Munchausen syndrome
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Munchausen syndrome
Classification & external resources ICD-
10 F68.1 ICD-
9 301.51 DiseasesDB 8459 33167 eMedicine med/3543 emerg/322 emerg/830 MeSH D009110 This page refers to the self-inflicted
factitious disorder. For the form of abuse known as 'Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy' (MSbP/MSP), see
Fabricated or Induced Illness.
For Feigned mental illness, see
Malingering.
Munchausen syndrome is a
psychiatric disorder in which those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma in order to draw attention or sympathy to themselves. It is in a class of disorders known as
factitious disorders which involve "illnesses" whose symptoms are either self-induced or falsified by the patient. It is also sometimes known as
hospital addiction syndrome.
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[edit] Munchausen syndrome
In Munchausen syndrome, the affected person exaggerates or creates
symptoms of
illnesses in themselves in order to gain investigation, treatment, attention, sympathy, and comfort from medical personnel. In some extremes, people suffering from Munchausen's Syndrome are highly knowledgeable about the practice of medicine, and are able to produce symptoms that result in multiple unnecessary operations. For example, they may inject a vein with infected material, causing widespread infection of unknown origin, and as a result cause lengthy and costly medical analyses and prolonged hospital stay. The role of "patient" is a familiar and comforting one, and it fills a psychological need in people with Munchausen's. It is distinct from
hypochondria in that patients with Munchausen syndrome are aware that they are exaggerating, while sufferers of hypochondria actually believe they have a disease.
[edit] Origin of the name
The name derives from
Baron Münchhausen (Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Münchhausen,
1720-
1797), to whom were ascribed a series of fantastically impossible tales written by
Rudolf Raspe.
In 1950, Sir
Richard Asher (father of
Jane Asher and
Peter Asher) was the first to describe a pattern of self-harm, where individuals fabricated histories, signs, and symptoms of illness. Remembering Baron Munchausen, Asher named this condition Munchausen's Syndrome. Originally, this term was used for all
factitious disorders. Now, however, there is considered to be a wide range of factitious disorders, and the diagnosis of "Munchausen syndrome" is reserved for the most severe form, where the simulation of disease is the central activity of the affected person's life.
[edit] Comparison to Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII)
Main article: Fabricated or Induced Illness
Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) is the formal name of a type of
abuse in which a caregiver feigns or induces an illness in a person under their care, in order to attract attention, sympathy, or to fill other emotional needs. It has been informally known as
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP), due to its similarity to Munchausen syndrome, in which a person feigns or induces illness in
themselves for similar emotional reasons. The syndrome was proposed in 1977 by the pediatrician
Roy Meadow, and gained recognition from the Royal College Of Pediatrics and Child Health in 2002. Nevertheless, not all medical organizations agree on the nature and extent of the syndrome; whether it actually exists and the rate of prevalence if it does is a matter of dispute.
[edit] Munchausen syndrome in popular culture
- On April 19, 1983, the NBC television series St. Elsewhere aired the episode "Baron Von Munchausen" in which a patient is eventually diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome.[1] This 1983 reference was probably the first time that Munchausen syndrome was referred to in an American network dramatic series. In the 1990s and later, almost every major medical drama on television has referred to either Munchausen syndrome or Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
- First airing October 11, 2005, an episode of FX's Nip/Tuck features a patient with Munchausen syndrome. She cuts herself to mimic the injuries left by the show's infamous face-slasher The Carver (and later actually becomes one of his victims).
- An episode of ABC-TV's Grey's Anatomy first airing October 16, 2005, features a patient diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome. She is portrayed taking Amitriptyline, an antidepressant that turned her urine blue.
- An episode of FOX's House, M.D. first aired on December 13, 2005, featured a patient played by Cynthia Nixon who admitted to Munchausen syndrome after being tricked into taking Rifampin, an antibiotic that turned her urine orange, but who was later additionally diagnosed with a real bacterial infection.
- An episode of NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (S07E15), first aired on Tuesday February 7, 2006, featured a woman, played by Rebecca DeMornay, who had Munchausen syndrome.
- In an episode of the British series Doctors, a woman is diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome after repeatedly faking illness in the form of stomach pain. She cuts herself to put blood in her urine, and has surgical scars on her stomach from previous medical investigations. She then pretends to attempt suicide.
- In the Seinfeld episode "The Scofflaw," a character played by Jon Lovitz fakes cancer for the attention (and subsequently, gifts such as a toupee).
- In the book of Keeping Faith, written by Jodi Picoult, a woman thinks that Mariah White has this syndrome.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ [1] EPGuides.com St. Elswhere Season 1 episode guide.
- Feldman, Marc (2004). Playing sick?: untangling the web of Munchausen syndrome, Munchausen by proxy, malingering & factitious disorder. Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge. ISBN 0-415-94934-3.
- Fisher JA (2006). "Playing patient, playing doctor: Munchausen syndrome, clinical S/M, and ruptures of medical power". The Journal of medical humanities 27 (3): 135-49. DOI:10.1007/s10912-006-9014-9. PMID 16817003.
- Fisher JA (2006). "Investigating the Barons: narrative and nomenclature in Munchausen syndrome". Perspect. Biol. Med. 49 (2): 250-62. DOI:10.1353/pbm.2006.0024. PMID 16702708.
- Friedel,Robert O., MD Borderline Personality Disorder Demystified, Pg 9-10, Munchausen syndrome, Munchausen syndrome by Proxy. ISBN 1-56924-456-1
[edit] External links
WHO ICD-10 mental and
behavioural disorders (
F · 290–319) Neurological/symptomatic
Dementia (
Alzheimer's disease · multi-infarct dementia · Pick's disease · Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease · Huntington's disease · Parkinson's disease · AIDS dementia complex)
· Delirium · Post-concussion syndrome Psychoactive substance
Intoxication (
drunkenness)
· Physical dependence (
alcohol dependence · opioid dependency)
· Withdrawal (
benzodiazepine withdrawal · delirium tremens)
· Amnesic: (
Korsakoff's syndrome)
Psychotic disorder
Schizophrenia (
disorganized schizophrenia)
· Schizotypal personality disorder · Delusional disorder · Folie à deux · Schizoaffective disorder Mood (affective)
Mania · Bipolar disorder · Clinical depression · Cyclothymia · Dysthymia Neurotic, stress-related
and somatoform
Agoraphobia · Anxiety disorder · Panic disorder · Generalized anxiety disorder · Social Anxiety Disorder · OCD · Acute stress reaction · PTSD · Adjustment disorder · Conversion disorder (
Ganser syndrome)
· Somatoform disorder · Somatization disorder · Neurasthenia Physiological/physical
behavioural
Eating disorder (
anorexia nervosa · bulimia nervosa)
· Sleep disorder (
dyssomnia · insomnia · hypersomnia · parasomnia · night terror · nightmare)
· Sexual dysfunction (
erectile dysfunction · premature ejaculation · vaginismus · dyspareunia · hypersexuality)
· Postpartum depression Adult personality
and behaviour
Personality disorder · Passive-aggressive behavior · Kleptomania · Trichotillomania · Voyeurism · Factitious disorder · Munchausen syndrome Mental retardation
Mental retardation Psychological development
(
developmental disorder)
Specific:
speech and language (
expressive language disorder · aphasia · expressive aphasia · receptive aphasia · Landau-Kleffner syndrome · lisp)
· Scholastic skills (
dyslexia · dysgraphia · Gerstmann syndrome)
· Motor function (
developmental dyspraxia)
Pervasive:
Autism · Rett syndrome · Asperger syndrome Behavioural and emotional,
childhood and adolescence onset
ADHD · Conduct disorder · Oppositional defiant disorder · Separation anxiety disorder · Selective mutism · Reactive attachment disorder · Tic disorder · Tourette syndrome · Speech (
stuttering · cluttering) Retrieved from "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchausen_syndrome"
Categories:
Forensic psychology |
Factitious disorders |
Syndromes
