Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-10-31
WAYS OF sHAMMINe DISEASE.
Tricks Played to Avoid Work or Wi
Sympathy.


are great Fresh in the minds Of all
Is the recent case Of a professional
beggar in the city of London, whose
voluntarily paretic limbs stirred up the
lively compassion Of the passers by,
even Of the poor. so that charitable
gifts flowed into his ready palm.
This case has excited some little at
tention, says the Lancet, chiefly be-
cause the police have prosecuted him
successfully, but he is only one Of very
many.
1t Is, however, in connection with the
naval and military services that the
art of malingery finds its chief expo
nents.
In the days when 1t was necessary
for a soldier to bite off the end of the
cartridge in loading his musket 1t was
no uncommon event for a man to have
one or more teeth extracted or filed
down so as to obtain exemption. There
Is an old tale, In all probability true,
that illustrates we'll the trouble which
such a man will take to escape from
military service. A soldier was seized
with paralysis of the right arm, the
loss of power came on suddenly and
without obvious cause. Malingering
was suspected. but all the efforts OF
the surgeon of the regiment were. un-
availing, no proof could be obtained
that the paralysis was feigned. The
man was examined by two medical
boards and ultimately he was given
his discharge. AS he went off from
the barracks on the top Of the coach
cit was in the days before railways)
he waved a hearty goodby to his COM
rades with his paralyzed arm.
Probably the best example Of the
perseverance which men will display
In the attempt to leave a service
which they detest Is to be found In
case under the care Of Cline. The pa
tient was a sailor In the British navy,
and 1t is worthy of note that he was
a pressed" man. He fell on his head
and a slight depression Of the skull
was produced. He Immediately became
unconscious and all efforts to rouse
him failed. He lay quietly In his
hammock and never moved. He SEEM
ed deaf to all sounds, and at no time
uttered a word He was able to swal-
low food solid and liquid, and indeed
he made signs with his lips and tongue
when he wanted nourishment. He was
brought back to England, but no I'M
provement followed, and the "uncon-
sciousness" lasted for thirteen months.
Then 1t was resolved to raise the de-
pressed portion Of the bone. Flaps
were made, a trephine was applied and
the bone was cut through. An eleva-
tor was then introduced to raise the
bone, and as the bone was lifted up
consciousness suddenly returned to the
patient and he spoke. At the time OF
the operation most Of the onlookers
accepted the case as genuine. but no
one would nowadays venture to sup
port the idea that the patient really lay
Inconsistencies for thirteen months,
suddenly regaining consciousness on
removal of the depressed bone. There
can be no doubt that the man was a
malingerer and adopted this arduous
method of leaving a service into which
he had been forced.
The amount of pain and discomfort
which malingerers are willing to en-
dure to obtain their discharge Is al
most incredible. but the facts are well
attested. A limb has been held In a
fixed position for many months, and
not even the appliance Of the actual
cautery has sufficed to move 1t. Many
men have chopped off some fingers and
claimed that 1t was an accident.
Mental arrangement Of one sort or
another Is a favorite form Of malin-
gerry, but the results usually resemble
the popular or stage idea of insanity
rather than the true products Of men
tai alienation. 1t Is not uncommon for
the malingerer to combine two forms
of insanity, and this may be Of value
in detection. Still, 1t Is often very diff
ficult to be certain that a patient Is
shamming. There are, however, some
phenomena which cannot be simulated.
It Is impossible for a sane man to imi-
tate successfully the persistent insom-
mia which often occurs in the insane;
the imposter cannot put off sleep be-
yond the second or third day.
Another frequent motive for malin-
gering Is to attract attention, not for
the purpose Of obtaining money but
merely to gain notice. Simulated joint
affections are not rare and there are
many other forms. These cases merge
imperceptibly into hysteria, and in
deed in many hysteria Is combined
with the wish to deceive. 1t Is not
improbable that in some Of these pa
tients there Is a certain degree Of Gu
taneous anesthesia which renders the
self mutilation more easy Of accom-
plishment. There are other causes
for Stimulating diseases or injury
Sometimes 1t Is done to avoid punish
ment, sometimes to wreak vengeance
on another person who Is accused OF
having inflicted the injury. To obtain
compensation for injury in a railway
accident several LESSONS may be stimuli
ated and especially those obscure and
| Ill defined conditions which have been
attributed to Spinal concussion."
Sad to relate, many Of the attempts
to initiate disease have led to serious
and irreparable results and even ia
death itself A man excited an ulcer
in his leg by means Of copper coin
| and later gangrene appeared, neces-
stating amputation below the knee
In endeavoring. to excite hemoptysis
man swallowed a cork into which
pins had been inserted. He spat uI
blood and became very emaciated and
then suddenly died from hemorrhage
At the Microscopy 1t was found that the
cork and pins had lodged at the juno
ton Of the pharynx and esophagus and
that the pins had liberated through
| the esophagal walls and had opened
into the common carotid artery on
| both sides.
The detection of malingering Is often
no easy matter, and no general rule
can be laid down which will be appli-
cable to all cases. The mere threaten
ing of severe methods Of treatment Is
sometimes successful. but frequently
fails. The threat Of the application OF