Psychosomatic Medicine 9:62-64 (1947)
© 1947 American Psychosomatic Society

The Psychological Component in a Case of Herpes Simplex

¹ War Department Personnel Center, 1905 SCU Med. Det., Fort MacArthur, California

Studies of the psychodynamics in various cutaneous disorders are appearing in the literature with increasing frequency, and data which may assist in an understanding of the psychosomatic aspects of such disorders are worthy of mention. As with diseases other than herpes simplex, "emotional" or "psychic" traumata are mentioned by some authors as precipitating features, but beyond this it seems desirable, for an understanding of the pathology involved, to record additional details of specific psychopathology so that the psychodynamics of the illnesses may be more completely understood. In keeping with this aim a case has been presented wherein a patient suffered repeated episodes of herpes simplex labialis. He was able to note consciously a relationship between the outbreak of the skin lesions and the existence of repressed hostility. The psychodynamics in this case are not deemed to have been presented completely but the material available is felt to be of value as part of a body of data being gathered at present by others. The cutaneous disorder in this patient appeared to represent a somatic expression of psychological conflict.