Morgellons Disease

[Rare and Unusual Human Creature 0]

This is something I just read about today, http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060526/sc_...eoplesskincrawl

"Patients with the disease often describe feelings of insects or parasites scuttling beneath their skin and open lesions that heal slowly and which ooze out blue and white fibers, some as thick as spaghetti strands. Attempts to remove the fibers are said to elicit shooting pains radiating from the site."

Many doctors haven't heard of it and some say it's psychological... but if people actually have open sores with blue and white strands coming out of them, I'd say it's something physical.

[paquetboy1 0]

all i can say is im glad i dont have it yet

[kaknelson 2]

all i can say is im glad i dont have it yet

LOL.

Agreed

[frogfish 8]

I just read this article also...It would be useful posting the WHOLE article...Personally, I believe its all in the head. It's not a real physical disease, but maybe a neurological disorder causing the patient to go mad.

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Reports of a mysterious medical condition are cropping up across the country but doctors are divided on whether it is a real disease or all in their patients' heads.

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Called Morgellons Disease, patients who report having it describe sensations of creepy-crawlers beneath the skin and fibrous filaments oozing out of open wounds.

Interest in the disease was recently rekindled after afflicted Texas teenager Travis Wilson committed suicide about a month ago.

Symptoms

To date, no clinical studies have looked into Morgellons and only one paper mentioning Morgellons has been published in a medical journal. Appearing in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, the paper is co-authored by members of the Morgellons Research Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to raising public awareness about the disease.

As of February 2006, more than 2,000 reports of the disease have been reported on the Foundation's website. Reports come from all 50 U.S. states and 15 nations, including Canada, the UK, Australia and The Netherlands.

The majority of reports have come from Texas, California and Florida.

Patients with the disease often describe feelings of insects or parasites scuttling beneath their skin and open lesions that heal slowly and which ooze out blue and white fibers, some as thick as spaghetti strands. Attempts to remove the fibers are said to elicit shooting pains radiating from the site.

The lesions range from minor to disfiguring in appearance and fibers appear either as single strands or as bundles. Patients also sometimes report the presence of fibers or black granular specks on their skin even in the absence of lesions. Some patients even report symptoms of the disease in their pets--dogs mostly, but also cats and horses.

According to statistics from the Morgellons Research Foundation, about 95 percent of patients also report suffering from disabling fatigue, or "brain fog," that hinders their ability to pay attention. Other reported symptoms include joint pain, sleep disorders, hair loss, decline in vision, and even the "disintegration" of perfectly healthy teeth. It appears that once patients contract the disease, they have it for life. To date, there have been no reports of spontaneous remissions.

Strange fibers

A preliminary analysis of the fibers suggests they are more than just lint from household materials such as clothing, carpets or bedding, said Randy Wymore, an assistant professor of pharmacology and physiology at Okalahoma State University and the director of research at the Morgellons Research Foundation.

"The fibers are not common textiles, nor are they black specks of pepper, as several dermatologists have proposed," Wymore told LiveScience.

Further deepening the mystery, some analyses suggest the fibers might be made of cellulose, a molecule generally found in plants.

"They're basically fibers that you wouldn't expect to see in humans," said Raphael Stricker, a Lyme disease expert at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and a medical advisor to the Morgellons Research Foundation.

The disease is named after a medical condition described in 1674 by the British author Thomas Browne. Known as "Morgellons," Browne said the disorder caused children to "critically break out with harsh hairs on their backs..." The Morgellons Research Foundation says that it is doubtful that the 17th century disease is related in any way to modern day Morgellons.

Skepticism

Despite increasing reports of the condition, many doctors have barely heard of the disease and many treat it with a heavy dose of skepticism.

Michael Giradi, a dermatologist at the Yale School of Medicine, had never heard of Morgellons but when its symptoms were described to him, he was reminded of another disorder that is well known to doctors.

"They just renamed it," Giradi told LiveScience. "We just call it delusions of parasitosis."

Also known as Eckbom syndrome, delusional parasitosis is a psychiatric disorder in which patients fervently believe their bodies are infected by skin parasites that do not exist.

"It's basically when a patient thinks that there's something coming out of their skin, a material or bug of some sort, when truthfully there's nothing there," said Stacy Beaty, a dermatologist at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

In medical schools, physicians learn to watch out for the "matchbox sign" of delusional parasitosis, when patients bring in hair, skin or clothing lint, sometimes in matchboxes, that they claim contain the insects or parasites responsible for their torment. However, when examined, the samples reveal no such thing. The lesions and scratches sometimes seen on patients with delusional parasitosis are usually self-inflicted, Beaty said.

"To rule out any infectious causes and also to put the patient's mind at ease, a lot of times we'll do skin biopsies," Beaty said in a telephone interview. "If we feel that it'll be helpful, we might also start different anti-psychotic or anti-anxiety medicines."

Beaty said she was vaguely familiar with reports of Morgellons disease, but said that other doctors she had queried had never even heard of it.

In response to rising media coverage about the condition, the Los Angeles Department of Health Services recently issued a statement that said bluntly:

"No credible medical or public health association has verified the existence or diagnosis of 'Morgellons Disease.' The current description of the disease is vague and covers many conditions."

Wymore, the Oklahoma State University researcher, says that debating whether Morgellons is a real disease or not is not the right approach.

"This population is suffering greatly," Wymore said. "A better question would be, 'Is Morgellons Disease a purely psychiatric disorder?' and the answer is 'No.' Morgellons also has physical effects on a person. In addition to the skin lesions and the unusual fibers and other shed material, there are nervous system effects that include: behavioral changes, cognitive changes and peripheral neuropathy."

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[Fluffybunny 51]

With only looking at this article and the website, I personally don't see how it would be strictly a psychological disorder; the fibers are obviously rather real and could very well explain the crawling feelings under the skin. The photos of the lip of the 3 year old and the material that was removed from the wound lead me to believe that there is more to the matter than just a random psychological problem.

The claim from the website is that the fibers are not textile in nature, but they did not provide any proof or tests to support that claim. Without any proof of what that material is it is difficult to guess what the origin of the fibers may be.

There are psychological disorders in which people feel crawling under the skin, and detoxification of alcohol and some drugs can present those symptoms. There are also parasites that do embed themselves under the skin, and do crawl throughout the body only to emerge at some later time in a rather gruesome manner.

In other words...I don't know what to make of it...

[frogfish 8]

the fibers are obviously rather real and could very well explain the crawling feelings under the skin. The photos of the lip of the 3 year old and the material that was removed from the wound lead me to believe that there is more to the matter than just a random psychological problem.

What photos? People with diseases like rabies sometimes envision their arm bursting and spiders coming out...Its all signs of going mad! I didn't see any physical proof of the fibers.

Parasites are a likely answer, but the parasite that COULD cause this disease lives in Africa.

[dezavala 1]

I think I had this, seriously. This is going on in Central Texas at the moment and I had a similiar experience 3 years ago here in San Antonio.

[frogfish 8]

Hmmm...please eloborate

[Elevator 0]

There are two possible explanations that occur to me concerning this truly bizzare disease.

First, this may be the result of human beings ingesting too many artificial ingredients contained in their food. Artificial flavors....artificial colors.....artificial sweeteners....have been consumed for so long now that they are beginning to alter the metabolism of the body. With so much artificial gunk entering our digestive system, probably not all of it is being expelled. The stuff accumulates in the body and now is beginning to manifest symptoms such as are reported by people suffering with Morgellon's disease.

The second possibility that comes to mind is that there may be a connection with alien abductees and the implants that many of them receive. This is very speculative, I admit, but I really wish we could determine how many of the people suffering from this disease have actually been abducted. I wonder if any of them can remember ever seeing a ufo or had an experience of missing time. For all we know, the presence of aliens in our world may have introduced some "bugs" into our environment in a similar manner to the way Europeans introduced infectious diseases to the American continent.

[coldethyl 2,937]

I wondered how long it would take before aliens came into this!

Weird. I guess it sounds parasitic to me. A parasite shipped over in some fruit or veg from some native country??

Ick, now my skin's crawling!

[Elevator 0]

I wondered how long it would take before aliens came into this!

Weird. I guess it sounds parasitic to me. A parasite shipped over in some fruit or veg from some native country??

Ick, now my skin's crawling!

Maybe genetically modified food is modifying the genetics of those who eat it.

There are many reports by abductees of physical exams by aliens. Perhaps they are using humans the way humans use animals to experiment on them by deliberately infecting them with diseases. Let's face it, those aliens are some rather sinister creatures and capable of abusing humans in this way.

[Master Sage 0]

Im glad as well! Phew!

[Fluffybunny 51]

What photos? People with diseases like rabies sometimes envision their arm bursting and spiders coming out...Its all signs of going mad! I didn't see any physical proof of the fibers.

Here are some photos; these are not imagined.

Morgellens Website

So yes, there are many diseases that can be psychological in nature, but after googling, I really don't think this is one of them...

[frogfish 8]

There are two possible explanations that occur to me concerning this truly bizzare disease.

First, this may be the result of human beings ingesting too many artificial ingredients contained in their food. Artificial flavors....artificial colors.....artificial sweeteners....have been consumed for so long now that they are beginning to alter the metabolism of the body. With so much artificial gunk entering our digestive system, probably not all of it is being expelled. The stuff accumulates in the body and now is beginning to manifest symptoms such as are reported by people suffering with Morgellon's disease.

The second possibility that comes to mind is that there may be a connection with alien abductees and the implants that many of them receive. This is very speculative, I admit, but I really wish we could determine how many of the people suffering from this disease have actually been abducted. I wonder if any of them can remember ever seeing a ufo or had an experience of missing time. For all we know, the presence of aliens in our world may have introduced some "bugs" into our environment in a similar manner to the way Europeans introduced infectious diseases to the American continent.

Sorry, but those make absolutely NO SENSE...

Here are some photos; these are not imagined

Hmmmm....to medical science, no other such 'threads' exist. My first choice would be parasite, as it can explain the crawling skin, but no known parasites makes threads...Even then, not many parasites can traverse the whole body and cause sensation...

This is indeed a mystery...Did they do any analysis on those 'threads'?

[Fluffybunny 51]

As for what the threads are, I do not know of any analysis of the material, so it is hard to say. If you go to the website you can microscopic photos, but I could not make out what it could be; it looks biological in nature, but that is just a wild guess as my microscope skills fall off quickly outside of checking blood samples...

[frogfish 8]

The threads also bear a striking resemblance to acrylic thread...Only tests will tell..I want to know if any were done...

[joc 18,294]

I think it is some form of nanobot technology gone bad or being used in a malicious way.

[frogfish 8]

I think it is some form of nanobot technology gone bad or being used in a malicious way.

I somehow doubt it....

[rickfury188 1]

Ewww...that's gross. I hope that it will be discovered as a hoax or something because I wouldn't want creepy threads protruding out of my body.

[frogfish 8]

I am still a little apprehensive on the medical validity of this disease...

[joc 18,294]

I somehow doubt it....

Why?

Perhaps it is a nano-bioengineered disease.

[frogfish 8]

nano-bioengineered disease

I don't think there is such a thing...

[joc 18,294]

Really? I suggest a bit of research on your part. I think it was Whoa that interested me in nano-technology...it is here...it is now...it is the future and in the next 5-10 years it will affect every aspect of our lives.

Imagine diamonds...perfect diamonds...not fake...but real in every atomically structured way...except created in laboratories for pennies each. Imagine your heart...new and fresh as it was when you were eighteen, implanted without surgery...your old heart removed without surgery...and it never skips a beat. Imagine...severed spinal columns made whole....

...do a little research Frogfish...let me know what you think...

[Elevator 0]

Every organism in nature tends to adapt to conditions they are exposed to. The longer the exposure the more the organism adapts to the condition. Perhaps, what is happening to human beings is that, after ingesting artificial ingredients with our food for so long now, our body is beginning to adapt to those artificial additives in our food by trying to incorporate them into our physical structure. In other words, we have been feeding our bodies artificial ingredients for so long that we are becoming partly artificial ourselves. Literally. This has reached the point now, where some people actually have filaments growing out of themselves. Add to this all of the chemicals that invade our bodies through the polluted air we breathe, and the water we drink, and we have surrounded the natural body with the artificial. The body is doing what it is designed to do and adapting itself to survival in the environment it finds itself in. It has to adapt....or it becomes extinct.

[OlDrippy34 2]

Imagine your heart...new and fresh as it was when you were eighteen, implanted without surgery...your old heart removed without surgery...and it never skips a beat.

So...eighteen years old. Hell, if I want a new heart I damn well better be getting a NEW heart, not some aged antique.