Are there any diseases, viruses, or ailments of any kind that copy cat others?

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  • Thread starter Elijah
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In summary, a person can imagine themselves having any of the symptoms of an illness, but that does not mean that they actually have that illness. The symptoms must be confirmed with a medical diagnosis.
  • #1
Elijah
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what I mean by this is ones that sort of act like or become whatever ailment the person thinks of (like a sort of placebo on steroids)?
 
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  • #2
Elijah said:
what I mean by this is ones that sort of act like or become whatever ailment the person thinks of (like a sort of placebo on steroids)?
There are many ailments that are similar, so tests need to be done to determine which a person actually has. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell them apart.

Of course a person can imagine themselves having any of the ailments, but no, what they believe does not change what they have.
 
  • #3
Evo said:
There are many ailments that are similar, so tests need to be done to determine which a person actually has. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell them apart.

Of course a person can imagine themselves having any of the ailments, but no, what they believe does not change what they have.

I think that this answers my question, but I'm not entirely sure we are talking about the same thing. What I mean is a disease that would take what the mind acts out from the placebo effect and amplify it to the degree where they actually get the full effect, perhaps even a more extreme form. for example, something smaller like seeing a crazy person and becoming crazy, or something larger like thinking of the symptoms of kidney failure then having them happen thus causing your kidney to actually fail. In other words, it becomes a reality (you don't just think it does, or get minor versions like with the placebo effect)
 
  • #4
Elijah said:
I think that this answers my question, but I'm not entirely sure we are talking about the same thing. What I mean is a disease that would take what the mind acts out from the placebo effect and amplify it to the degree where they actually get the full effect, perhaps even a more extreme form. for example, something smaller like seeing a crazy person and becoming crazy, or something larger like thinking of the symptoms of kidney failure then having them happen thus causing your kidney to actually fail. In other words, it becomes a reality (you don't just think it does, or get minor versions like with the placebo effect)
That's what I said, no this is not possible, you can give yourself self perceived "symptoms" but you cannot actually give yourself the disease.
 
  • #5
Men have been known to go thru all kinds of pregnancy symptoms and even labor pains when their wives are pregnant...:biggrin: But no...thinking about kidney failure won't cause them to fail.
 
  • #6
Advanced Lyme Disease manifests in about a million different ways and can be easily misdiagnosed:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200804/lyme-disease-the-great-imitator

As the article points out, the symptoms are so all over the place they are often misdiagnosed as psychosomatic or psychiatric. A person might with it might seem to be psychosomatically imitating the diseases they were worried about having.

Yet throughout most of Jason's decline, our pediatrician dismissed the notion out of hand.

"There are too many symptoms here and he's way too sick for Lyme disease," he said. Instead, the interpretation he came to favor was psychological: This great collapse could be in Jason's mind.
 
  • #7
Elijah said:
what I mean by this is ones that sort of act like or become whatever ailment the person thinks of (like a sort of placebo on steroids)?
There are probably some psychological disorders that can act like this i.e. a person with mental health issues is told that their leg is broken and they see and feel the damage of a broken leg. But that would just be perceiving of a symptom, it wouldn't be creating it or the disease.
 
  • #8
If, by copycat, you are referring to something along the lines of an edible butterfly that has the same color patterns as a poisonous monarch, I have never heard of that. However, it's certainly possible for one ailment to be mistakenly diagnosed as another.
 

1. What is the term for diseases that copy cat others?

The term for diseases that copy cat others is "mimicry diseases". These are diseases that imitate the symptoms of other diseases, making them difficult to diagnose.

2. How do mimicry diseases differ from other diseases?

Mimicry diseases differ from other diseases in that they do not have a unique set of symptoms. Instead, they mimic the symptoms of other diseases, making it challenging for doctors to diagnose and treat them.

3. What are some examples of mimicry diseases?

Some examples of mimicry diseases include fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, and lupus. These diseases may imitate the symptoms of other conditions, such as arthritis or multiple sclerosis.

4. How are mimicry diseases diagnosed?

Mimicry diseases are usually diagnosed through a process of elimination. This involves ruling out other possible causes of the symptoms and conducting various tests to confirm the diagnosis.

5. Can mimicry diseases be treated?

Yes, mimicry diseases can be treated. However, since they imitate the symptoms of other diseases, it can be challenging to find an effective treatment. It often involves managing the symptoms and addressing any underlying conditions that may be contributing to the mimicry disease.

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