All Posts Tagged With: "psychiatrists"

Morgellons disease and delusions of parasitosis

Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21051675

Excerpt:

Morgellons disease is a controversial and poorly defined symptom cluster of skin lesions and somatic symptoms, most notably ‘fibers’ in the skin. Because of widespread coverage in the media and on the Internet, there are an increasing number of patients presenting to dermatologists. We present three patients who believed that they had fibers in their skin. We offer a discussion of delusions of parasitosis to demonstrate similarities between these conditions. It has been suggested by a limited number of healthcare providers that an unknown infectious agent underlies this symptom complex yet no available evidence supports this assertion. Laboratory values that would be reflective of an infectious process (e.g. elevated white blood cells, sedimentation rate, C reactive protein) are routinely normal and biopsies often reflect only nonspecific findings such as acute and chronic inflammation with erosion or ulceration. Patients with Morgellons disease generally lack insight into their disease and reject the need for psychiatric help. The goal is to build trust and refrain from minimizing what the patient experiences. Attentive examination of the patient’s skin and fragments they present is necessary to rule out a true underlying pathologic process and to establish a trusting relationship. A supportive, non-confrontational approach is ideal. The patient is best treated by a team of practitioners of several specialties, including dermatologists, psychiatrists, and counselors.

Destroying confidence in Vitamins

Full article: http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n02.shtml

Excerpt:

How To Destroy Confidence In Vitamins When You Do Not Have The Facts

(OMNS, January 11, 2010) “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to this year’s annual meeting of the World Headquarters Of Pharmaceutical Politicians, Educators, and Reporters (WHOPPER).

“Let us get right to the point. Many of our members and affiliates have complained about what is, for us, an alarming and dangerous segment of health care: so-called ‘orthomolecular medicine.’ We wish to assure you, although this therapeutic approach is, unfortunately, very effective in preventing and treating disease, that we will make sure the public will never learn of it. We can say this with considerable confidence, since for over 50 years we have managed to keep virtually all psychiatrists from using niacin to treat schizophrenia; we have kept cardiologists from prescribing vitamin E and co enzyme Q10 for heart disease; and we have kept general practitioners from prescribing vitamin C for viral illnesses.

“Yes, it has really been a triumphant half-century. How did we do it? It is really quite easy. Here is a summary for those of you that may have missed the last WHOPPER meeting.