There are 2 types of factitious disorders.
- Factitious disorders imposed on self - severe case is called munchausen syndrome
- Factitious disorder imposed on another- severe case is called munchausen syndrome by proxy
The motives for these patients vary but there are a number of reasons such as:
- attention achieved by being sick
- sympathy due to the illness
- emotional and physical nourishment and care given to someone who is sick or having a child who is sick (nurturance)
this can be distinguished form malingering disorder where the patient seek external gains such as disabilty payment or avoid specific duties or responsibilities, The diagnosis of factitious disorder can be made only after ruling out other psychiatric problems.
SYMPTOMS.
Factitious disorder entails an individual faking or producing illness or injury to lie to other and they can go to the depth to hid their deception making it difficult to diagnose the disorder. These individual will continue with their deception even without any benefits or reward even when there is a substantial evidence that doesn't support the illness.
The signs and symptoms :
- Convincing medical or psychological problem
- Extensive use of medial terms and the disease
- Inconsistent symptoms
- The condition getting worse for no apparent reason and it doesn't respond to normal therapy
- Seeking treatment from various doctors and they can use a fake name to get it going
- They seem reluctant in allowing medical professional talk to their families
- Frequent hospital admission
- Eagerness to have frequent test of perform risky operations
- Many surgical scars or numerous injuries
- Having few visitors while admitted
- ARGUING WITH MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
For the case of factitious disorder imposed on another, someone falsely claims that another person has physical or symptoms of illness or actually cause injury or disease on another person with the intention of deceiving others. In most cases its the parent or caregiver harming a child or elderly person and can put the child or elderly person in serious danger.
In both cases they can fake illness by exaggerating existing symptoms of an illness that is existing so as to appear more sick or impaired. They even make up fake medical histories to the families, healthcare professionals like having cancer or AIDS. They will fake the symptoms to an extent of even faking seizures or fake an intense stomach pain you might think you missed a diagnosis of an inflamed appendix. These patients can cause harm to themselves by infecting themselves with bacteria to become sick. They can also inject themselves with feces, milk, they can injure or cut them selves. Some have been known to even take blood thinners, take diabetic medication just to mimic illnesses. They can go to an extent of contaminating their urine sample with blood.
patients with muschausen syndrome by proxy are known to switching medical providers frequently. They are experts in 'doctor shopping'. The perpetrator continues the abuse because maintaining the child in the patient role satisfies them and the cure is to separate the child from the victim and in such a case this patient can again go ahead and harm a family member's child. This condition also affects the child as the child perceives that the only way they will receive love from the perpetrator is by playing along and pretending to be sick while in hospital to necessitate and admission.
warning signs for munchausen syndrome by proxy:
- A child with more than one medical problem which doesn't respond to treatment
- Unusually high lab findings that isn't in terms with clinical presentation
- Medically knowledgeable parents who are fascinated with medical details and hospital gossip, enjoys the hospital environment and is interested with other patients problems
- The suspected parent may work in healthcare of profess their interest in the same.
- The signs and symptoms of the child may lessen or vanish in the absence of the parent
- A patient who deteriorates whenever discharge plans are made.
There is also munchausen by internet where the patients with above symptoms seeks attention via the social media such as Facebook portraying some grave illness they can be posting about themselves or their children or family members but they deeply exaggerate their condition online.
