An Indian man complains that his urine appears milky white, on further questioning you ascertain that he believes he is passing semen in his urine. Which condition is he most likely to be suffering with?
Culture bound illness
Culture bound illness's are psychiatric conditions seen only in one specific culture.
There are hundreds of them, below is a list of the conditions included in the DSM IV manual and a short description of the ones that appear on the MRCPsych exams.
DSM list
- Amok
- Shenjing shuairuo
- Ataque de nervios
- Bilis, colera
- Bouffee delirante
- Brain fag
- Dhat
- Falling-out, blacking out
- Ghost sickness
- Hwa-byung, wool-hwa-byung
- Koro
- Latah
- Locura
- Mal de ojo
- Nervios
- Rootwork
- Pibloktoq
- Qi-gong psychotic reaction
- Sangue dormido
- Shen-k'uei, shenkui
- Shin-byung
- Taijin kyofusho
- Spell
- Susto
- Zar
Culture bound illness is recognised by the ICD-10. It does not give codes for the specific conditions but instead suggests alternative coding (e.g. For Amok they suggest using code F68.8 Other specified disorder of adult personality and behaviour).
Koro (Genital retraction syndrome)
Origins: China, Malaysia, Indonesia
Men affected with Koro are terrified that their penis is shrinking and that eventually it will be absorbed into their body. People with Koro believe it is fatal.
Latah
Origins: Malaysia and Indonesia
Latah usually affects middle aged women. A typical attack of latah lasts 30 minutes and is characterised by an outburst of screaming, hysterical laughing and obscenities.
Brain fag, or brain fog
Origin: West Africa
Brain fag is seen in stressed out West African students and is thought to be a response to a western style of education and exams. Symptoms include poor concentration, and unusual somatic sensations such as burning skin.
Amok
Origin: Malaysia
People who suffer with Amok are suddenly overcome with a violent outburst and become very aggressive to those around them. This continues until they are overpowered at which point they fall into a deep sleep and upon waking have no recall of the event. It almost always affects males.
Dhat
Origin: India
Men affected with Dhat believe they are passing semen in their urine which leads to a loss of physical and mental energy.
Windigo
Origin: Native North America
Windigo presents as an intense desire for human flesh and a strong believe that one is turning into a cannibal.
Piblokto
Origin: Eskimo societies
Piblokto is seen in Eskimo's. Affected Eskimo's develop hysteria and behave oddly for instance by rolling around in snow naked while muttering to themselves.
