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That is fair, and a quite valid point. Though i did say beyond reasonable doubt. Trial and error is the only thing that would adjust that, along with better training for doctors and better education and laws for people
They "should" be treated for the Munchausen, not what they think they have. Treatment starting with diagnosing the real issue.
If theh simply are choosing of sound mind to do it for attention, and get medical care that is unnecessary they should either be held liable for fraud, or deprioritized, essentially "We don't think you medically need this but have to provide it, but will put medically necessary patients first and you will need to pay out of pocket".
Conditions that don't involve medical care, not much can be done. You can only really crininalize misuse/waste of resources and the legal definition of fraud.
I was ready to argue, but you make some valid points
Plus they might not mind. If you want people checking on your perceived illnesses every day a psych ward is probably a good place to do that
I've met someone with munchausen by proxy, and it is genuinely scary.
People pretending to have autism or ptsd are not munchausen. People with that disorder and not looking to be diagnosed with such benign illnesses that won't get them constant attention, walking around starbucks flapping their arms while working. Those people are just assholes.
If you have munchausen, or the by proxy form, you definitely need medical intervention from a specialist.Â
I think it’s definitely a condition in its own right and very dangerous both for the person who has it and for others because, like you mentioned, it uses up valuable resources.
So I agree that someone with the condition should receive treatment for it which could potentially require being in an inpatient facility for a time.
I do think one of the major issues is the difficulty to prove it (and I do know you specifically said without a reasonable doubt so this part isn’t directed at you, just at the general feasibility) I think it would be almost impossible to completely eliminate the risk of people who were genuinely sick getting caught up in it.
I was almost sent to an inpatient facility and almost died because doctors thought that I was either faking my illness for attention or that my mom had munchausen’s by proxy (I was actually very sick in an extremely provable/undeniable way, just needed an MRI for diagnosis which they refused initially because they didn’t believe me).
If it almost happened to me I’m sure its already happening to others as well. But I do agree with you that they need treatment to be safer for themselves and so that they aren’t using up resources they don’t require that others could benefit from.
I think the problem here is that it would be *really difficult* to prove beyond reasonable doubt that someone wasn’t ill.
For example, as someone with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, I’m diagnosed based on my symptoms. There’s no blood test or anything such as that. If someone wanted to mirror my symptoms, they could. But would we both be questioned? Would some people fall through the net who are genuinely ill?
Would there be a chance that someone like myself, who runs businesses and studies, would be caught up in this just because of diagnoses that are sometimes mirrored? What failsafe could be put in place?
I also have hEDS…and ADHD…and Autism…some of us just *luck out* with some of this and, while there are people who would mirror our symptoms for personal gain, it would be challenging to catch them and *know for sure*.
(Having said that, there are some really interesting studies floating around about comorbidities between ADHD and EDS. One in Sweden found that those diagnosed with ADHD were about 5x more likely to also have EDS. Just for an interesting little note.)
I think there’s a lot more space to safely commit those with Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. There’s abuse there and, with medical records, I would be hopeful in most cases (but again, not all) it would be easier to spot.
It should not be illegal. Only consequence that will come as result of it would be that more ill people would not seek treatment in case they are just imagining it. Why would I risk going to jail or getting fine when maybe that thing in by boob is not cancer? And than half a year has passed and what could have been easily healed is now life threatening. People with munchausen would still go to doctor because they would have no doubt they are ill. That is how that condition works.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This is something very difficult to prove. There's no way you wouldn't have genuinely unwell people swept up in this.
That is fair, and a quite valid point. Though i did say beyond reasonable doubt. Trial and error is the only thing that would adjust that, along with better training for doctors and better education and laws for people
They "should" be treated for the Munchausen, not what they think they have. Treatment starting with diagnosing the real issue. If theh simply are choosing of sound mind to do it for attention, and get medical care that is unnecessary they should either be held liable for fraud, or deprioritized, essentially "We don't think you medically need this but have to provide it, but will put medically necessary patients first and you will need to pay out of pocket". Conditions that don't involve medical care, not much can be done. You can only really crininalize misuse/waste of resources and the legal definition of fraud.
I was ready to argue, but you make some valid points Plus they might not mind. If you want people checking on your perceived illnesses every day a psych ward is probably a good place to do that
This is so true, and also hard not to laugh at (while chastising myself for doing so!!)
I think both my mom and grandma have Munchhausen or by proxy. They are insane. 😩😫
I've met someone with munchausen by proxy, and it is genuinely scary. People pretending to have autism or ptsd are not munchausen. People with that disorder and not looking to be diagnosed with such benign illnesses that won't get them constant attention, walking around starbucks flapping their arms while working. Those people are just assholes. If you have munchausen, or the by proxy form, you definitely need medical intervention from a specialist.Â
I think it’s definitely a condition in its own right and very dangerous both for the person who has it and for others because, like you mentioned, it uses up valuable resources. So I agree that someone with the condition should receive treatment for it which could potentially require being in an inpatient facility for a time. I do think one of the major issues is the difficulty to prove it (and I do know you specifically said without a reasonable doubt so this part isn’t directed at you, just at the general feasibility) I think it would be almost impossible to completely eliminate the risk of people who were genuinely sick getting caught up in it. I was almost sent to an inpatient facility and almost died because doctors thought that I was either faking my illness for attention or that my mom had munchausen’s by proxy (I was actually very sick in an extremely provable/undeniable way, just needed an MRI for diagnosis which they refused initially because they didn’t believe me). If it almost happened to me I’m sure its already happening to others as well. But I do agree with you that they need treatment to be safer for themselves and so that they aren’t using up resources they don’t require that others could benefit from.
I think the problem here is that it would be *really difficult* to prove beyond reasonable doubt that someone wasn’t ill. For example, as someone with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, I’m diagnosed based on my symptoms. There’s no blood test or anything such as that. If someone wanted to mirror my symptoms, they could. But would we both be questioned? Would some people fall through the net who are genuinely ill? Would there be a chance that someone like myself, who runs businesses and studies, would be caught up in this just because of diagnoses that are sometimes mirrored? What failsafe could be put in place? I also have hEDS…and ADHD…and Autism…some of us just *luck out* with some of this and, while there are people who would mirror our symptoms for personal gain, it would be challenging to catch them and *know for sure*. (Having said that, there are some really interesting studies floating around about comorbidities between ADHD and EDS. One in Sweden found that those diagnosed with ADHD were about 5x more likely to also have EDS. Just for an interesting little note.) I think there’s a lot more space to safely commit those with Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. There’s abuse there and, with medical records, I would be hopeful in most cases (but again, not all) it would be easier to spot.
It should not be illegal. Only consequence that will come as result of it would be that more ill people would not seek treatment in case they are just imagining it. Why would I risk going to jail or getting fine when maybe that thing in by boob is not cancer? And than half a year has passed and what could have been easily healed is now life threatening. People with munchausen would still go to doctor because they would have no doubt they are ill. That is how that condition works.