The Physician's Guide to Delusional Infestation

This unique, ground-breaking book is a comprehensive clinical guide to the psychiatric disorder of Delusional Infestation (DI). DI is a psychiatric illness characterized by patients holding a monothematic fixed belief of infestations on their skin, body, or immediate environment - a belief that is not supported by objective medical evidence. Delusional beliefs may be shared among individuals, and perceived pathogens include living organisms such as parasitic worms, bacteria, fungi, and insects. Organic or non-organic infiltration by fibres, threads, or other inanimate particles or objects, known or unknown to medical science, are also described by patients. DI is severely underreported because of social stigma, limited physician awareness, and patient doctor-hopping.