Munchausen syndrome is a rare type of mental disorder in which a person fakes illness. The person may lie about symptoms or else produce symptoms using trickery or self-harm. A person with Munchausen syndrome can be very convincing, which results in doctors providing unnecessary treatment including surgery.

A person with Munchausen syndrome doesn’t pretend to be ill for personal gain, such as prescription drugs or money. Instead, the person is driven by complex psychiatric reasons, including an abnormal desire for attention and sympathy.

Munchausen syndrome signs and symptoms may include:

• Clever and convincing medical problems
• Frequent hospitalizations
• Vague or inconsistent symptoms
• Conditions that get worse for no apparent reason
• Conditions that don’t respond as expected to standard therapies
• Eagerness to have frequent testing or risky operations
• Extensive knowledge of medical terms and diseases
• Seeking treatment from many different doctors or hospitals, which may include using a fake name
• Having few visitors when hospitalized
• Reluctance to allow health professionals to talk to family or friends or to other health care providers
• Arguing with hospital staff
• Frequent requests for pain relievers or other medications
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