Morgellons disease vs dermatozoic delusion: unexpected psychodermatological problem for parasitologists and infectious disease doctors. Personal observations and review of the literature

Abstract

The term "Morgellons disease" has been introduced by patients, who pointed to the emerging from the skin threads, worms, insects, etc. For the study and dissemination of information on Morgellons disease funds have been established. Since 2002 through the Internet and the media the information about Morgellons disease in the United States and Western Europe began to spread. Since 2009 Morgellons disease was started to be detected in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The term "Morgellons disease" is used by some doctors in medical certificates for the purpose of information for other doctors in the free, not encrypted form about the presence of the mental disorder in a patient. Morgellons disease is one of the manifestations of dermatozoic delusion. Patients with Morgellons disease ask parasitologists and infectious disease doctors for medical help, write complaints to the overhead organizations, and flatly refuse to be observed by the psychiatrists. Parasitologists and infectious disease doctors should treat patients who claim that they have Morgellons disease, as patients with the dermatozoic delusion, and must not use the diagnosis of Morgellons disease in their practice.

Keywords

Morgellons disease / dermatozoic delusion / psychopathology / parasitology / infectious diseases

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