Skin Deep: An Overlap of Delusions

TL;DR

The paper discusses a case where a woman believes she is infested with scabies and fibers, linking it to Morgellons disease and delusional infestation.

Contribution

The paper presents a case suggesting Morgellons disease may be a variant of delusional infestation.

Findings

A 40-year-old female presented with a belief in scabies infestation and fibers from her skin.

Morgellons disease overlaps with delusional infestation and may not be a separate condition.

Insects remain the most common alleged source of infestation in such cases.

Abstract

Delusional infestation (DI) describes a fixed, false belief where a person believes that they are infested with living or inanimate pathogens despite the absence of medical evidence for such infestation. Descriptions of alleged pathogens have evolved over time, incorporating inanimate objects such as fibrous strands. With the emergence of Morgellons disease and its controversy, we report a case of a 40-year-old female presenting with a strong belief of scabies infestation along with fibers emerging from her skin. Further, although insects are still the most alleged source of infestation, the overlap of Morgellons disease and the delusion of infestation supports it as a DI variant and questions the notion of its existence as a separate diagnostic entity.

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