In a message dated 96-05-14 15:48:38 EDT, you write:

>Could someone please e-mail me privately, or to the list with a detailed
>desciption of Munchausen's Disease?

It is a mental disorder, born out of a deep need to be attended to.  It's a
subset of Factitious Disorder.

The patient deliberately feigns illness (two kinds--physical or mental).  She
often has sophisticated knowledge of and interest in medical things.  She may
do such things as swallowing glass to induce blood in her stool, overheating
her body to elevate temperature, etc.

What Joyce asked about was Munchausens by Proxy...that is, the mother
"induces" or describes illness in the child, thereby receiving that attention
that she craves.

It is possible to cause real damage--or death--in the child or the self in
this process.

Also, hard to diagnose, and easy to misdiagnose.  Actions are unconsciously
motivated and often the patient truly believes that she/the child has the
illness.

Nancy