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People fall sick and a majority of the population avoids falling sick but there are a handful who like the thought of visiting the doctor , undergo medical tests and even surgeries even though they are fully aware that they are not sick. This kind of tendency is referred to as Munchausen syndrome, the people suffering from this syndrome seek attention and sympathies by pretending to be sick
The Munchausen syndrome is one of the serious mental condition. the exact number of people suffering from this syndrome is hard to know as they tend to hide it skillfully and also use aliases . This syndrome is named after Baron von Munchausen who was a German officer in the 18th century and was known for telling exaggerated stories about himself and his life.
Munchausen syndrome is different from the other condition known as Hypochondria, where the person believes that he is sick where as the one with Munchausen syndrome wants to be sick even when they know that they have got a perfect health.
Some of the reasons that are thought to cause the Munchausen syndrome are: Serious illness in childhood; history of physical, sexual or emotional abuse; poor self esteem; personality disorder etc.
People suffering from this syndrome fake the symptoms by tampering the medical equipments or altering the samples to be tested in order to get a positive result.
The symptoms of this syndrome are: Inconsistency in the patient’s medical records, symptoms resembling the text book description but treatments turning out ineffective, refusing the doctors to talk with the family or friends of the patient etc. This syndrome may lead to serious harm in the patient due to unnecessary administration of medicines and undergoing the procedures which were not required can cause serious harm to the body and the immune system. Also increases the risk of suicide and affects the workplace and family relationships and the syndrome has to be treated by psychological counseling.