Factitious disorder is a severe mental disorder in which someone misleads others, appears sick, gets sick on purpose, or self-mutilation. Factitious disorder symptoms can range from mild to severe. Man can make symptoms or even fake medical tests to convince others that treatment, such as surgery with a high degree of risk, is necessary.
And factitious disorder is not the same thing as inventing medical problems for practical use, such as to get out of work or win a lawsuit. Although people with factitious disorders know that they cause their symptoms or illness, they can not understand the reasons for their behavior.
Factitious disorder is mysterious and challenging to treat. However, medical and psychological assistance is crucial to prevent severe injury or even death caused by this disease typical of self-harm.
Causes of disorders Factitious
The cause of the factitious disorder is unknown. However, people with this disorder may have experienced a serious illness when they were young or may have been emotionally or physically abused.
Factitious disorder symptoms
Factitious disorder symptoms involve simulating or producing illness or injury. People go to great lengths to avoid detection of fraud so that it can be challenging to understand that their symptoms are part of a serious mental disorder.
Factitious disorder superimposed, on the other hand, when someone makes another person sick, requiring medical attention. Typically this includes a parent-child hurting. This form of child abuse may put the child at serious risk of injury or unnecessary care.
Factitious signs and symptoms of the disorder may include:
- Clever and convincing medical problems
- Frequent hospitalizations
- Vague or contradictory symptoms
- Conditions that get worse, for no apparent reason
- States that do not meet the expected standard therapy
- Eagerness to have frequent testing or risky operations
- Extensive knowledge of medical terms and diseases
- Seeking treatment from many different doctors and hospitals, which may include using a false name
- With few visitors when hospitalized
- Reluctance to health professionals to talk with your family or friends or other health care providers
- Argue with the hospital staff
- Frequent requests for painkillers or other medications
Like those with factitious disorder fake illness
Because people with factitious disorder become experts in forgery of symptoms and diseases or causing actual injury itself, it can be difficult for health care professionals and loved ones to know if the illness is real or not.
People with the factitious disorder make symptoms or cause disease in several ways, for example:
- They are exaggerating the existing symptoms. Even when the actual health condition exists, they can exaggerate the symptoms appear sicker or more attenuated than the truth.
- They are making history. Others can give relatives, health professionals, or support groups a false narrative of the disease, such as the claim to have cancer or AIDS. Or they can falsify the medical records to indicate illness.
- Forgery symptoms. They may fake symptoms, such as abdominal pain, cramps, or fainting.
- They are causing self-harm. For example, they can make the patients themselves by introducing the bacteria, milk, gasoline, or feces.
- They can be crushed, cut, or burn themselves. In addition, they can take medications such as blood thinners or diabetes drugs to mimic the disease.
- They can also interfere with wound healing, for example, reopening or infected cuts.
- Falsification. They can manipulate medical instruments to skew the results, such as heating thermometers. Or they may distort the laboratory tests, such as contaminating their urine samples with blood or other substances.
When to see a doctor
People with factitious disorder may be well aware of the risk of injury or even death due to self-harm or treatment they are looking for. However, they are unable to control their compulsive behavior and are unlikely to seek help. Even when confronted with the evidence – such as the videotape – that they are causing their illness, they often deny it and refuse psychiatric help.
If you believe that a loved one may be exaggerating or faking health problems, he said. It may help to try a gentle talk about your issues. Avoid anger, judgment, or confrontation. offers support and care, and, if possible, help find a cure.
If your loved one is a self-inflicted injury or attempts to commit suicide, call 911 or emergency medical help, or if you can safely do so, take them to the emergency room immediately.
Risk Factors of factitious disorder
Several factors may increase the risk of factitious disorder, including:
- Childhood trauma, such as emotional, physical, or sexual violence
- Serious illness of a child
- A relative with a serious illness
- Poor sense of identity and self-esteem
- The loss of a loved one through death, illness, or leaving early in life
- Unfulfilled desire to be a doctor or other health professional
- Health work
- Personality disorder
Factitious disorder is rare, but it is not known how many people have the disease. In addition, some people use fake names to avoid detection, some to visit many different hospitals and doctors, and some never learned – all this makes it difficult to make a reliable assessment.
Factitious disorder tests and Diagnosis
Diagnosis of factitious disorder is often challenging. People with factitious disorders are experts in the forgery of many different diseases and conditions. And often have natural and even life-threatening medical conditions, even if those conditions may be self-inflicted.
Using the individual from several medical institutions and hospitals, using a fake name, and privacy and confidentiality rules can make collecting information about previous medical experiments difficult or even impossible.
The health care providers may suspect factitious disorder when:
- The history of the human disease doesn’t make sense.
- Not plausible reason exists for the presence of disease or injury
- Disease should not be the ordinary course of
- There is a lack of healing for no apparent reason, despite appropriate treatment.
- There are conflicting or inconsistent symptoms or laboratory test results
- People caught in the act of lying or causing their injuries
To help determine whether someone has a factitious disorder, providers of mental health conduct a detailed interview and run tests for possible physical problems.
To be diagnosed with factitious disorder, a person must meet the criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association. DSM criteria for the factitious disorder include:
- Compilation of physical or psychological signs or symptoms or causing injury or illness with deliberate purpose to deceive
- Pretending to illness or injury, or have problems functioning
- Continuing fraud, even without receiving any visible benefit or reward
- The behavior is not better explained by another psychiatric disorder such as delusional disorder or other psychotic disorders
DSM criteria for factitious disorder superimposed on another include:
- Compilation of physical or psychological signs or symptoms or causing injury or disease from another person to mislead
- Presentation of another person by another, like a sick, injured or problems are functioning.
- Continuing with the deception, even without receiving any visible benefit or reward
- Another mental disorder does not better explain the behavior.
Factitious disorder Treatments and drugs
Treatment of the factitious disorder is often complicated, and there is no standard treatment. In addition, because people with factitious disorder want to be in the role of a patient, they often do not seek treatment for the disease. However, if approached gently, non-judgmental, people with factitious disorder may agree to treat mental health providers.
Direct charges factitious disorder can make the victim angry and defensive, forcing them to abruptly end the relationship with the doctor or hospital to seek medical care elsewhere. Thus, the doctor may try to create an ‘Out,’ which spares your loved one humiliation to the admission forgery symptoms.
For example, the physician can soothe your favorite person who does not explain the medical symptoms of stress and suggest that stress can be responsible for some physical complaints. Or, the provider may ask your loved one to agree that, if in the following one or two medical treatments do not work, they will work together to explore the idea of ?? what could be the cause of psychological illness. In any case, the provider will try to manage your favorite to care with a provider in the field of mental health.
Treatment often focuses on the state of governance rather than trying to cure it. Treatment usually includes talk therapy and counseling behavior. If possible, family therapy may also be requested.
Drugs may be used to treat other psychiatric disorders, which are also present, such as depression or anxiety. In severe cases, temporary hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital may be necessary.
Factitious disorder Preparing for your appointment
A person with factitious disorder, most likely, in the first place, to get help for this condition, when the health care provider raises concerns that psychological problems may be a factor in the disease. If your loved one has symptoms suggestive of factitious disorder, their provider can contact you in advance to talk about their favorite medical history.
If you believe that a loved one may have a factitious disorder, contact the supplier of their own and start a conversation. Here is some information to help you prepare for this conversation
What can you do
To prepare, make a note of:
Your loved one’s health history in as much detail as possible; try to include as much as you can about the health complaints, diagnoses, medical procedures, and treatments your pet has. Those are on hand if you have names and contact information for medical professionals or institutions that provide medical care.
- All current circumstances or behaviors you observe cause you to be concerned that your loved one may have a factitious disorder.
- Highlights from your loved one’s history include abuse or other trauma in childhood and any significant recent losses.
- Medications your loved one is currently taking including nutritional supplements and over-the-counter and prescription drugs, as well as the dosage.
- Your questions for health care so you can make the most of your discussion.
For factitious disorder, some questions to ask the doctor include:
- What is likely causing the symptoms or condition of a loved one?
- Are there other possible causes?
- How will you determine the diagnosis?
- Is this condition likely temporary or long-term?
- What treatments are recommended for this disorder?
- How much do you expect treatment may improve the symptoms?
- How do you keep track of my favorite human well-being over time?
- Do you think family therapy will be helpful in this case?
- What steps should we take?
What to expect from the doctor
Your doctor may ask you a series of questions, including:
- What does your injury or illness of a loved one complain lately?
- What injury or illness have they been treated in the past?
- Does your loved one has been diagnosed with a particular medical problem?
- Treatment that they have had, including drugs and surgery?
- How often did your loved one change doctors or hospitals in the past?
- Any healthcare providers, friends,s or family had concerns that your loved one may be causing or contributing to their illness?
- How have the symptoms affected your loved one in their career and personal relationships?
- If you know that they have ever been a self-inflicted injury or suicide attempt?
- Do you know if your loved one has been abused or neglected as a child?
- Did they suffer any other injury, such as a serious illness or loss of a parent, as a child?
- What else do you suspect that your loved one may have a factitious disorder?
- Did you talk with someone about their problems?
Factitious disorder Lifestyle and home remedies
In addition to professional treatment, these tips can help people who have factitious disorder:
- Stick to your treatment plan – Visit the destination therapy and take any medications if you feel the urge to harm themselves or cause themselves to become sick: your physician or primary care physician for better ways to cope with their emotions.
- Have a medical gatekeeper – There is a trusted primary health care provider for medical care management rather than visiting multiple providers, specialists, and surgeons.
- Remember risks – Remind yourself that you could face permanent injury or death every time you hurt yourself or have a test or risky surgery unnecessarily.
- Do not run – Resist the urge to find a new health care provider or run a new town where medical workers do not know about your background. Your doctor can help you overcome these powerful gusts.
- Consent relationships – Many people with factitious disorder lack friendships and other relationships. Try to find someone you can trust, share pleasant times, and offer their support.
Complications Factitious disorder
People with factitious disorder are willing to risk their lives to see how the patient. They often have other psychiatric disorders as well. As a result, they face a number of possible complications, including:
- Injury or death from self-inflicted medical conditions
- Serious health problems from unnecessary surgery or other procedures
- Loss of limbs or organs from unnecessary surgery
- Alcohol or other substance abuse
- Significant problems in daily life, relationships, and work