Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is a serious disorder that is often looked over by many. It is a very serious disease and must not be taken lightly. Munchausen syndrome by proxy, also known as factitious disorder by proxy, is a form of child abuse where the mother or parent makes up or produces illnesses in their own child. Many cases of this disease have lead to the death of the child and imprisonment of the parent. This is a disease that needs to be made aware of and not looked over by anyone person.
The parent produces or makes up the child’s symptoms to where it is serious enough to take to a physician or a hospital. Once at the hospital the child’s symptoms seem to mysteriously disappear, though they may repair again as soon as the child is out of view of anyone other than the alleged parent. Normally, the child’s symptoms do not fit a classical illness or do not fill well together to create one illness but rather symptoms of different illnesses. The physician often notices that the parent is overattentive or too helpful. The parent makes the smallest symptoms seem much larger.
When the physician dismisses the case, the parent is very distraught and will often make the symptoms worse in order for the physician to take more notice to the child next time. All too often the parent producing the illness is in the health care field. This helps the parent to make sure their case of illness for their child looks real. There is treatment for Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Once the syndrome has been recognized by a physician, the child needs to be protected and removed from the direct care of the parent endangering them.
This often means that the child will go into foster care or hopefully to another family member. Because this is a form of child abuse, the case must be reported to authorities. Psychiatric counseling for the parent will be highly recommended or even required by a judge. But since the disease is rare and not well researched, very little is known about effective treatment for the parent. For the child, they are moved to a safe place where they will hopefully be able to overcome what they have gone through. Counseling may also be beneficial to the child after such a traumatic experience.
The cause of the disease is unknown. It is most often a mother producing the illnesses in most cases. It is not proven whether or not is for attention or to deliberately hurt kill their child. The parent may produce symptoms such as blood in the child’s urine or stool, malnutrition, suggesting that the child has a fever, giving the child a form of stool softener to make their bowel movements more often, distribute a drug to make the child vomit, or even injecting a drug intravenously to make their child actually appear sick. The child is then hospitalized for their symptoms.
But, the problems arise when the child symptoms don’t only correlate to one illness but many. The child is forced to endure unneeded tests and even surgeries. The parent is often a gold-star student in the hospital. The nursing staff is often very greatful for the parent, not knowing that the parent has made their child sick. The changes in the child’s illness are often only seen by the parent creating them and can’t be detected by a nurse or physician. The parent is often psychologically damaged and only seeking attention. Unfortunately, many children suffer horribly or even die from this.
Treatment for the parent is often unavailable. There are no drugs that can be administered to help them. The only option that is known of is continued therapy. The problem with the therapy sessions is that the parent believes there is nothing wrong with them. Therefore, nothing is ever accomplished thorough therapy because the parent lies compulsively and the therapist can’t find a problem. Prevention of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is often only achieved if an outsider sees the parent intentionally harming their child. Even then if the parent is confronted they will probably just deny it.
Accusations may anger the parent and only make the treatment of the child worse. Therefore, there is no clear prevention only help after the child has been discovered as abused. The child’s well-being is obviously seriously compromised. Not only may the child have physical signs of abuse, but they may suffer psychological problems. Children can develop anxiety, depression, and many serious mood disorders. The child may carry the abuse on to their own child. The abuse from the parent is the only form of physical attention that the child received.
There was no base provided for a child to build upon to know right from wrong. The child may never know love after being so traumatized. In a case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy found in Florida, a child is seriously injured in 1995. An 8 year old child is featured in the media for her courage after a terrible illness where she is diagnosed with Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. The mother produced symptoms dealing with her digestion, seizures, and even an immune deficiency. The child’s diagnosis had been pseudo-obstructive bowel disease. The child ndured 40 horrifying surgeries and over 200 hospitalizations. She had a gastrostomy tube inserted to receive nutrition as well as a central venous catheter. At one point in her illness, the child was moved to another hospital for treatment. This is a very common occurrence seen in other cases of this disease. The nurses and physicians began to become suspicious of the family’s behaviors. An investigation eventually discovered the child had been abused due to Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. The child was moved to foster care where she is doing much better.
The mother was convicted of child abuse in 1999. The child in this case was very lucky to have lived. Many children are not this lucky. Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is a very serious disease. Children are unknowingly hurting all over the world as a result of their parents torturing them. In too many cases, the abuse is discovered too late. The public needs to do their best to try and prevent this abuse of children. The only prevention is reporting any foul play you may see done to a child by a parent. Hopefully, there will be a happy ending for the child and a conviction of child abuse for the parent.
