E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
plos.org
A patient shows the scarring scabs attributed to the odd skin disease Morgellons, in which victims say fibers and other material extrudes from sores on their skin.
A strange disease in which sufferers say they find fibers, fuzz and other debris sprouting from sores on their skin is not contagious and has no clear cause, the largest-ever study of the condition called Morgellons has found.
Government health officials on Wednesday released the results of a four-year, nearly $600,000 review that found no infectious or environmental link to Morgellons, which reportedly plagues thousands of people in the United States and other countries.
“It’s a negative, but it really limits and narrows down the field of possibilities,” said Mark L. Eberhard, director of the division of parasitic diseases and malaria at the Centers for Disease Control and Infection. “By removing a couple of the big players -- infections and the environment -- that still leaves some wide-open territory about what could be the causes.”
The new study should reassure sufferers who worried about infecting family and friends, he added.
Researchers studied 115 people who reported Morgellons-like symptoms from the Kaiser Permanente health system in Northern California from July 2006 to June 2008, amounting to a rate of 3.6 cases of the disorder per 100,000 people. They conducted extensive interviews, tested patients' blood and urine, and studied biopsies of skin samples. It’s considered the first detailed, population-based analysis of “unexplained dermopathy,” which is how researchers describe Morgellons.
The CDC and Kaiser Permanente initiated the study in January 2008, after CDC officials received hundreds of calls and e-mails about an odd, fiber-sprouting skin disease. By the time the study was launched, the agency had heard from some 1,200 people. The mysterious disorder was dubbed Morgellons in 2002 by a Pennsylvania mother of a toddler who reportedly suffered from the disorder first identified in 17th century France.
But scientists writing in the journal PLoS ONE also found nothing remarkable about the threads and fuzzballs patients reported emerging from lesions on their skin, which laboratory analysis showed were cotton or other fibers, possibly from clothing. They also couldn’t explain the creepy-crawling, tingling or pins-and-needles feeling that many sufferers said they experienced before rashes, sores and ulcers emerged. No parasites or mycobacteria were detected.
The scientists suggested that Morgellons victims may suffer from a condition similar to “delusional infestation,” in which people imagine bugs or other critters invading their bodies.
“No common underlying medical condition or infectious source was identified,” wrote Eberhard and his colleagues.
But people who believe they suffer from Morgellons said that was exactly the result they expected from a government agency trying to cover up a larger problem.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll say we’re all delusional,” said Jan Smith, 62, a Concord, N.H. woman who runs the website “Morgellons Exposed,”which details her 15-year battle with the perplexing disorder. Her theories include fears that Morgellons is caused by alien beings implanting nano-technology in humans.
“There’s so much more to this than a medical condition,” Smith said. “There’s something being hidden.”
Betsy Curry, 65, of Palm Bay, Fla., said she has endured sores and scabs all over her body for eight years, lesions that she said have extruded threads or fluff. She didn’t expect the government report to offer any more help than the dermatologists and other doctors who dismissed her complaints.
“I’ve had years of doctors telling me something was wrong with me, I was crazy, I was too fat,” said Curry, whose condition was described on Inspire, an online support community.
“After eight years, it’s just something I accept.”
Morgellons sufferers were mostly white, middle-aged women, more than half of whom reported they were in poor health, the study showed. Like Curry, about 70 percent of the victims also suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome and more than 60 percent reported ongoing bodily aches and pains.
About 60 percent showed problems with cognitive functioning. About half had evidence of drugs in their system, including drugs to control pain, and nearly 80 percent reported exposure to solvents, the study showed. About 40 percent had skin lesions or abrasions that appeared to be caused by self-inflicted rubbing or scraping, researchers found.
But the study shouldn’t be interpreted to conclude that the problem is all in sufferers' heads, Eberhard stressed. Instead, it should be a baseline for future research and encouragement for patients and their doctors to work together, harder, to find a cause.
“These people are definitely suffering from something,” Eberhard said. “It has impacted their lives greatly.”
Related stories:
Mystery disease diagnosed at clinic of last resort
Woman loses arm to flesh-eating bacteria from 'bath salts'
E. coli-tainted venison kabobs sicken Minn. students
What do you think about Morgellons? Tell us on Facebook.
Leave a Comment:
How about GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms in our food) and rogue hormones almost everywhere? The people affected all appear to be eating these Frankenfoods, as deduced by their physical condition and weight problems.
Jacques: This disorder was first described in the 17th century (in France). GMO wasn't around then. Not to say GMO is great - but, this condition existed long before GMO did.
Psoriasis is one of the family of rheumatoid arthritis, and can cause skin lesions, changes in tendons, and impaired cognitive function. It is treated the same way as rheumatoid arthritis.
Then there is the worse case, something that a quick study of "organisms" won't pick up: prion diseases. In sheep, after all, it is called "scrapie," in cows "mad cow disease." It is interesting that sheep have skin problems first. I doubt that the study investigated this possibility; it only investigated environment (it says) and a FEW pathogens.
There is a good study here that indicates Morgellon's could be related to an emerging bovine disease. (But not a prion disease, fortunately.) If so it would explain why CDC did not pick it up. The disease can only be clinically diagnosed in cattle due to the lack of unreliable lab testing. The abstract links to the full text and there are photos much different from the cases the CDC was looking at.
Filament formation associated with spirochetal infection: a comparative approach to Morgellons disease
Perspectives
(4381) Views (1694) Full article downloads
Authors: Middelveen MJ, Stricker RB
Published Date November 2011 Volume 2011:4 Pages 167 - 177
DOI:
Marianne J Middelveen, Raphael B Stricker
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, Bethesda, MD, USA
Abstract: Bovine digital dermatitis is an emerging infectious disease that causes lameness, decreased milk production, and weight loss in livestock. Proliferative stages of bovine digital dermatitis demonstrate keratin filament formation in skin above the hooves in affected animals. The multifactorial etiology of digital dermatitis is not well understood, but spirochetes and other coinfecting microorganisms have been implicated in the pathogenesis of this veterinary illness. Morgellons disease is an emerging human dermopathy characterized by the presence of filamentous fibers of undetermined composition, both in lesions and subdermally. While the etiology of Morgellons disease is unknown, there is serological and clinical evidence linking this phenomenon to Lyme borreliosis and coinfecting tick-borne agents. Although the microscopy of Morgellons filaments has been described in the medical literature, the structure and pathogenesis of these fibers is poorly understood. In contrast, most microscopy of digital dermatitis has focused on associated pathogens and histology rather than the morphology of late-stage filamentous fibers. Clinical, laboratory, and microscopic characteristics of these two diseases are compared.
As respectfully as i can put this: such a claim only makes sense if you are completely ignorant when it comes to genetics and general biology. even a few introductory level classes on the subject demonstrate how wrong you are by default. there is no mechanism, to work in such a way to produce such results as seen in "morgellons" simply from eating GMO or hormone rich foods. if you have a problem with these foods, that's all well and good, but don't twist the facts to support your opinion.
It very well could be a prion. I'm not sure if this disease has been found/transferred to lab mice/other animals either accidentally or purposely (for studying). If not I'm sure it would be difficult to identify what pathway the prion is affecting/where it would be congregating (brain, spinal fluid, tendons, etc) or even where one would start on trying to isolate it. You can't exactly grind up a human and centrifuge everything out...
Many plants have similar symptoms and they are always caused by some living critter, from a virus to a parasite.
Its hard to tell if GMO is involved because there is no required food labeling. GMO companies fight hard to keep this off the labels so that there is no traceability when it comes to allergies or other harmful effects. But I believe it is a possibility
My understanding was that the fibers were identified as being cotton or other fibers possibly from clothes. I think this may negate the possibility that the body was somehow producing these fibers, although more information on the nature of the fibers would help in this conclusion.
I am willing to bet that these people also have underlying emotional or mood disorders and that the open sores are a result of obsessive and fixated picking and rubbing of the skin. The cotton fibers? There I have no clue.
I was reading and many of these cotton fibers are discovers after the healing process and are under the skin. It would seem the fibers come from clothing enter the open wound and in some cases are only noticed after the wound has healed and inflammation has passed.
Thgis article somewhat misrepresented this study, making it appear as if the jury is still out. The CDC characterization was completely different:
"Results of the study, published in 'PloS One' show this condition appears to be uncommon among a population representative of Northern California residents. Skin damage from the sun was the most common skin abnormality found, and no single underlying medical condition or infectious source was identified. Upon thorough analysis, most sores appeared to result from chronic scratching and picking, without an underlying cause. The materials and fibers obtained from skin-biopsy specimens were mostly cellulose, compatible with cotton fibers.
Neuropsychological testing revealed a substantial number of study participants who scored highly in screening tests for one or more co-existing psychiatric or addictive conditions, including depression, somatic concerns (an indicator of preoccupation with health issues), and drug use.
This comprehensive study of an unexplained apparent dermopathy demonstrated no infectious cause and no evidence of an environmental link. There was no indication that it would be helpful to perform additional testing for infectious diseases as a potential cause. Future efforts should focus on helping patients reduce their symptoms through careful attention to treatment of co-existing medical, including psychiatric conditions, that might be contributing to their symptoms."
This pretty much states that it is something that happens in prople, mostly women, with other psuchological problems and that the sores result from scratching and picking scabs and that the fibers are from clothing.
The study is available at: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029908
This was pretty much the final word on a huge waste of money. Ask a dermatologist why these are called "Matchbox People."
Heh, woman complains that the gov is hiding something by claiming that they are delusional, then claims the disease is due to aliens placing nanotech in their bodies? Way to give ur viewpoint credence.
or maybe it's a genetically modified, man made organism/virus sprayed in some of the Chem-trails?
In the study report, under "Summary", it should say "LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Key points:
It is also similar to delusional parasitosis, which is basically another name for the same kind of mental disorder. Bottom line is, the kind of crazy people who think strings are growing out of their skin are the same kind of crazy people who invent stupid conspiracy theories about aliens or "chemtrails" or "nanomachines" or other nonexistent things which are for some unknown reason being covered up by the "Men in Black" or some other nefarious agency. It's sad that money has to be wasted on a study to prove that crazy people believe crazy things. I could have told them that for free. It's misleading to say it has existed since the 17th century. What was identified in the 17th century was the mental disorder that makes people believe they are making string with their skin, not some mysterious fiber-producing skin disease. There is even an established medical term for the most recognizable symptom. It is called the "matchbox sign" by doctors. This name arose because people with this particular mental disorder often show up to the doctor with a small container (such as a matchbox) filled with various small items they believe have mysteriously "grown" out of their skin. I know it's wrong to be amused by the mental diseases of others, who are genuinely suffering as a result of their delusions, but sometimes it's just too ludicrous not to at least crack a smile. Alien nanoprobes? Chemtrails? Cow prions? Genetically modified foods? Come on, you know you laughed at least a little when you read that.
Morgellions disease is caused by chemtrails. Ask any chemtard. They'll tell ya!
Have they done any checking to see if these people might have bed bugs in their homes? The drastic increase in bed bug infestations, the fact that they suck blood from the same areas as many of these people report the sores, and the fact that they leave a very itchy red spot could explain most of these symptoms.
It really sucks to have a condition that can't be identified. I have had back problems all my life. The military gave me fits about it. Now, at 61, I have been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. Now that I have a CPAP machine, my back pain from daily work, is gone in the morning, instead of being worse. OK, there wasn't anything wrong with my back other than it was not getting the rest it needed to recover from a day's work. Doctors don't necessarily have a clue about what the problem really is. In my case, they had no idea what to look for and insisted there was no physical problem.
Doctors are people too though, their training gives them the knowledge of what an illness 'could be' but it doesn't give them a crystal ball from which to divine there answers from. new illnesses will always be discovered through science, but such discoveries are always outpaced by people desperate for answers. In desperation people will latch onto what ever diagnosis fits their symptoms and insist that their right even after mountains of tests either show that their wrong or that the illness doesn't actually exist.
what this study shows is that Morgellons is not specific enough to be considered as a real illness, and that sufferers are not a product of Morgellons, it says nothing about the sufferors ill health other than"what ever the illness is, it's not likely to be Morgellons"
softdude: investigate Lyme disease. If the Public Health test is negative, don't count on that being correct - find a good Lyme doctor in the States.
UFOs. Unidentified Fiber Objects.
Aliens that are so advanced they can secretly infect us with nanotechnology, but yet stupid enough that their tech occasionally extrudes cotton fibers and bits of fluff from the surface of people's skin, which just happen to be indistinguishable from bits of thread and pocket lint.
Hmm.... something about that just doesn't add up. Can't quite put my finger on it...
i am one of the aliens responsible for implanting what you humans call 'nanatechnology'. it's time for inform the humans about this attempt to control your race. perhaps we can reach a compromise. as for the cotton fibers protruding from the implant site...wel...i guess we SCREWED up.
Ask the 'owning the weather by 2025' group if any of the materials they pump out of aircraft on a daily basis right over our heads could cause such symptoms. They make clouds over KC daily, which requires some type of fibrous material and a metallic salt to mix with water vapor to form a cloud. Whatever they use in this program, you can bet some of it makes it to ground level, and this program needs to be exposed and challenged. Not only could it be causing sickness on the ground, our nation's military, nor any other nations has the right to attempt to weaponize weather.
Really?? You are going to invoke the chemtrail conspiracy theory? Planes burn what is essentially kerosene. It is little different than diesel, or gasoline. We can only see it because the water produced during combustion condenses in the low temperature that high in the atmosphere.
Now it is terrible that these people are ill and clearly they have some kind of dermatological disorder but the demographics of the sufferers make it pretty unlikely that this is caused by a pathogen; viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic. More likely there is an environmental irritation or allergy or autoimmune mechanism that causes skin irritation and much of the rest of the symptoms are hysterical in nature.
Oh, now we're on the chemtrails conspiracy.
Baa baa baa baa baa.
You kooks and your ridiculous nonsense. The world would be so much more boring without kooks seeing conspiracies everyone and assigning evil purposes to mundane things. Thank you for ruining your credibility and self respect for my amusement.
Mister Earl, Alex G, and Andrew. Aren't you all blissful.
Richard: The problem with your idea (even what you claim is happening is happening) - this condition was first described in 17th century France. Thus, what you are claiming is happening cannot be the cause of this condition - since the condition existed PRIOR to technology that would been needed in order to carry out what you are claiming is going on.
It would seem simple enough to determine whether the fibers are originating from inside or outside the skin - cover the lesions with something non-fibrous, wait awhile, take the covers off. Fibers present? Inside. No fibers? Outside.
Obviously, Summer, the Chemtrail Conspiracy also involves time travel! Common sense...
Oh, oh!! I get it now :)
I was raised in an aviation family in the Wichita area. As a boy in the sixties, I spent a lot of time waving to the F-100 pilots on landing approach to McConnell AFB, and observing B-47s and B-52s at all altitudes. My grandfather was an aircraft machinist who introduced me to a love of aviation and talking with aircrews, both military and civilian. In short, all my life, I have kept current with everything going on in the industry. And frankly, as I approach my two hundred and twenty eighth season, I can safely say that I have forgotten more things about aviation than most folks will ever know. So here's the deal. I realize that all you folks who are trying to put words and implications into my original comment that were not there had to pull your heads out of several layers of strata to do so. More is the pity for you. Attempting to weaponize the weather is the major issue I have. The source material for my concerns is not the loonie toons 'chemtrail' sites, it is US air force publications which detail the program. The first was a 1991 article in Military Review titled: 'Weather as a force multiplier'. And the second is a 1994 air force sponsored research paper titled: 'Owning the weather by 2025'. Beyond that, I have spent eighteen years watching these aircraft with binoculars and telescope, and they certainly appear to be carrying out the advanced testing stages of this program. Now, having said all this, I will concede that, other than my own observations, I have no proof that they are doing this. But, sorry to rain on everyone's narcissism hour, none of you have any proof that they aren't. And since I certainly wouldn't want any of you good folks to get a stiff neck or a headache by tilting your heads upward and using the gray matter between your ears, I'll close by saying, 'nothing to see here. Move along. Move along'. Peace.
Richard - there is nothing wrong with your thoughts - I don't know if they are accurate or not (when it comes to weaponizing). I'm not informed on that. My only point to you is that Morgellon's has been around a lot longer than aircraft has been around. So, it really doesn't make any sense to think that your concerns have anything to do with this issue. Think about this - Morgellon's was first described in the 17th century in France. How could potential weaponizing today be responsible for a disease that has been around since the 1600s?
To address that point, summer, I agree that the Morgellons symptoms described today fit the 17th century affliction. My point is, that even though the study found no environmental cause for the symptoms, that does not mean there isn't one, then, or now. And if this aerial program is being conducted in the skies above us, then the possibility of ground level contamination is there. And allow me to apologize for being so caustic previously. It does not serve me well. And by the way, I had a run in with the Morgellons symptoms in 2007. I spend a lot of time outdoors, and have experienced pretty much every irritant that earth mother has to offer, but never anything like that. While I can't say there were any fibers associated with it, the eerie sense of something literally crawling under the skin and the unstoppable itch were most unnerving. And it did end up with open sores that took forever to heal. To this day, I do not know what caused it, but I do expect it's an environmental contaminant. And certainly this program wasn't around in the 17th century, but any number of potential environmental irritants were. I'm just offering up another possibility. I must say, though, and trust that you might agree, we do live in interesting times.
Richard: 1st: No need to apologize for being caustic - we all are at times, it's human nature (but, it does take someone with a level of maturity to admit they were and apologize - so I appreciate the apology from that stand point :) ). I understand what you are saying; I also agree that one study doesn't rule out or in anything definitively. As someone trained in science (and am in medicine), I understand that there is a need for much repeated studies in order to rule out or in anything.
This is just my thought on the subject of Morgellon's (and I'm certainly not trained in this particular area, so it's just a guess on my part). I think that it probably has connection to an underlying mental illness (whether it be an acute illness or a chronic illness), the sensations of "itchiness and crawling" is most likely a manifestation of what ever they are going through mentally (or emotionally). The itchiness and crawling sensations cause the person to scratch, often mostly likely they don't even realize they are scratching - and this introduces fibers from external sources (these fibers can become deeply imbedded, generating a greater inflammatory response - making the itching and crawling worse, introducing more fibers. Basically sets up a vicious cycle).
Keep in mind - as someone that is medically trained and someone with OCD - I view mental illness as a real illness. It's no less real than diabetes, an infection of some kind, heart disease, etc., etc. Often in mental illness there is actually a neurological basis for it - meaning it could be an issue with neurotransmitters, receptors, etc., etc. While I don't think it's an environmental, pathogen, or other obvious caused illness - I do think those that suffer from Morgellon's truly do have an illness. IMO, saying something is a mental illness is NOT a bad thing. It doesn't mean that the person suffering from the illness is weak, bad, etc., etc. It's no less a real illness than someone with diabetes. It just has a different cause (that, let's be honest, isn't well understood) and the signs and symptoms present differently than "physical" illnesses. And, who knows, maybe someday, an as yet undiscovered pathogen or environmental factor will be found to be causing this or contributing to this.
Regardless of what the cause is, I think those that suffer from Morgellon's need to be treated with respect and their symptoms deserve to be looked at and they deserve to have a physician try to help them alleviate the symptoms. To be honest, because it appears that there are mental health issues & physical symptoms - both of those need addressed. Treat the sores and try to help the person treat their underlying mental health issue. The mental health issues might range from depression to anxiety to any number of things. So, I think successful treatment of Morgellons, especially in those that have chronic mental health issues, would be very difficult.
IMO, it's really too bad that some people in society and even some physicians view mental health issues as something that is "all in their heads" and dismiss mental illness. This only does a great disservice to those with mental health issues. It only makes it harder for them to seek treatment, obtain treatment, and, ultimately, be healthier. Mental health does impact physical health - it impacts a persons compliance to treatment, it impacts a persons ability to heal from physical illnesses. I wish that we had a better understanding of mental health (what are the causes of various mental health issues, etc.) so that we could better treat people with mental health issues.
I would also agree that we live in interesting times. :)
Thank you Summer. I do appreciate your candidness on the subject, and I won't even say that we necessarily disagree on the pertinent points either. Since we don't know precisely what the cause has been throughout history of this affliction, psychological factors are as likely to be involved as are any other potentials. We just don't know. If you would be so kind, allow me a final point on my concerns as to my aerial observations. I am a student of history, with an emphasis on military history. This has resulted in the conundrum of feeling both a great deal of respect for, and yet, a well founded fear of the military. To address the latter, an example from world war two history might serve for proper context of modern times. During the manhattan project, several of the scientists involved expressed their concerns to the military head of the project, that a chain reaction nuclear explosion had the theoretical potential to ignite the atmosphere of the planet, destroying all life. Their concerns were brushed aside. The military mindset of tunnel vision, only wanted 'the bomb'. Fortunately for the 1945 human race, the scientists were wrong. But what is particularly frightening is the military's lack of concern for potential risks. Nothing about that mindset has changed today, and if this program is ongoing, it's architects worry little about public health risks from it. This is an interesting dialogue we have found Summer. You have my respect. Peace be yours.
Richard, the obsessive behavior you describe is typical in paranoid schizophrenics, so do not be concerned. The good news is, your delusions appear to have relatively limited consequences, so be grateful you are not harming yourself or others by your obsessive sky-watching. It could be worse, you could be convinced that God told you to murder children or something. Naturally you will not believe me, but I can assure you the "chemtrail" conspiracy is entirely imaginary and nothing more than a collective focus for otherwise unassociated delusional people like yourself. Morgellon's disease is a mental disorder, not a skin disorder, read the article again. Try not to do anything too crazy as you pursue your obsession, and I promise I'll do my best to laugh as little as I possibly can at you.
LOLed Sad !
Very well said. As I read further down-column I surely expect to see HAARP also mentioned as a contributing factor in Morgellions.
And of course, doctors blamed the woman's weight for her problems. So typical. It doesn't matter how unusual the disease, the prevailing medical opinion is, weight loss will somehow cure it.
that's an interesting consult, JCA M.D., i wasn't aware doctors were supposed to diagnose based on text.
of course I'm being sarcastic, there's no way any doctor would instantly dismiss a possible cause for illness simply because it might offend the patient.
James, I think you totally missed the point of JCA's comment. Try reading it again.
Totally agree with you JCA. I was sick for years. I gained 50 lbs in less then a year and I wasn't hardly eating. My blood work pointed to my liver and I had a great GP. He sent me to 7 different specialist within a 3 month time period. Everyone of them told me it was because I needed to lose weight. One even told me it was all in my head. My brain would have been really powerful to cause my blood workup to sky rocket. This went on for 3 years. I moved and my doctor referred me to the University hospital here. They sent me straight away for a ct and found that I had cancer in my kidney. I had gotten so bad by the time they found it, that I couldn't remember hardly anything. I couldn't even remember my birthday when asked. There are some really bad doctors out there that don't listen. If it's hard to find, they won't say " I don't know." It's not all doctors but seems the majority of specialist that I have seen. Now I will change doctors in a heartbeat if I feel they don't listen. Unfortunately for me, the really good doctors I found here have moved away so I have had to start over.
OK, This will throw a ratchet into the JCA-"M.D." theory of excess body weight & obesity as any reasonable idea to even entertain. I AM an M.D., and a PhD.D. in mathematical modeling in epidemiology --- Here's the best part ---> Last year from May 2010 to December 2010 I HAD suddenly contracted this incredibly aggressive and horrible skin syndrome. I am not and never have been overweight, etc etc etc. This syndrome came on acutely and very rapidly and within 30 days it managed to destroy my quality of life completely.
I must say, however, I did respect the pathogen (whatever it is). I mean, I had my colleagues in the pathology run blind/double-blind tests of various specimens which were incised from my scalp, legs, arms, wherever. Some of the sames I deliberately acquired from my sister (who wasn't suffering from it) just to assure myself of the validity of the lab results. Well, the results were relieving and simultaneously disturbing. They were accurate; all the fake non pathogenic samples were identifies through spectroscopy and other chem. analyses to be just that:--> Non Pathogenic (lint, dust etc).
The samples I submitted that I knew were abnormal tissue were sent through a battery of tests and the results were and are still disturbing. The tissue was hemorrhaging in the dermal layer (that's underneath the skin JCA) with organic compounds and pathogenic organism(s) sort of hybridized with inexplicable compounds such as silica shards (they break through the skin from inside out like cut glass). The fibers were really something that is actually very disturbing to me even now that this malady has moved on from me. First, you must realize, when you have morgellons (or whatever you prefer to call it) you spend time examining your body and these painful things growing out from it. The point is, even if you have them in your scalp, they are readily distinguishable from human hair as the shaft if these fibers is at least 1 perhaps 2 degrees magnitude thinner (I'm not looking up the numbers, but you get the point). This is unbelievable, but I actually realized this before the labs were submitted and even I (being a doctor) didn't mention this because it sounds too fantastic to be true but I was at least happy to see this exact test result appear on the pathologists report. What I will say next is shocking, frightening, and it's origins and life-cycle is not fully known by me. But here's what it was: Mycoplasma (mycobacterium) coexisting with candida albicans (yeast infection), aspergillus (a toxic mold (another fungus)) mixed in a gelatinous soup of mycoplasma that itself was riddled with pseudomonas. The inorganic fibers of silica (glass) were meshed through this potpourri like a matrix. The fibers were exposed to 500-deg C heat and didn't burn or die. And somehow, this stuff was causing the hemorrhaging and the other guys were living off the leaking vessels.
I moved to a new residence (not because I suspected anything environmental) and within two weeks I was clear of those "things" and haven't been bothered by them at all. So, what can we conclude here?-->1. Any doctor who has the self confidence to admit to a patient "I have no idea what that crap is" is a GOOD doctor. It's the ones who are lacking in self-confidence that know there's something there but don't know what it is so they cannot let anyone know that they "are puzzled and aren't sure about what it is" so they make the "pathetic" (and I mean it is disgraceful) choice of telling the patient there's nothing there,..see a psych. So it is a legitimate illness (probably best described as a syndrome---since mine just vanished as quickly as it came). It is not transmissible person-person, it seemed to be environmental in my case. And, most importantly, this thing (which, by the way is NOT the bacteria morgell-morganii) is a pretty potent cocktail of some potentially very dangerous pathogens (part. the mycoplasma and psuedomonas).
AND DO NOT EVEN GO THERE IF YOU'RE THINKING OF TELLING ME THE PHYSICIANS ARE UNAWARE OF ANY SUCH ILLNESS. THE FACT IS, ALL PHYSICIANS (MYSELF INCLUDED) WERE ADVISED (ORDERED) BY THE LOCAL HEALTH DEPT WHO WERE IN TURN ORDERED BY THE NIH THAT IF PATIENTS START SHOWING UP WITH THESE BIZARRE SYMPTOMS, TELL THEM IT'S IN THEIR MINDS)---that's the fact!
WHAT IS IT?--->I don't know, but there is a Russian Professor of microbiology at SUNY Stony Brook who definitely can tell you EXACTLY what it is ............ and you aren't gonna like it
A physician would probably know the difference between "incised" and excised.
Odd that the people in the study ALL turned out to have psychiatric problems rather than skin disease, when you seem to be convinced there is a real disease or "syndrome" out there.
If you are an MD, doesn't it concern you that (by your own report) you became obsessed with examining your body for these "growths" during your experience?
Despite your attempt to characterize it as a coverup, it is entirely possible that physicians would receive updates about current studies, including the one cited in the article which proves that "Morgellons" is a mental disorder, not a skin problem.
As if your post was not conspiracy-theory textbook enough, you end with a teaser: there's a lone scientist out there, not afraid of "the establishment," who knows the truth. If only we would listen to him we could stop this epidemic before it's too late. Am I close? How exactly is it that you don't know what it is, but you know that he knows what it is, and that's it's something nefarious? If he told you, then why do you still not know? If he didn't, how do you know he's right, or that his theory includes something we "aren't gonna like" in it? For all you know, his theory could be that tiny people are sneaking into our beds at night and sticking these fibers into us to suck out our blood. It's the attack of the tick-people!
Assuming your story is not mere urban legend style "I know this guy" fiction, read over the pathology reports again and ask yourself what would be the most likely diagnosis if a patient came to you with these labs. Maybe he scratched his skin compulsively and the sores caused by his scratching got infected and got inorganic trash in the "matrix" of scab/skin/pus/blood/etc. that an open sore naturally does. No doubt your Russian has a very complex theory, but maybe you just scratched yourself. Also interesting is that your problem cleared up when you moved. Moving generally accompanies other changes such as a new job, relationship, etc. Maybe when you moved you simultaneously resolved some issue that was causing you emotional distress?
I'm glad you got over your problem, but please don't impede the recovery of others who are still suffering from these delusions by telling them there is some mysterious pathogen making them grow string from their skin. As a doctor, surely you can appreciate the danger of giving credence to a self-destructive delusional ideation.
When I worked for a local health department (30+ years), I had people come in with delusional parasitosis. They frequently had skin sores from their scratching at their own skin. The scabs would contain some clothing fibers which undoubtedly got into the scab while it was oozing. In all the cases that I saw, the people were injuring their own skin by using cleansing agents and pesticides in an attempt to "kill" the imaginary parasites. In one home, the woman had put mothballs into every dresser drawer, under the bed, and in every closet. She claimed that the motes floating in sunlight were the parasites swarming. I got a headache from being in her home for less than 15 minutes from the mothball fumes. In almost every case the person was a middle aged to older female. Delusional parasitosis (aka Morgellons disease) is a psychosomatic illness caused by an abnormal response to dry skin, irritation, and aging.
Sorry, but the fibers are also under the skin and not always exposed. Obviously that lady was making herself sick and had issues, but that doesn't mean all people who have this are, and it doesn't mean that is the cause of all the cases. You didn't see them, and frankly you don't know if all the fibers got in there from being scratched open even when you were working. I wasn't there so I can't speak to those cases, but it doesn't mean these are the same cause, or that those people didn't start the downward slope with something legitimately going on.
I don't know what is causing all the cases, but it is seriously annoying when medical science says, "Oh, well since we don't have an answer right now it is obviously some mental illness". Okay, say we don't know, but don't dismiss people as not having something besides mental illness. It is a major flaw in traditional medicine and doesn't serve the patient or the doctor well.
I'm not saying disease doesn't have emotional components, and of course all diseases do, but if they have a sensation before the eruptions it is something to investigate and not just say they are delusional. Perhaps some of them, but not all...we just don't know yet.
Nothing is going to make a human being sprout cotton or acrylic or silk or nylon out of their skin. Period.
As for your under the skin theory, if you open a wound and shove a man made fiber under it and let it start to heal, lo and behold, it will be under the skin.
Dale - almost ALL people in the world have parasites. Study parasitology a little more in depth, please. While what you describe may be true (symptoms unrelated to parasite infestation) - parasites are far more pervasive than people think.
ram-762581,
I saw about a dozen people who came to the environmental health division of the health department. These people were quite distressed and convinced that the fibers were coming from within. I assessed whether there could have been either a chemical issue or arthropod issue. In some cases I also did a home assessment. In every case, the "fibers" when I examined them under microscope were just regular clothing fibers. There were none of the characteristics of bites. Other members of the family, living in the same building, were not affected. Once I had determined that there was nothing that could be done from an environmental health perspective, I referred the victims on (depending on jurisdiction, age, & financial status) to other agencies/departments.
Let me be clear, these people are delusional with regards to the cause of their illness. They genuinely perceive that they have fibers are under their skin. I did not observe any fibers emerging from intact skin. No objective study, that I am aware of, has ever found fibers under unbroken intact skin.
They've biopsied these fibers from the brains of dead morgellons patients. Come up with a "ooh they're just crazy" answer for that one Dale. These patients all have antibodies to actinobacteria used in gene trasnfer by biotech companies yet controls have no antibodies. That's right, double blind placebo controlled studies showing this yet the establishment looks the other way. Some people are definitely crazy, but when you have scientific evidence to the contrary and simply refuse to do your job by saying "oh they're crazy" that's pathetic. It's sad doctors get paid regardless of how useful they are.
The first thing I thought of was clothing fibers getting caught in drying wound discharge. This story was written very strangely. Like they wanted to lead us on about this amazing medical mystery involving actual fibers coming out of a person's body when it's obviously nothing more than bits of clothing particles getting caught in sores. How strange.
They already know the cause of the illness - mental disease. It is beyond obvious. The demographic data suggest such an at risk population it's not even funny. I know this frustrates people, but the sooner they accept it, the sooner they can benefit from treatment.
Psychiatric help HAS been shown to help patients who are receptive to the possibility. Most seem to reject the implication outright. They claim that just because there is 'no known cause' is not reason to suspect they are 'crazy'. They are not 'crazy', they are sick. Mental disorder is a perfectly acceptable, biological, disease that should be treated like any other.
That said, there should not be stigma attached to it being a mental disorder, or any mental disorder for that matter. Some of these Morgellons sufferers shriek and cry as soon as somebody suggests it is really a manifestation of mental disease, but the fibers are almost always cotton or other common clothing materials. Rarely, they are plastics (shopping bags, etc.) or other particulate matter, but the fibers are NOT biological. But, just because the fibers are not biological, does not mean the disorder isn't. It is - it is a biological, mental disorder. These people scratch, scrape, obsess over their skin and often cause these sores. Open sores attract fibers, really anything, that sticks to them. These scabs can heal and make it appear that fibers are 'growing' out from under the skin, even though their origin is external.
Some sufferers like to cite this one study that purportedly shows that the FBI took samples of these fibers and found that some were not in a national database of fibers, textiles, materials, whatever. Again, this does NOT mean they are not one or more of those things - all it means is that they are not in the database. This in no way supports any claims that they are bacterial, parasitic (definitely not, after this study), or otherworldly. It merely means they didn't match samples in their library. Unfortunately, materials are created by the thousands and more these days. That's what materials science and chemical engineering is all about. People create novel compounds, structures, and more every day. There is no way any database can keep up. Just because they are unidentified does not mean they are unnatural, pathogenic, or even uncommon. They very well could be common.
Just look at popular Morgellons information websites, support websites, etc. They often (not always), but very often, also include other total conspiracy theories. I see "chemtrail" theories (Laughable, in this case, as there IS scientific evidence to explain what they are, and that it is water vapor, plain and simple. You don't get sympathy, at least from me, when you reject reality unless you are schizophrenic or otherwise delusional - in this case, beyond delusions of parasites, which is their delusional subset, so long as they don't subscribe to other inane conspiracy theories). You see alien theories where patients claim they have been injected with alien technology that is being covered up by the government (I am not kidding, but it is sad, I am sympathetic to these people because they are obviously delusional - unfortunately they claim something (read: alien) is causing their problems, but it is not on scientists to disprove this. The burden of proof lies on those making the claims (they have none). This is clearly analogous to those who argue for the existence of 'god'. It's impossible to prove he does not exist, just like it is impossible for those who believe in god to disprove the idea that a Flying Spaghetti Monster isn't the true creator that watches over all of us (see FSM, flying spaghetti monster).
See "Russell's teapot" for a perfect explanation of this idea:
**These people have delusional parasitosis** (and often other mental disorders). These mental disorders CAN cause actual physical pain, CAN cause physical symptoms (scabs), and CAN cause other general health problems. These are often found in people with substance abuse, bad hygiene, and stress - characteristics of sufferers detailed by the CDC in their epidemiological study.
A growing, substantiated, theory of depression involves an intimate relationship between the brain and the immune system. In that case, the immune system is maladaptive and ends up causing inflammation and other biochemical cascades that result in neurological insults. These can be reversed by a variety of therapeutic, pharmacological, and technological interventions. The same ideas apply to delusional parasitosis. This is a disease that is first and foremost mental (especially if chronic), but could have been initiated by problematic immune symptoms, genetics, stress, depression, other mental disorders, or other endogenous systems gone awry.
Just read a quote from a sufferer in the MSNBC article.“I’m pretty sure they’ll say we’re all delusional,” said Jan Smith, 62, a Concord, N.H. woman who runs the website “Morgellons Exposed,”which details her 15-year battle with the perplexing disorder. Her theories include fears that Morgellons is caused by alien beings implanting nano-technology in humans. “There’s so much more to this than a medical condition,” Smith said. “There’s something being hidden.”
Here is a quote from her website: "Immediate help is needed now GREY GOO is here!" "Large diameter fiber optic-type wires as found in this Nano Communications Array". - comment attached to a colorful tangle of fibers. "Nanotechnology is disabling and killing human beings."
She quotes the grey goo: Grey goo (alternatively spelled gray goo) is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves,[1][2] a scenario known as ecophagy ("eating the environment")
The term grey goo was coined by nanotechnology pioneer Eric Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation,[4] stating that "we cannot afford certain types of accidents."
In 2004 he stated "I wish I had never used the term 'grey goo'."
-Source: Wikipedia
I would not be surprised if Drexler says that in part because of how ridiculous this sci-fi hypothetical is being used in conspiracies such as Jan Smith's.
Nano Communications Array? Seriously? This alone should tip the rest of us sane, non-delusional people off that these people have a mental disease and need help. Please, somebody ask her to describe what a "Nano Communications Array" is, how it works, how she was able to identify it as such on herself (or another?) and how actual scientists - educated, qualified, CDC scientists, and many of them, at that - studied 115 people with blood tests, urine tests, skin samples, biopsies, and more, and found that ALL of the samples were, quoted from the research, "nothing remarkable about the threads and fuzzballs patients reported emerging from lesions on their skin, which laboratory analysis showed were cotton or other fibers, possibly from clothing." Please, tell me how the CDC scientists were able to miss these Nano Communications Arrays when this amateur internet jockey finds this stuff all the time. Oh, but her "Morgellons Exposed" is "Telling The Truth You Were Never Supposed To Know". So that's it. The government, the CDC, and whoever else, doesn't want us, her, or anyone to know. For some reason.
No, there are not alien being implanting nano-technology in humans (I seriously doubt this wo
Excellent post, -Mike-
Thanks :)
Sorry the end of it got cut off. Guess there is an unspecified character limit or something. Maybe I can get the rest somehow... wasn't a big deal though, you all get the point.
I had it and thought I was infested with bugs, mites, or something. I was convinced for 8 months and spent thousands on extermination and new furniture. I was also being treated for a thyroid disorder at the time and my hormones were growing crazy. I'm convinced now that while I may have experienced dry skin itchy skin rash from hormones, my mind made it into something much worse. I also was "finding" and pulling things out of my skin. A biopsy found nothing and I was convinced that these "creatures" were intelligent beings and could hide from doctors. At the time, I would have cursed you out if you called me crazy but now I know it was a mental breakdown from hormones, obsession, and fear. I also convinced my husband he had it too. Our housekeeper thought we were nuts. Anyways, as I got my thyroid under control, I was mentally and physically able to let go of the obsession. When you think you're infested, it has an unbelievable hold on you 24/7. I thought I felt them crawling on my skin and I made it worse by pulling and scratching and trying different chemical solutions. I'm so lucky there aren't permanent physical scars. It was hell!
I hope this helps someone. There's nothing there!
It is also possible that getting your hormones in balance allowed your immune system to clear up a chronic infection.
Thanks Mike for your very factual and irrefutable posting. Of course, the delusional will continue to ignore facts as they prefer to live in a "hell" of their own imagining. We are living in complex times and many people respond to fear, anxiety and stress by develping manias, obsessions and other bizarre beliefs and practices (just look at the kooks who subscribe to wild, unsubstantiated political or economic conspiracies. Unfortunately, it is largely the poorly educated who become victims of such craziness. But maybe they will soon have the perfect cure: the end of the world as prophesied by the Mayans. Thats the ticket. The best therapy for all delusions.
Epidermodysplasia verruciformis - tree people disease, is a disease caused by a peculiar response to a HP virus. I would not be surprised if the same mechanism was at play here - a very odd, individual response to some fairly common virus.
check out:
rense.com morgellons
morgellons-research.org
P.S. dogs and cats can also be afflicted with Morgellons
small business owner - I am glad you've gotten help and are better. There is no shame in what you went through. I'm sorry you had to, but I am glad it is over. Take care and stay healthy, friend.
jjjhein - agreed. I think there were at least 3 end of the world dates last year that came and went, even. Can't wait for December 12th myself (or whatever other day these people will relieve themselves of their lives and let us get on with things). Darwinism at it's best.
Max - I'm also fascinated by that disease. It, on the other hand, is not accompanied by thoughts that you've been implanted with govevnmental seeds or the seeds of a dying paper company who wants to harvest you. Key difference. Despite much more severe skin symptoms in EV, those patients are mentally fine. Morgellons patients are not.
Check out Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. It's just as fascinating, possibly more unfortunate, and despite being medically understood, there is no treatment nor cure.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the rest of my post that got chopped off:
No, there are not alien being implanting nano-technology in humans (I seriously doubt this woman is versed AT ALL in nanotechnology). People stumble upon these words and apply what they don’t understand to something they refuse to understand.
There is nothing being hidden. There is no governmental cover up. No evil agenda. No vendetta against these people: “mostly white, middle-aged women, more than half of whom reported they were in poor health…about 70 percent of the victims also suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome and more than 60 percent reported ongoing bodily aches and pains. About 60 percent showed problems with cognitive functioning. About half had evidence of drugs in their system, including drugs to control pain, and nearly 80 percent reported exposure to solvent…About 40 percent had skin lesions or abrasions that appeared to be caused by self-inflicted rubbing or scraping”
Please, keep reading that until you realize these people are not healthy and are often not taking care of themselves properly. 70% with chronic fatigue syndrome?! It may as well be another symptom of 'Morgellons' at this point.
Really, what are these people arguing? Mind control by obsessive itching? And there is what to gain? Money by the Evil Soap Empire? It's against my better judgement to even entertain these possibilities, because, really, there is no logical reason.
We do not need a government institution to spend another 600,000 dollars (peanuts, admittedly), and more importantly, thousands upon thousands of hours (the actual issue), researching this disorder anymore.
The verdict is out. It is not parasitic. It is not mycobacterial. It is not contagious. It is not environmental.
What is left? Mental disease.
Plain facts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And No, Aster. I will not check out that website. You know why? It's bullshít.
Hear that? Bullshít.
I'll have a civil exchange about this topic, in an attempt to help others. But realize what you are bringing up, and how it is total nonsense. It has no place here, nor anywhere, besides the trash can.
"Rense's radio program and website, Rense.com, cover subjects such as 9/11 conspiracy theories,[2] UFO reporting, paranormal phenomena, Holocaust denial,[3] Zionism, tracking of new diseases and possible resultant pandemics, environmental concerns (see chemtrails), animal rights, possible evidence of advanced ancient technology, geopolitical developments and emergent energy technologies, complementary[disambiguation needed ] and alternative medicine among other subjects.
Rense's show has been accused of being among "conspiracy-oriented Internet radio shows that often feature antisemites and extremists" by the Anti-Defamation League.[4]"
You want me to read a Holocaust denier's rantings and ravings that chemtrails, Morgellons, and UFO's are conspiracies? Get your head on straight and educate yourself. Read. Science is peer-reviewed so that others can duplicate others' results and confirm their findings. His bullsh!t is just a bunch of made up quackery. Pseudoscience. Nothing more.
Get out of here.
P.S. Did you know that you can develop sores on your body purely do to a lack of sleep? Animals too. I'd explain - it's rather interesting - but you're obviously not interested in real science.
Thanks Mike.
I agree now these websites are BS and play into the fear and obsession and the need to explain our crawling, itching sensation. I also believe these people that run the sites really believe what they're putting out there and think they're doing good. But for me, the sites prolonged my anxiety and distrust of what doctors were telling me. I cannot explain the mental anguish of thinking you're infested by parasites 24/7. I hope these people can somehow let it go and get help. What helped me was someone writing the same thing I am now -- There's nothing there -- that finally snapped me out of it. As soon as I stopped scratching and obsessing, my skin cleared in like 2-3 weeks.
Mike, suit yourself.
If you were to contract this - a real disease - your tune would soon change.
Have you spoken to any veterinarians about this?
And there is also this site, by a German fellow who has researched Morgellons for years.
morgellons-research.org
I'm interested in the fact that you have so much to say, and with such vehemence, on this subject which, it would appear, is really of no personal concern to you in terms of your health.
small business owner and others:
We may be talking about conditions that have similar symptoms but are not Morgellons.
Speak with a good U.S. Lyme doctor and he/she will tell you that Morgellons occurs in some Lyme patients and is treated as a co-infection.
Anyone with a compromised immune system, as occurs in diseases such as Lyme and HIV, is susceptible; however, thankfully it is still uncommon.
I still say nanoparticles in the environment were the cause. Not many reports of Morgellons lately. Chemtrails guys changed formulation to approx 0.5 micron particle size. Same delivery mode( jet aircraft) and same purpose(Solar Radiation Management)
Refer to Ken Caldeira's Google Tech Talk seminar on" Geoengineering the climate."
And yes I do wear a tinfoil hat.
stuzi: Morgellons, while not given this name until 2002, was originally described in the 17th century in France.
What is really sad about this post is I am not sure if you are joking or not. Hopefully you are.
The cases I have seen, involved long-term commitments/addiction to opiates. Using when an addict, also makes many people crazy.
I am told that Morgellons is like the DTs for opiates, like where you see Pink Elephants with alcohol.
In any event, it symptomatic of a deeper problem--one that is often fatal: addiction.
There is no such thing as delusional parasitosis. You have parasites, and you always have. As do all plants and animals, for hundreds of millions of years.
Parasites are the most successful biological group there is. When they enter a host, their greatest defense is hiding their presence. One way is to produce anesthesia so you don't feel the damage.
Another is essentially mind control by influence over the host nervous system. The main messages are that you don't have parasites, that no one else has parasites, and that activities that cause further infection are good.
The evolutionary goal of parasites is to produce a multi species infestation, kill the host, and have the corpse spread the diseases.
They rarely achieve ultimate success but they spread themselves throughout the lifetime of the host and, as time goes on, they get closer and closer to their goal on a population level.
Modern medicine no longer believes in the germ model of disease. Their tests are primative and their theory and training sorely lacking. They themselves are filled with diseases from their work. Often they simply don't want to find organismic disease.
I once saw a stool sample with a six inch worm segment come back from the lab as "no parasites or ova". Some high school graduate just generating lab fees for the hospital.
Biologists have a better handle on the reality of the situation, but they don't practice medicine.
Though parasites are the only creatures that successfully predate on humans, this problem is very, very unlikely to be recognized much less solved.
Of course there are parasites and commensals in and on everybody, but that does not mean that delusional parasitosis is not a serious mental disorder. If there are symptoms being caused by real parasites, then it is not delusional. It only becomes delusional when the symptoms the person believes they are feeling are being caused by imaginary parasites. I don't think anybody said that parasites don't exist. All the article said is that there is no parasite growing polyester string out of your skin. Most of the organisms that live in and on our bodies are more or less harmless, and often actually beneficial (for example, you would die if you did not have bacteria living in your intestines). Our modern obsession with having everything be sterile and germ-free is an unnatural way to live, and may even be causing increases in some autoimmune diseases. We are no more clean or dirty than any other animal. If you're scraping your skin off to get the "bugs" out, be sure somebody else sees the bugs also. If you are the only one who can see them, they probably aren't there.
Please explain this statement. Are you suggesting that modern medicine denies the existence of microscopic pathogenic organisms? If so, you are completely incorrect. If you are making some sort of semantic argument or technical distinction, please clarify.
Morgellons, They are infected with particles of airborne things from the chemtrails.
No, they aren't. Read the article.
How about severe vitamin D deficiency? Or other vitamin deficiencies. I know someone, a 61-year-old, white middle class woman, who was experiencing ALL these symptoms -- minus any mention of fibers.
A couple regular family docs were not able to figure out what was going on despite multiple blood panels. An internal medicine doctor in a larger city ran a more intensive battery of tests and discovered dangerously low vitamin D. Now, with multiple supplements and some suggestions for diet changes for better vitamin D intake and absorption, she's getting better.
Why is this a mystery? The wounds appear self-inflicted and they're full of clothing fibers. So... these people pick their scabs and cloth fibers get stuck in there when the scabs harden again. Not rocket science.
If you use old liquid lotions and soaps, it could be bacteria. Use disposable paper towels to wash and dry skin. Any of these help? I have more ideas.
What a waste of time and money to conduct this study--there's not a scientist on the planet who didn't already know this "disease" is the product of mental illness. Must every group of wackos be coddled this way? How about using scarce resources to investigate real diseases?
Morgellons is interesting, isn't it? I believe they need to find better ways to help patients with severe anxiety. Often the depression component is recognized and treated, but the anxiety isn't, and it manifests physically. See "small business owner's" post above--these people need compassion, support, and better help than they're getting for the anxiety, because it's all-consuming when you're going through it. You can't usually find your way out of ongoing anxiety on your own. They need a holistic approach to their treatment (not just treatment for the skin symptoms and resulting depression but also medicinal treatment for anxiety and a supportive therapist who they can see for more than just a few sessions.)
I think the study isn't representative since it only uses Kaiser patients. Of course the incidence of this disease is going to be low among people with good incomes and decent medical care. Writing something off as 'delusional' is medical speak for 'we don't know the answer'. It's been used for PTSD, Gulf War Syndrome etc and is just the medical community saving face.
Anyway. I've noticed a lot of the victims of this disease seem to suffer from various forms of auto immune disorder, wonder if there might be a connection there. Maybe their bodies are reacting in hyper drive to bed bugs or something of that nature. Again a reason to widen the scope of those studied.
I know several people with auto immune problems that get places that look like that on their legs and arms. They don't have stuff growing out of it and don't feel like bugs are crawling on them that they have told me. One sees a specialist at the Hospital and the doctor will go in and clean it out because it tends to get infected. Maybe it's something similar and fiber from clothing or bandage's are getting in there. The people are thinking it's growing out of skin. I know this lesions are stomach turning at times with the oozing. I don't remember the name of it but one friend was given a diagnosis after a few years of dealing with it. It is associated with auto immune deficiencies. But I guess because she has good insurance, she gets a diagnosis.
*I meant to proofread before posting, uggg. I know many on here are with the grammar and spelling police!
Hey! "Woman loses arm to flesh-eating bacteria from 'bath salts'" links to that stupid Morgellons web site.
You guys might want to fix that.
I obviously have no idea what's causing this disease - but it's total bullcr*p that the medical field ALWAYS falls back on that old, tired saw, "it's all in your head" when they don't have any other answers. It must be so frustrating, not to mention demeaning, for the patients. Could SOME of these people have psychosomatic issues? Of course. But the article alleges that thousands of people throughout the world are suffering from the disorder - and those are the ones they know of. So ALL of these people are suffering from the same delusions?
Unfortunately, the people who do these studies are often the most egotistical - you gotta be, to sell yourself and your project to the funding agency. And those people are the least likely to admit that they don't understand something - so therefore, it's the patient's fault!
a diagnosis of "psychosomatic" doesn't mean you're crazy or delusional to any significant degree. it could be as simple as latching onto a disease that fits your symptoms and taking to seriously the things you observe, when that happens what would normally be only slightly odd, is now the smoking gun to your disease.
I just spend my summer and fall with two people who had all these symtoms. It turned out to be mold in their house. Missed by every doctor they went to.
Hear we go again, if they can't explain it the medical people come up with the usual"mental problem".
Search youtube for real nes on this issue. The media is corrupt.
youtube.com/watch?v=BQR5z_omnhg will show real news.
Yeah, you can't trust NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, or any of those amateur operations. For REAL news you gotta go to YouTube, where every idiot has his moment in the sun. Rule #1 in any internet debate: if your "source" is YouTube, you lose.
Last year, I suffered for several months with these symptoms and found it to be a combination of factors. First, I had picked up some bug bites on my arms and legs at a hotel in North Carolina. A tea tree oil and jojoba oil mixture cleared that up. The stinging and crawling sensation on my skin continued and I went for tests. It turned out that my body was extremely low on iron, and it gave the ongoing sensation of tiny bugs crawling on my skin and biting me. I started taking several times my daily allowance of iron to build up my blood count and the sensations we gone in less than a week.