Delusional parasitosis in vet medicine

[ANY2003]

I was hoping to gain some perspective on a recent case I saw at a veterinary practice. I'm a member of the veterinary side of SDN, but decided to hop on over here to get some human psychology perspective. Basically, a man brought his dog in complaining of burrowing bugs in his dog's skin that were also infecting himself. Dog had real skin disease, but NOT burrowing bugs. He did not want to hear our explanation.

How would you address mental illness of delusional parasitosis? We were trying to balance getting his dog the medical care that it so desperately needed with not reinforcing his delusions. We were also afraid that if we came right out and told the man there were no bugs, we would lose his trust and his dog would not get the care it needed and would be further subjected to his picking/putting chemicals on them. We wanted to balance a) taking care of his animals and b) not propagating this man's delusional beliefs, thus harming his own psychological well-being.

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[erg923]

How would you address mental illness of delusional parasitosis?

A referral to mental health professional, if he is agreeable.

 

[ANY2003]

That's the problem - they usually aren't agreeable. You mention psychiatrist/psychologist, and they run from you. Then their pet doesn't get treatment.

 

[wesleysmith]

Has anyone checked out his home? Dog may be clear, dude may have some bugs crawling around.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I'm not sure of the stats but isn't delusional parasitosis commonly associated with meth use? Also, might be helpful to post in psychiatry forum as they tend to have the most experience with psychotic disorders.

I would say to treat the dog and not challenge the delusions. Many of your patients won't agree with what you say. That's fine and when it isnt delusional you don't argue with them I hope. So don't argue with the more delusional. The hard part is when we are treating the victims of the meth addicts whether they be kids or pets.

 

[WisNeuro]

Wait, I don't think we really have enough information to make a diagnosis of delusional anything here. Maybe more suggestibility. You take most people, and an animal with some skin problems that may look like some kind of bug, and most people are going to feel a bit itchy and uneasy. He may very well have some type of diagnosis, but very hard to say depending on very limited information.

If there is some type of delusion there, hard to treat. Most often poor insight into the delusion, and resistant to treatment. Until there is insight and/or there is a significant disruption in functioning, good luck getting that person to seek mental health assistance. After that, it's usually some form of medication and therapy.