delusions?

jcnorris

Hi. I am the care-giver for my father since Christmas. He has had memory issues for several years and has never been diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimers. I'm pretty sure he has one or the other. Anyway, for years he has been complaining about bugs on his recliner. He went so far as to get a new chair, it's leather. He is still complaining about bugs. I've looked him over real well and cannot see any bugs. The one he "got" with his fingers was just dead skin. I've suggested he take showers more frequently or to talk to his doctor. He just can't seem to let go of the bug theory. I'm not sure what else to do. I'm exasperated at the point. Does anyone have any idea how to handle this? Thanks!

Jacki

M1

welcome to the forum Jacki. Delusions of bugs or other vermin (worms is another common one) is fairly common but very difficult to treat. An antipsychotic medication may help- there’s one called Orap (pimozide) that is commonly prescribed, but they are all similar. You should probably try to get him an appointment with a geriatric psychiatrist and talk with the doctor ahead of time. Above all, don’t try to tell him they are not real, and you can tell him the medication will prevent the bugs from hurting him. You can find more information by Googling fermiculosis or delusional parasitosis (that’s what this is called). Tough problem to have and I’m sorry.

terei

There are drugs for anxiety that may help with this OCD type behavior. His doctor may be able to help or give a referral. Dementia can have several sources, alzheimer’s being one of them.

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2024/dementia-types.html?cmp=KNC-DMP-BRN-BrainHealth_Alzheimers-Dementia_Nonbrand-54894-GOOG-DementiaTypes-Exact-Exact-NonBrand&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIov6R56_lhgMVkDMIBR1DKwj5EAAYAiAAEgKy-vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

H1235

I agree with others that it may be time for some medication. Below is a staging tool that many of us here find very helpful.
https://tala.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Tam-Cummings-LLC-Handouts.pdf

Dementia can involve so much more than memory loss.