We often get patients who are full blown sufferer of health anxiety. They have an unrealistic fear of having a serious disease. This disorder occurs equally in men and women. Availability of medical information on internet often misguide the patient rather than help them and they often come to doctors with a pre-conceived notion of self/internet diagnosed disease that they have.
Sometimes even a hypochondriac patient will turnup with a genuine case and because of his past behavior there is a chance that we might ignore his concern. Generally when they present with something completely different, or with objective findings (like abnormal vital signs) instead of merely subjective complaints, it is more likely to be a real issue. How do you know and differentiate a hypochondriac case with a real case?
