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Glite Dictionary
🦠 A parasite disease 🧠 False parasite belief
parasitosis

parasitosis

9.9
A false belief that insects are living on or under your skin when none are present
  • noun
  • /ˌpærəˈsaɪtəˌsoʊs/
  • Specialized
: parasitosis delirante
  • She was diagnosed with parasitosis after months of feeling unwell.
  • delusional parasitosis

Examples

  • Many patients suffering from parasitosis often seek unnecessary treatments.

  • The patient insisted she had bugs under her skin, a classic sign of parasitosis.

  • Doctors ruled out any real infection, but his symptoms pointed to parasitosis.

  • Treatment for parasitosis often involves both medical and psychological support.

  • Patients suffering from parasitosis often report sensations of crawling insects on their skin.

  • A diagnosis of parasitosis can be challenging due to the lack of visible signs of infestation.

  • The psychiatrist explained that parasitosis is a disorder where individuals believe they are infested with parasites.

Synonyms

somatic delusion
vsparasitosis
  • Specialized
9.9

A strong false belief that parts of your body are sick or changed even when doctors say they are not

focuses on belief of being infested rather than general body disease

Antonyms

wellness
50 3.2

Good physical and mental health that people try to keep

Surface Forms

parasitosis singular
parasitoses plural

Morphology

parasitosis = parasite (semi-transparent) = parasite + osis

Morphologically regular ('parasite' + '-osis'), but the psychiatric sense (a delusional belief of infestation) is a specialized shift from the literal 'disease caused by parasites'.

Etymology

The word parasitosis comes from parasite, meaning 'an animal or bug that lives on another', and the ending -osis, meaning 'a condition'. So parasitosis can also mean a condition where a person thinks they have parasites when there are none, which explains the psychiatric use of the word.