Is he Right?

There was a test case in the UK recently where a mother was wrongly diagnosed with Munchausen Syndrome. "Experts" made the false assumption based on the circumstantial evidence that both of her children, when babies, mysteriously stopped breathing.

Needless to say, her life has been ruined by the false diagnosis of the "experts."

Letty - do you mean Munchausen's by proxy? Are you saying that people might hurt people other than their children? I guess anyone vulnerable might be at risk.

Bib- The pity of it all, is that society tends to feature a "mental disease of the month, year, etc". Take ADD. For years, you had kids who acted up. Now it is given a label, and the children are given medication, which in the long run will probably do them more harm than good.

I think that people are too willing to understand human behavior by sticking people in diagnostic "boxes" whether there is a good fit or not!

Nonetheless, Phoenix, where the condition exists, children are at terrible risk. I cannot comment on the UK or USA, but here there would have to be considerable evidence before any such diagnosis was made. The fact that people change health provider constantly, makes gathering of information very difficult, and I suspect that it is far more likely that kids will be really injured, or die, than that there will be false diagnoses.

We have a couple of suspected Munchausen's by proxy on our caseload where I work - and there is not enough evidence for the child protection people to act - meanwhile these children are at terrible risk.

I have seen few things more chilling than the videos taken of parents smothering or trying to inject their children.

Having said that, I quite understand the point you and Bib are making.

dlowan- This is such a complex subject. with so many serious ramifications. I know exactly where you are coming from. The problem is, clinicians do not always make the right diagnosis. So as a society we are torn between protection of the children, and the rights of the parent (usually the mother).

IMO, if there is a doubt, the protection of the children come first- their lives are at stake. But I think that the social service agencies need to put a lot of effort in really understanding what is going on in a household. This is not the time for once-over-lightly case management.

DL: I agree with your caution.
By the way, congratulations on your "Guru in Training" status - it's good to see both you and Phoenix achieving that status.

Phoenix: I guess these things are the result of this "Scientific Age," where too many "experts" try to place every condition in a box.

I tend to think there is too much paralysis by analysis. Not everything can be correctly diagnosed and treated - it is not a Science!

some 20 years ago i had a child welfare case that was a puzzlement to all involved, repeated hospitalizations of a child with unknown caused but constant infections and high white blood counts. a doting mother who was constantly at her daughters bedside. muchausen by proxy was only a text book reference that no one had encountered, in a whim of curiosity we installed a t.v. camera in the hosptial room. we were in for a great surprize.

Hi, All,

I am sorry that I have not responded, but I just got my first update. I truly thought that this thread was dead in the water.

Many years ago I read a book called The Devil's Dance and it was about Munchausen by Proxy. I realize that in the extreme form, it would be a parent repeatedly harming a child simply to get attention and sympathy, but it is my idea that there are milder forms.

Case in point: My niece and her husband lived in an apartment complex, and one of their neighbors, a young married woman, kept getting threatening mail. She became the focus of the entire population of the area and then it was discovered that she was writing the letters herself.

Yes, It is unfortunate that many people have become innocent victims as a result of classifying the condition, just as many have been targeted unfairly by organizations concerned with child abuse.

Recently, in Florida, a young man whose apartment was bombed by one of those acid bombs, was found to have been the perp.

A lot of lonliness out there, my friends.

Letty,

When there is a new reply you'll get an update, but you won't receive any more updates till you visit the forum (this way your inbox won't get flooded).

Thanks, Craven (lost my first response to you)

Let me see if I have this straight. I create a thread then come back periodically to check on the responses, right? The one and only response that I received concerning this topic was bibliophile's.

Hope you are doing well, Craven

No no, you can use updates.

Lemme explain this better:

You only got bib's update because the other posts happened after his. Once you recieve an update from a thread you will not be sent more until you visit the topic.

So if you get one update it can mean there are hundreds of posts there, it just won't send them all individually to you.

Gotcha, Craven.

Thanks.

So, Letty, you are suggesting these other things are a form of Munchausen's (not Munchausen's by proxy) - yes, I see the similarities.

Yes, Deb.

It would explain so many things in real life..on Abuzz...and perhaps, here.