Delusional Parasitosis: The Interplay of Mind and Skin

By Sara Malik* Key words: delusional parasitosis, psychodermatology, psychiatry, dermatology, mind, skin, insects, infestation, antipsychotics Delusional parasitosis, also known as Ekbom syndrome, is a delusional disorder of the somatic type in which individuals believe that they are infested by insects. Delusional parasitosis was formally recognized as a psychiatric condition by Karl-Axel Ekbom, for whom the condition was eponymously named. Ekbom was a Swedish neurologist who had previously also described restless leg syndrome.1  Patients with delusional parasitosis are not afraid of the insects but are rather convinced that they are infested.2 Individuals will sometimes present with damage to the skin from attempting to remove the perceived insects.2 The incidence of delusional … Continue reading

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The Neurologist

by Richard Macht Light must come from the inside. Sogyal Rinpoche The last time I wanted to settle in Israel was in 1971 when I was 33 years old. I had made up my mind that I would take a sabbatical from Dartmouth College where I had been teaching as a Jew with great difficulty for three years, and go alone to Eretz Israel, the land of Israel. I left my wife and my three children behind. I went to a kibbutz in the north, up near the Lebanese border and worked for three weeks waiting to be called to Jerusalem. There I would study Hebrew in an Ulpan at … Continue reading

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