What are tactile hallucinations?

Usually, the condition causes unpleasant, uncomfortable, disturbing sensations. Some people may feel that bugs are crawling over their body or something is inside them trying to get out. Some individuals experience the feeling that their organs are shifting or that something is turning in their stomach or skull.

In some cases, however, the condition may cause more harmless, even somewhat pleasant sensations. People who have hallucinations caused by Parkinson’s disease report sensations such as the feeling of flying or floating.

Causes

Medical conditions known to cause tactile hallucinations include:

Schizophrenia

In a 2010 survey of 480 people in the United States with diagnosed schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, 88.5 percentTrusted Source had experienced hallucinations.

Although auditory and visual hallucinations were the most common symptoms, tactile hallucinations occurred in 27 percent of respondents.

In a 2016 study, out of 200 surveyed persons with schizophrenia, more than 50 percentTrusted Source had experienced visual or tactile hallucinations.

Parkinson’s disease

As many as 39.8 percentTrusted Source of people with Parkinson’s disease experience some form of hallucination, including tactile hallucinations. Hallucinations associated with the condition tend to be non-threatening, however, and have even been described by some people as amusing.

Some individuals will experience the sensation of animals or people around or near them or feel as though they are floating. Many people with Parkinson’s disease have some understanding that the sensation is not real as it is happening.

Alzheimer’s disease

As many as 53 percentTrusted Source of people with Alzheimer’s disease experience visual, auditory, olfactory, or tactile hallucinations. Hallucinations tend to occur in moderate to severe cases, but not in the end stages of the condition.

Lewy body dementia

As many as 65 percentTrusted Source of those with Lewy body dementia experience some form of hallucination, including tactile hallucinations.

Phantom limb syndrome

When some people lose a limb or the use of it, they continue to feel as though the limb is still attached or is very painful.

Delirium tremens

Severe alcohol withdrawal can cause delirium tremens, or rapid-onset, extreme confusion. Approximately 50 percent of long-term, heavy alcohol users experience symptoms of alcohol withdrawal when they cut back or stop drinking. And 3 to 5 percent of those people develop delirium, grand mal convulsions, or both.

Narcolepsy or falling asleep too quickly

The neurological condition narcolepsy has been known to cause extremely vivid or realistic hypnagogic hallucinations, a type of tactile hallucination that occurs just before fully falling sleep and fully being awake.

This form of hallucination is triggered when the body moves through the stages of falling asleep or waking up too quickly or skips steps. Nearly everyone will experience hypnagogic hallucinations, often as a sensation of falling, looking down from a great height, being unable to move or being touched.

Substances and medications

Substances and medications that can cause tactile hallucinations include:

• anti-Parkinsonian agents
• antidepressants
• prescription stimulants
• antihypertensive (propranolol)
• anti-epileptics

Tactile hallucinations that involve the sensation of insects crawling on, biting, or stinging the skin tend to occur in people that have used potent stimulants, such as cocaine, narcotics, and amphetamines.

Alcohol intoxication can cause several forms of hallucination. In some rare cases, tactile hallucinations may occur."

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Reflection: Have you ever experienced tactile hallucinations?

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