Delusions of Disseminated Fungosis

Delusions of Disseminated Fungosis

Introduction. Delusional infestation is a rare monosymptomatic hypochondriacal psychosis according to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It can be a primary disorder or associated with an underlying psychological or physical disorder. It commonly presents as delusional parasitosis, and less than 1% may be fungi rel...

Delusions of parasitosis.

The most common monosymptomatic hypochondriacal psychosis encountered by a dermatologist is delusions of parasitosis. In this condition, patients have an "encapsulated" fixed, false belief that they are infested with parasites or have foreign objects extruding from their skin. The patient will often experience feelings of biting, crawling and stinging related to the delusion. Most patients do n...

Delusions of Parasitosis

Patients who are falsely convinced that a parasite has invaded their body are extremely difficult to treat. They are at once desperate for help and disdainful of efforts to help them. They insist that anti-infective medication be prescribed, but they are dubious that it will be effective. These patients despair of finding a credulous physician, and they continue to seek different therapies to c...

Insane Delusions

Delusions of parasitosis.

BACKGROUND Delusions of parasitosis (DP) is a rare psychiatric disorder in which the patient has a firm belief that she or he is infected by parasites. Although it is a psychiatric disorder, these patients often present to an emergency physician because they are convinced that they have a severe skin problem. TREATMENT Patients with DP often reject psychiatric referral. The diagnosis of DP ca...