings about someone named James. Her CT scan reveals a surgical pin in her arm. Using one of the woman’s sketches as a clue, Foreman finds a box in an alley where she lived. Infested with bats, the box contains more drawings. From the serial number on the pin, House learns that she broke her arm in an accident on October 2, 2002. The patient’s name is Victoria Madsen.

From her hospital records Wilson suspects that she has ovarian cancer. House orders an ultrasound which shows cancer, he then wonders if it’s a tuberculoma mass. The treatment gives her a fever of 105 although her biopsy confirms her tuberculoma.

The doctors put her on an ice bath to fight the fever but she disappears soonafter. The paramedics bring her back into the hospital. Her heart is racing due to a cop tasering her during her disappearance. When House learns that she has no sensitivity in the area, he realizes that rabies has been afflicting her. The bats in Victoria’s cardboard box are the most likely culprit. It’s too late for treatment and Victoria will die shortly.

Foreman and Wilson head to the rave party house, and find a strongbox that contains photos of healthy Victoria looking happy with a man. They also find a marriage certificate for Victoria and a man named Paul, as well as a birth certificate for James, her son. They find a newspaper clipping about the car crash in which Victoria broke her arm. Paul and James were killed in the wreck where she was driving.

Foreman goes to Victoria’s bedside, claiming to be Paul. He tells her that he’s come to forgive her for the accident. In her stupor, she believes him and tearfully apologizes. House trails Wilson to an alleyway, where Wilson reveals that he had a brother who disappeared nine years ago and the alley is the last place Wilson saw him.

Behind the scenes

House describes Victoria's fear of water as hydrophobia, a symptom of rabies. Hydrophobia is an obsolete term for rabies, describing the patient's inability to swallow, which in turn leads to salivation. A psychological fear of water, unrelated to rabies, is called aquaphobia. However, panic when confronted with liquids (which can be viewed as aquaphobia) is a symptom of rabies. Paranoia is also a symptom of rabies, and could explain Victoria's accusation that Foreman's offer of water was in fact an attempt to poison her.

Incorrect Treatment

This episode features a character receiving a post-rabies shot in the stomach, which is erroneous. Belly shots for rabies have not been used since 1960. Current treatment consists of a series of five shots given post exposure, coupled with immunoglobulins.

External links

* [http://www.fox.com/house/ FOX.com-"House" official site]
* [http://televisionwithoutpity.com/show.cgi?show=151/ Television Without Pity-"House" recaps]
* [http://epguides.com/House/ House Episode Guide at epguides.com]
* [http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/house/100213/ TVGuide's Page: Full list of House Episodes]
* [http://www.housemd-guide.com/ House M.D. Guide]
* [http://politedissent.com/archives/560 Medical Reviews of House: Histories]