Indian Journal of Dermatology (Jan 2016)

The girl shedding glass pieces from her body parts: Unfolding the mystery behind dermatitis artefacta

  • Harpreet Singh,
  • Adarsh Tripathi,
  • Sujita Kumar Kar

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5154.177754
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 61, no. 2
pp. 193 – 195

Abstract

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Patients presenting with unusual symptoms are uncommon. Unusual symptoms often catch the attention of the public including the health professionals. Atypicality in the symptoms is usually seen in patients with factitious disorder. In patients with factitious disorder, there occurs conscious production of symptoms with an unconscious motive, irrespective of the fact whether they are ill or not. Self-inflicted injuries to skin often give rise to typical skin lesions known as dermatitis artefacta, which many a times simulate other dermatological conditions. Patients with factitious disorder often have a narrow line of demarcation from malingering. We present a case of an adolescent girl presenting with spontaneous extrusion of glass pieces from her body parts with focus on diagnostic dilemma and management.

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