The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today that it is launching a study to learn about an unexplained condition that causes people to feel as if they have foreign substances growing from their bodies.
People with the condition, referred to as Morgellons disease, say they have fibers and other inorganic material growing out of their skin.
“We earnestly want to learn more about this unexplained illness, which affects the lives of those who suffer from it,” said Dr. Michele Pearson, principal investigator leading the study for the CDC, in a press release. “Those who suffer have questions, and we want to help them.”
“We have a team of epidemiologists, laboratorians and pathologists to carry out the study,” Pearson said.
The study will be conducted in conjunction with Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Division of Research. For more information, CLICK HERE to visit the CDC’s Unexplained Dermopathy Web site.
In 2006, a number of Morgellons sufferers told ABC News in interviews that when they consulted doctors, they received diagnoses they called wrong or dismissive. Brandi Koch, the wife of former Major League Baseball player Billy Koch, said that she felt as if she were living in a horror movie, claiming she had colored fibers coming out of her skin.
Koch, of Clearwater Beach, Fla., said that her life was good until one day in the shower when she noticed something strange — tiny fibers running through her skin.
“The fibers look like hair, and they’re different colors,” Koch said.
Koch said she knows that what she experienced “sounds crazy,” but it’s true. “If I had a family member call me up and say, ‘I have this stuff,’ I’d say, ‘I’m sending a straitjacket over. You need some help,'” she said.
Anne Dill described a similar condition. Looking at Dill’s life in Florida, she seemed to be living the American dream — her three daughters excelled in sports and were straight-A students.
But life in the Dill household was far from idyllic. Anne’s 40-year-old husband, Tom, died in January 2006, and she believes his death was due to a contagious illness that has infected her entire family.
Dill described her family’s skin: “There’s this fibrous material. It’s in layers.” Dill said the skin on their hands was particularly bad, very swollen and itchy, and said it felt as if bugs were crawling underneath the skin.
Consulting Doctors
Dr. Greg Smith of Gainesville, Ga., has been a pediatrician for the past 30 years. He claimed that a fiber was coming out of his big toe, and he had video footage to prove it.
“It felt like somebody stuck a pin in my toe and wiggled it, and it just continued to hurt,” Smith told ABC News in 2006.
He said he never thought he had bugs. “I’ve certainly had those crawling sensations, and the fibers which come out of the skin are really bizarre, and really odd.”
Smith was handed over to a hospital psychiatrist when he went to the emergency room complaining of a fiber in his eye. He admits that he, too, would be skeptical if a patient came to him with the same story.
“I would wonder if they’d taken their medicine that day. It makes no sense. It’s totally bizarre. It’s something that — just telling the story is so outlandish on the face of it — that no one would believe it,” Smith said. Dill’s doctor told her to stop scratching, even though many of her sores were in places she could not reach.
Koch went to the Mayo Clinic, where doctors didn’t believe that the fibers she’d brought them had grown from her body.
“I saw the infectious disease doctor, and I showed him some samples that I had and he snickered,” she said. “I can’t go through another doctor blowing me off or looking at me like I’m crazy. I know I’m not.”
Dr. Vincent DeLeo, chief of dermatology at New York’s St. Lukes-Roosevelt Medical Center, weighed in on what he’d say to someone who came to him with this condition. “I don’t think this is any different than many patients I’ve seen who have excoriations and believe that there is something in their skin causing this,” he told ABC News in 2006.
DeLeo said the open lesions were most likely a result of scratching the skin.
Relying on Your Own Research
But biologist Mary Leitao refused to accept the medical skepticism surrounding Morgellons.
Leitao’s son, Drew, was just 2 years old when Leitao noticed an odd sore on his lip that would not heal.
“He very simply said ‘bugs,’ and he pointed to his lips,” said Leitao.
Leitao never expected to find herself at the center of a medical storm. But when her son complained about the strange sore, the biologist, who once ran the electron microscope at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, did what any scientist would do. She took a closer look.
“What I saw were bundles of fibers, *** of fibers,” Leitao says. “There was red and blue.” Even stranger, they glowed under ultraviolet light.
Armed with research, Leitao took her son to a doctor at one of the country’s leading hospitals. He dismissed her tale of fibers and wrote to her pediatrician, saying that her son needed Vaseline for his lips and that his mother needed a thorough psychiatric evaluation.
Undaunted, Leitao began poring through medical literature looking for clues. What she discovered was a 17th-century reference to a strange disease with “harsh hairs” called “Morgellons.”
She named the strange fibers Morgellons disease and put the information on a Web site, Morgellons.org. At the time of her interview in 2006, more than 4,500 people had contacted Leitao, claiming they had Morgellons-type symptoms. The name stuck, and the disease was featured on the television show “ER.”
But do these fibers grow from inside the body, as Morgellons patients believe, or do they come from the external environment — a kind of lint — as the medical skeptics say?
Searching for an Answer
Forensic scientist Ron Pogue at the Tulsa Police Crime Lab in Oklahoma checked a Morgellons sample against known fibers in the FBI’s national database. “No, no match at all. So this is some strange stuff,” Pogue said in 2006. He thought the skeptics were wrong. “This isn’t lint. This is not a commercial fiber. It’s not.”
The lab’s director, Mark Boese, said the fibers are “consistent with something that the body may be producing.” He added that, “These fibers cannot be manmade and do not come from a plant. This could be a byproduct of a biological organism.”
Dill said she looks at pictures of her family and finds them unrecognizable. “My kids have to see not only their dad but their mom disintegrating, and that’s gotta be really scary.”
While they wait for evidence that they hope will convince the medical community to take them seriously, some Morgellon’s sufferers wear pink bracelets that say, simply, “Fortitude.”
Pictures of Morgellons Disea
Pictures can be viewed at the following location: Morgellon’s Disease Pictures
Hope you enjoyed the story and pictures of Morgellons Disease
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I understand that this is real. Most medicine you can buy is meant to mask or stop symptoms, not to cure a cause – that coincidentally makes it more profitable, too. If I experienced anything like this, my first response would be to apply a poultice of plantain and cayenne. Plaintain grows everywhere, but be sure you know how to identify it. Broad leaf or narrow leaf both work. Take a few leaves and chew them slightly to “bruise” them. The saliva also helps to start breaking down the plant (as it does our food), which helps release the plant’s active properties. Then sprinkle some cayenne (on the leaf, on the part that will be next to the skin) and bandaid the cayenned-plantain over the sore. Try this process on one sore only, changing 2-3 times a day, for 4-5 days to see if it works. These two herbs have been known for centuries for drawing foreign objects and poisons out of the skin, and both are healing to the skin. The cayenne will sting an open wound, but it dissipates fairly soon. The bandaid shouldn’t allow much air in, as the poultice should remain damp. Remember, change it regularly, or it could mold in a few days. — About the BT Cotton, you know there are also GMO crops that create their own plastics? Check out Seeds of Destruction.
I too had the lessions and the fibers and the itching and the pimple like outbreaks. In an attemt to get rid of something else I found it also got rid of the lessions. I started to use epsom salts half a cup bentonite clay half a cup and baking soda three teaspoons in a bath and would soak for thirty min. It took a few weeks to get rid of the lessions but it did go away. I took three baths a week in the mixture.I had built a zapper from the book the cure for all diseases for my flus and colds I always got. I used the zapper for twenty min and I avoided all meds and smoking. that was hard. But nessassary. I found that when I used the zapper and the baths I found relief from the itching and the lessions went away. I break out about once a month depending on how much I am outside after the chem trails.
I was not bit by a brown recluse and I do live in florida. However there is alot of people who dont live in those areas who have morgellons also.
Now the book the cure for all diseases by Dr. hulda clark were I got the info on building the zapper I believe she got all her ideas from Royal Rife who cured cancers and bacteria and viruses with frequency from electricity. Which the zapper is based on also.
I dont know how it works all I know is it works for me. I believe in it only from the results I get. Three weeks ago I had a flu. Stopped up nose and cough with yellow thick phlem. I used the zapper for twenty min and so as I finished I was able to breathe through my nose and the cough became clear and more easy to bring up.
I forgot to mention that I also use baking soda and bentonite clay internally one teaspoon each in water on empty stomach once a day. I no longer have the rough scaly Skin. I had for years had callouses on my feet. No more. I also wanted to mention that I developed high blood sugar. 190. after years of 70 it was way high for me. I used black walnut hull tincture thirty drops in water on empty stomach once a day for seven days and once a week thereafter. now my blood sugar is only 111 daily two hours after meals and no medications for high blood sugar. Smiles.
Here is links on what I talked about.
http://www.unitedearth.com.au/rife.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/112980805/The_Cure_for_All_Diseases.rar
http://www.clarkzapper.net/ this is an easier way to build zapper than in her book.
http://www.curenaturalicancro.com/index.php
http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/epsom_salts.html
http://www.aboutclay.com/testimonials.htm
Hello SLOLadyBugged!,
Thank you for your encouraging comments.
Seeing the details of the sufferers, I am keen to contribute whatever little I can, to reduce the sufferings.I am still toying with the idea whether the organism behind is biting midges or a new form of body lice and the flies are just incidental.
All that I can confidently say at this point is that the little flies are there, the white eggs are there and the larvae stuck on to a morgellons fibers are there. Now that you say, you do not see any fiber in your case,I may think that in your case it may be another form of organism causing itching and lesion. After all, there no shortage of life forms on this planet.However, you might not have seen the fibre as the larve might have lost the fibre in its growing stage. As far as I know the fibres will be present only during the initial stage of the larvae and you could check for fiber as follows:
Collect the shedding from combing your hair into a clear polythene bag and observe the bag after folding into a sheet, against light using a magnifying glass.Check if you are able to locate small white/black eggs. If found, keep the bag as such for a day and observe it again after each day. Depending upon the ambient temperature, the eggs will take time to hatch. A hatched egg will show a long fiber near the empty shell ,with a larva stuck to the fiber.The larva will not be able to crawl farther on the plastic surface.
Assuming the organism involved in your case also is biting midges, you need not worry too much about removing them from the environment, as it is going to be an impossible task.You need only to take care of the body, as continued resistance will automatically deter the flies to look for other hosts/environment. I feel that by constant spraying of insecticides in our homes and surroundings, we managed to kill spiders, lizards and cockroahes,who were keeping guard of our homes against these intruding midges, and now if we try to kill enmass these little flies, we may probably be facing attacks from the bacterium level. So, only use tried and tested methods of natural insect repellents, which may take a little time to be effective, but surely will not interfere with the nature’s balancing mechanism.
Whatever chemicals you try on your body, do it in consultation with a Doctor.Even using salt water for long periods over the skin may have secondary effect on your body, so always do consult. Also to keep the flying midges at bay, you may use plastic window screens and approved mosquitoe repellents.
Awaiting your valuable feed back,
With regards,
Bharathyeju,
Site: Bharathyeju.blogspot.com
I have the pimply lesions, no fibers as under the microscope they appear to be collembola (springtails) although I had suspected culicoides – biting midges. I have changed my spa into a salt water bath – $5.00 for a bag of watersoftener salt -no additives -also in the tub and a sprayer in bed with me at night. Stops the itch and heals! I had lovely little holes in my feet – they are in my vehicles as well as the house – Each night I apply a mixture of sulphur and petroleum jelly (1/4 teaspoon sulpur to 4 ounces of vaseline) It is gross but they really emerge! I have been using sulphur (a natural antifungal) powder in the house and cars and soaked the carpets in the cars and washed the floors in the house with Home Defense by Ortho – it contains Bifenthrin – recommended in the literature – and am seeing a marked improvement. no more leisons, just some tiny blood blister-like bites. Salt baths (1/2 to 3/4 cup) with hydrogen peroxide (1/2 – 3/4 cup) really helps – makes the suckers really drop off! I also vaccum every night and sprinkle the rooms with sulphur –
Sure wish this was a mental problem – then I could just take a pill! My cats and dogs are bothered – one female cat and my old female dog really seem to have problems. I have doctored them off the dog and keep her outside. They prefer me to the cat so she loses hers each night! On me! I feel sooo bad for bringing these things to them – I befriended a lady whose apartment was infested – we were EXTREMELY careful – but they came anyway – and I was bitten at her place – stung is more like it! and the itching is when they are emerging! The stinging feels like an acid burn! It sounds like Bharathyeju is the only real scientist out there! The search for truth and new knowledge seems extremely challenged with this disorder!
Hello,
Apparantly, the condition is caused by a simple plant fly sharing its life cycle with humans.The young flies themselves are of very small size of the order of one fifth of a millimeter and hides itself from visibility often flying into dark back ground.
The eggs are laid on human skin hair during sleep and they look like small little white balls. If you collect the body sheddings from your itching area of the skin into a clear plythene bag and close the bag as sheet and observe against a bright light using an ordinary magnifying lens, you can see the white balls of eggs,larvae attached to a string of Morgellon fibre,creepy crawly adult larve,flies entrapped inside morgellon fibre cocoon and some young flies. You may not get all these stages at one go. If you get only white eggs, keep the bag safe for a day. Next day if you observe, the white egg against light, you will see them as black eggs, indicating mature larvae insde. However, if you see them agaist reflected light, the eggs will still look as white, indicating the shell of the egg is white. Now you wait for one more day, and if you observe the plastic bag against light, you will find a long thin fibre lying next to the egg, with a small larva attached to it at one end or somewhere along the length. Now the egg shell will look white through reflected or refracted light.
While further studies are being done,all that I want to confirm is that Morgellons is real and nothing delusional about it, and most likely, it is caused by a simple plant fly which responds to insecticides, insect repellents and IR radiations. The problem gets complicated for the simple reason that they are sitting in our body and makes it difficult to spray insecticides. For a detailed article on the subject refer http://bharathyeju.blogspot.com
For the time being, to reduce the irritations from this creature, the following may be done:
1. Be happy and maintain a positive attitude to life.
2. Use some natural insect repellent in the bathing water after consulting a herbalist.
3. Daily take sun bath during morning and evening for about fifteen minutes if you are not allergic to sun’s rays.
4. Use some mosquito repellents at night as these flies are also repelled with them.
5. Use some antifungal cream as recmmended by your doctor on the lesions.
6. Try not to get stuck to a single place for long hours.
These steps will considerably reduce the skin irritation due to these bugs.
With regards,
Bharathyeju
I hope that all of you will consider being tested for lyme disease as this can be a co infection to Lyme. Go to a Lyme literate Dr. so that you are getting the proper test done. There is a place in Scottsdale Arizona that treats Lyme and coinfections and I know they are currently treating one patient with Morgellons.
She is getting better. I am being treated there for Lyme myself with much sucess. It is called “Envita”
Good luck.
I do not have this. However I recomend all people start eating seeds that have vitamin b-17 in them, Amygdalin, Apricot seeds and apple seeds are very high in this. This helps your imune system. Also neem from the neem tree, it is an anti fungal. By chance the powers that be have made illegal Amygdalin, and are now making laws to make neem illegal.
I must of missed that Clover, my apologies
Good luck with the ivermectin, keep us updated with the results 🙂
Dear Haley..
Ivermectin was indeed brought up here because I brought it up..
Six replies back by Cloverdale nine rows down from the top..
Jan 19th I left a comment saying I had used this drug twice..
And that I was awaing the result.. I’ve since done another round..
For years I believed I was suffering with a difficult case of scabies..
Ivermectin is considered an unorthodox treatment for that condition..
But I thought I’d try it anyway..
When I finally bought a mini-microscope early in January..
I then saw for the first time in seven years..
What I was actually dealing with..
Or more to the point.. What I wasn’t..
Oh & I’ve never seen any actual movement in the lesions..
Took some Ivermectin again last night..
The doctor rewrote the script today..
So I’ll be going back to the drug store tomorrow for more..
Love that Ivermectin! I’m putting all my hopes on it..
But nothing’s happened yet to stop the current outbreak..
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