Delusions of delusions of parasitosis

[Ahopeful]

Delusions of delusions of parasitosis (sometimes known as DODOP or DDP) is a poorly understood but increasingly common condition, most frequently seen amongst dermatologists, although it can affect physicians of any speciality.

Sufferers of delusions of delusions of parasitosis present with a fixed conviction that a patient (and in severe cases multiple patients) are suffering from delusions of parasitosis. This belief remains firmly held by the afflicted physician, despite being presented with clear evidence of somatic pathology in his or her patient(s). Affected physicians will appear otherwise rationale and rarely display psychiatric comorbidities.

A characteristic sign of delusions of delusions of parasitosis is a refusal for the physician to conduct more than a cursory examination of patients presenting with symptoms of parasitical infestation. In the most extreme cases the physician will also refuse to engage in a professional doctor/patient dialogue.

Whilst the etiology of delusions of delusions of parasitosis remains unknown, there exist several hypotheses as to it's origin.

One such hypothesis states that delusions of delusions of parasitosis is in fact a 'meme', commonly taught to vulnerable physicians in training. Once this belief takes hold, it is extremely difficult for the sufferer to free themselves of this conviction and it becomes increasingly difficult - if not impossible - for the sufferer to approach unfamiliar cases of parasitical infestation without diagnosing delusions of parasitosis.

A modern variant of this hypothesis states that delusions of delusions of parasitosis is an 'internet disease' - whereby physicians inadvertently reinforce each others delusions of delusions by reading about them online.

When pressed, sufferers will classically cite flawed, poorly researched and dated medical literature in an attempt to justify their beliefs. They will then go on to transfer their belief system to younger physicians who become similarly deluded. It is thought such cycles have served to perpetuate this condition amongst the medical community – where it has believed to have existed, to a greater or lesser extent, for some 75 years.

The prevalence of delusions of delusions of parasitosis is unknown, and case studies in the literature are few. Some have estimated that over 90% of dermatologists in the UK alone suffer from delusions of delusions of parasitosis. In recent years reports of delusions of delusions of parasitosis have displayed a worrying upward trend.

Treatment of delusions of delusions of parasitosis is troublesome. It is sometimes recommended that the patient attempt to strike up a 'rapport' with the physician, in order to gain their trust, and perhaps open their mind to the possibility of explanations other than delusions in patients presenting with symptoms of unfamiliar parasitical-like infestation. However this approach is difficult and is thought to have a fairly low success rate. The physician's delusions of delusions are frequently firm and will remain in place despite the most striking and rationale evidence to the contrary.

If directly confronted, afflicted physicians may even respond by accusing the patient of suffering from delusions of delusions of delusions of parasitosis, although evidence for this advanced phenomena is beyond the scope of this review and will not be discussed here.

In any case, no randomised controlled trials into the treatment of delusions of delusions of parasitosis have been conducted, and currently it is recommended that it be managed on a case by basis.

Strategies to overcome delusions of delusions of parasitosis in the medical community have been proposed. One such strategy is for patients to apply continued pressure on government bodies to properly investigate increasing reports of parasitical-like conditions in their populations. It is hoped that this approach, whilst by no means a 'quick fix', will yield a gradual improvement, and – it is at least hoped - bring some relief to the thousands of physicians currently believed to be suffering from this debilitating illness.

[Janice]

That is a classic!!
I love your sense of humor

,

[fritolay66]

......very creative.

[jonsi]

Haha!!! I needed a good laugh just about now

itwl,
~jonsi

[Baraka Obam]

Your article is no doubt factual, the hilarity of it all is it is true to the last word.

We need to keep a running list of these doctors, we need to keep it so we can discredit them afterwards.

Especially the big wigs, anyone with the CDC and especially the idiot with the Mayo clinic and reporters to boot. It will be nice to let them know the pain and suffering they have furthered.

[posey]

Love it! A classic for sure.

[zenmorgie]

So funny but so tragically true. Good job !

[skylark99]

Brilliant!!!



I am writing up a thread this weekend about how to access all your medical records in the UK. It is a complicated process and not well known how to do this.
I will post it as soon as I have done it.
It will be interesting to find out just how widespread this psychiatric illness is in the UK medical community. I suspect it is epidemic. Institutional, I would speculate.

Thanks for the good laugh, hopeful.
It is a sobering thought, though.

[Ahopeful]

Glad you liked peeps.

@Skylark - sounds really useful.

[tcmgpt13]

Apropos of this topic, I started a thread entitled Folie a Deux Or? back in April to add some links to comments being made by various people at Stanford U about Morgellons. These links and also a Stanford alumni magazine article link revealed what is being taught about Morgellons at Stanford U. None of it is flattering of course. The thread title was originated from a comment made by a female professor at Stanford U that she hoped that Morgellons syndrome was not a folie a deux illness caught on the internet. We just can't get no respect from those professors and doctors who are comfortably enscounced in liberal universities. My diagnosis of these kinds of doctors differs slightly in that I called them all DDOM or Delusional Deniers of Morgellons:

One professional in the background link (last paragraph) says she hopes Morgellons is not a folie a deux phenomenon due to the extensive use of the internet which could have produced all the mass shared delusions of having Morgellons and parasites. All I can say is that she’d better hope she does not catch a case of what she is suggesting could be “folie a deux.” Whatever you want to call Morgellons it’s real and it’s painful. It’s also quite debilitating, both mentally and physically.

Unfortunately, in this case and IMHO, it’s those who are medical professionals who seem to have some kind of authentic internet case of “folie a deux.” Their shared delusion seems to lead them to follow along like sheep, baaing the only accepted medical view of a Morgellons patient which is DOP. Most doctors do not even look at Morgellons patients (from what is related by members about most doctor visits), much less try to find out what could really be going on in those lesions when Morgellons patients enter their offices. No, most medical professionals deny the illness suffered by those with Morgellons. In fact most doctors seem to go beyond denying Morgellons exists to denying there is any illness at all beyond ”self-inflicted” skin lesions. Those doctors thus may label any patient who mentions Morgellons DOP.

Yes, there certainly is a a “folie a deux” which is in the air these days, but the “folie a deux” seems to have attached itself to the medical profession in this case. The medical mantra when Morgellons is discussed seems to be “Don’t look, don’t look. See absolutely nothing and say less. Don't look, don't look.” So sad. It seems there may be many medical professional internet associated cases of Delusional Deniers of Morgellons (DDOM). What will those suffering from DDOM (Delusional Deniers of Morgellons) do when Morgellons is found to be a real syndrome? Maybe continue with denial? Deny they ever said anything like DOP? Will the real DDOM please stand up? Oh, sorry, too many to count.