Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: AReal Attention Grabber

What is Munchousen Syndrome By Proxy?

Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy

Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy is a psychological disorder that is found almost exclusively in women. These woman, who are either the parent, or care giver claim that the children in their care suffer from various illnesses. Some go so far as to actually make the child sick to support their claims. This is done so that they themselves can receive the attention and notoriety that they feel they will get as the parent of a seriously ill child.

Because most victims of MSBP are infants or toddlers, and cannot speak for themselves, the doctors presented with these cases must rely on the mother`s deceitful description of the symptoms when searching for a cause or cure. Quite often this means that the young victim will undergo a horrendous amount of testing, as well as suffering through unnecessary surgeries. In most cases the testing and surgery is in vain, because there were no real symptoms to begin with.

What causes MSBP?

Although there is no known cause of MSBP, it is believed that things like marital stress, being neglected or abused as a child or even losing a parent when they were young can be all triggers. Studies also show that many perpetrators may also suffer from Munchausen Syndrome themselves. This is a related condition where the patients continually fake their own illnesses in order to receive medical treatment.

Is There A Cure For MSBP?

Psychotherapy is used in order to try to change the patients way of thinking, but generally speaking there is no cure for this disease, because the perpetrators refuse to admit that there is any kind of wrong doing on their part. They become so caught up in their own web of lies that they are often unable to differentiate between the truth and a lie. They simply see themselves as the parent of a very sick child, and instead blame the medical professionals for not having found a cure for the child`s factitious disease.

Diagnosing MSBP

MSBP is very hard to diagnose because it is based purely on lies. If no medical problems can be found, the doctors must rely on an in depth investigation of the child`s medical history. The medical history of siblings and parents must also be investigated and assessed. Although this process is critical to the welfare of the child, it is often neglected due to time restraints, and results in an improper diagnosis. This allows the child to be subjected to more unnecessary abuse at the hands of the one person that claims to love them the most.

Signs of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy

• The child is repeatedly brought to emergency room with strange or unheard of symptoms. .
• Symptoms most often disappear shortly after arrival to a medical facility and reappear when patient returns home. .
• The perpetrator may have some kind of medical background
• The perpetrator often seems overly helpful and overly co-operative with health care providers
• Chemicals show up in the child`s lab tests

Note: Not all MSBP cases involve children. Several cases have been reported where the perpetrator is the adult child of a sick or elderly parent.