Are You Sick, or Do You Just Want Attention? :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Are You Sick, or Do You Just indispensability Attention?Most of us, in our youth, were probably asked this question in near form or another at least once by our parents and most of us would probably admit to having faked being sick at least once in our lives. It is interesting, then, to note that there seems actually to be a pathology associated with this kind of behavior known as Munchausen syndrome. What, technically, is Munchausen syndrome? According to the Merck Manual, it is perennial fabrication of personal unwellness - usually acute, dramatic, and convincing - by a person who wanders from hospital to hospital for intercession. (1) People suffering from this disorder ordain even go so far as to inflict physical harm upon themselves in order to get the attention they want. Generally, it is associated with a old history of severe neglect and abuse inflicted upon the report. It is important at this compass point to differentiate between Munchausen and two other pathologic al behaviors for which it might be mistaken unlike hypochondriacs, Munchausen sufferers are conscious of the fact that they are not genuinely sick (2) unlike malingerers (people who fake or speed the symptoms of illness for some external gain, such as the prescription of painkillers (3)) the behavior of an fire majority of Munchausen sufferers cannot be attributed to conscious motives. (1)A far more appalling variant of this disorder, known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, has also been documented. In these cases, the drug-addicted fabricates the existence of physical illness in another person, usually the subjects child. The analogous sorts of behaviors occur - faking or simulating the symptoms of illness, resorting to physical harm in order to induce those symptoms. Even though the parent - the Munchausen sufferer - will always issue to be deeply concerned for the childs welfare, her actions will not infrequently take in the childs being severely deformed or even dying. (2) some(prenominal) variants of this disorder are highly uncommon.At present, people with either Munchausen syndrome or Munchausen syndrome by proxy are seldom, if ever, treated with drugs. Standard methods of management and treatment include early recognition of the disorder and years of intensive focussing many doctors believe that the disorders are not treatable, inferring from the nature of the disorders that giving the subject medical attention would in fact heighten the severity of their pathology. (2) Munchausen syndrome and Munchausen syndrome by proxy are rarely treated successfully.