Munchausen syndrome is a psychiatric disorder characterized by the simulation of symptoms and / or non-existent disease.

Munchausen syndrome is a psychiatric disorder characterized by simulations of symptoms and / or non-existent disease. The patient with this syndrome claims to be sick without being sick and to have certain symptoms, without having any.

People with Munchausen syndrome do not have a clinical diagnosis of any pathology and / or symptoms. These patients can claim to have:

• psychological symptoms: having visions, hearing voices, etc.
• physical symptoms: chest, stomach, head, and other pain

Or even make sure they fall ill, by infecting themselves through exposure to an infectious risk for example.

Some patients even spend years integrating one hospital and then another, claiming to have a panel of diseases. In addition, these patients are often easily influenced, they tend to exaggerate the information available on pathologies (communicated by word of mouth, on television, in newspapers, etc.).

Munchausen syndrome by proxy

Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a special form of the syndrome. This form of the disease particularly affects health personnel (and mothers), who are responsible for children. This is, again, a simulation of absent symptoms. In addition, the symptoms “invented” by health personnel concern their patients (children).

The diagnosis of this disease is very difficult. Indeed, it is difficult for doctors to determine whether the clinical signs presented by the child are real or exaggerated by the mother and / or the health personnel.

Patients with Munchausen syndrome by proxy therefore tend to imagine non-existent symptoms for the child, or even exaggerate non-serious clinical signs. These patients can also lie and falsify children’s medical tests (urine tests, temperature measurements, etc.). They can even induce illnesses and / or symptoms for the child by attempting to poison him, strangle him or expose him to an infectious risk.

The exact causes of Munchausen syndrome are complex and very little known. Many patients with such a syndrome drastically refuse to receive psychiatric or psychological care.

However, different factors can be at the origin of the development of this syndrome:

• emotional trauma in childhood
• personality disorders (impacting the patient’s way of thinking and general behavior)
• an aggressive attitude against the authorities or against health professionals.

The clinical signs and symptoms of Munchausen syndrome revolve around a simulation of false symptoms.

Patients tend to find aches and other symptoms where there is none. They lie about these symptoms, especially choosing those that cannot be seen (headaches, discomfort, etc.). Some patients even go so far as to deliberately mislead medical analyzes (taking temperature, urine tests, etc.). People with this syndrome can also be at risk of infection, burns, poisoning in order to develop “real symptoms”.

There are no predominant risk factors for the disease.

In addition, the studies carried out on this disease have made it possible to identify two groups of people more subject to the development of this syndrome:

• women aged between 20 and 40, whose profession revolves around health
• single men, between the ages of 30 and 50.

However, no explanation was given in the identification of these two groups of individuals.

It is very complicated for healthcare professionals to diagnose such a syndrome. Indeed, patients are often very convincing in their words and in their simulation of symptoms.

In the context of a suspicion of the disease, the doctor may refer to the patient’s entourage in order to find the truth about the history and the medical record of the individual.

Also part of diagnosing the disease is looking for evidence on skewed medical test results.

The management and treatment of Munchausen syndrome is also difficult to implement because patients generally refuse to admit the falsity of the clinical signs. A problem of co-operation with the medical team is often noticeable.

If the doctor manages to get the patient to admit the presence of Munchausen syndrome, a visit to a psychiatrist and / or a psychologist will then be prescribed.