Munchausen Syndrome – Symptoms To Look For

There are a lot of people who are seriously sick and they wish that they were well.

They would give almost anything to be able to lead a normal life and not have to take medicine, get tests and have their life not revolve around doctor appointments.

But just like there are a lot of people who would love to have a healthy life and want to do what they want to do, there are also people who pretend to be sick, tell people that they have a lot of health problems, and even want to be hospitalized so that they can find a doctor who will say that there is something wrong with them. These people have a mental condition called Munchausen Syndrome.

Although you may not want to believe that someone is faking it, there are some symptoms that you can look for, which usually tells you that someone has Munchausen Syndrome.

Symptoms of Munchausen Syndrome

  • Constantly telling people about their medical problems
  • The person is frequently hospitalized
  • Symptoms which are vague or not consistent
  • A lot of knowledge about diseases and terminology used in medical circles
  • Wanting to have testing and operations which are risk
  • The person is getting worse without any particular reason
  • Going to a lot of different hospitals and doctors for treatment
  • Not having a lot of visitors when they are in the hospital
  • Not wanting doctors to talk to friends and other family members
  • Requesting medicine for pain and other things that they don’t need.

Also, when someone has Munchausen Syndrome, they often will fake illnesses.  A person who has Munchausen Syndrome is going to go to extreme measures to be treated.

Some of the things that they may do are:

  • Fake their history They will tell friends and family, as well as doctors, that they have had illnesses, such as HIV infection or cancer.
  • Faking a symptom There are a lot of symptoms that are easy to fake yet look very serious, such as a seizure, abdominal pain, or a frequent headache.
  • Cause injury to themselves Another thing that people with Munchausen Syndrome is that they actually cause themselves injury. Some of the things that they do is they inject themselves with things like gasoline, feces, and bacteria. They may also burn or cut themselves or take medication that they don’t need, like chemotherapy or blood thinners.

People with Munchausen Syndrome are mentally ill and they need to get the help as soon as possible.