Question:
Formication (a sensation of insects crawling on or under the skin) is characteristically seen with which of the following?
Formication (a sensation of insects crawling on or under the skin) is characteristically seen with which of the following?
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Magnan's sign of crawling bugs follows long-term stimulant abuse.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Acute amphetamine intoxication
- Chronic use of amphetamine
- Alcohol withdrawal
- Cannabis poisoning
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Formication is the tactile hallucination of insects or bugs crawling over or beneath the skin. When it occurs in stimulant abuse it is known as Magnan's sign or the cocaine bug phenomenon.
Step 2: This sign is classically described with chronic use of stimulants, namely chronic cocaine abuse and chronic amphetamine abuse. Long-standing dopaminergic stimulation produces this formication along with picking and scratching of the skin.
Step 3: The other options do not fit. Acute amphetamine intoxication mainly causes euphoria, agitation and sympathetic overactivity rather than this chronic crawling sensation; alcohol withdrawal classically gives tremors, seizures and visual hallucinations of delirium tremens; cannabis tends to cause perceptual distortion and anxiety, not formication.
Step 4: Hence formication is seen with chronic use of amphetamine.
Step 2: This sign is classically described with chronic use of stimulants, namely chronic cocaine abuse and chronic amphetamine abuse. Long-standing dopaminergic stimulation produces this formication along with picking and scratching of the skin.
Step 3: The other options do not fit. Acute amphetamine intoxication mainly causes euphoria, agitation and sympathetic overactivity rather than this chronic crawling sensation; alcohol withdrawal classically gives tremors, seizures and visual hallucinations of delirium tremens; cannabis tends to cause perceptual distortion and anxiety, not formication.
Step 4: Hence formication is seen with chronic use of amphetamine.
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