Why is Morgellons Disease Mistaken for Delusional Parasitosis?

The main reason that Morgellons is mistaken for delusional parasitosis is because those suffering from both diseases experience formication, which is the sensation of bugs crawling beneath the skin. But experiencing the sensation of bugs beneath the skin does not automatically make a person delusional. Formication may also be a symptom of diseases such as diabetic neuropathy, skin cancer, shingles, or Lyme disease. So why are doctors so quick to diagnose Morgellons as delusional parasitosis?

In delusional parasitosis, a patient holds the delusional belief that they are infested with parasites. Often these individuals compulsively inspect and cleanse their skin in an effort to locate and remove parasites and fibers. By picking the skin, these individuals cause lesions. They then pick at the lesions so that they are never allowed to heal. Those suffering from Morgellons often go to the doctor’s office complaining of fiber-producing lesions that will not heal. To support their claims, they bring samples of the fibers taken from their lesions. Unfortunately, one of the signs of delusional parasitosis is presenting samples of lint, hair, or other fibers to the doctor in an attempt to prove that their suffering is real. The doctors will often prescribe an antipsychotic drug without thoroughly examining the patient because the symptoms appear to be a classic case of delusional parasitosis.

So what about whole families that have Morgellons? It would seem that this would prove that a diagnosis of delusional parasitosis was incorrect. On the contrary, delusion that is transmitted to other family members is known as folie a famille (madness of family). It is easier to deduce that a family has a shared psychotic disorder than to not have an answer for the unexplainable symptoms.

Of the doctors who do decide to biopsy patient with Morgellons, very few find anything to dissuade their original diagnosis of delusional parasitosis. Most biopsies of lesions of Morgellons patients turn up only normal skin and inflammation. However, pathologists may miss clues pointing to Morgellons disease because they are looking for signs of known diseases.

The fact is that there are symptoms of Morgellons that similar to symptoms delusional parasitosis. However, Morgellons suffers are afflicted with symptoms not seen in delusional parasitosis. These symptoms include chronic fatigue, muscle pain, and cognitive dysfunction. Doctors, however, dismiss these symptoms as not being important in their diagnosis.

There may be individuals claiming to suffer from Morgellons disease who really are suffering from delusional parasitosis. Morgellons is something that is a mystery, and, in their psychosis, it is easier to cling to something that is mysterious than to accept that they are suffering from a mental illness. But that does not mean that all of those who dismiss a diagnosis of delusional parasitosis are mentally ill. It is hard to explain cases of infants with lesions in places that they cannot reach to scratch as suffering from delusions. It is also hard to explain away the additional symptoms presenting in Morgellons that are not typical of those suffering from delusional parasitosis. When doctors are ready admit that they are dealing with an undefined disease, progress will be made in treating those suffering from Morgellons disease.