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
BHARATHYEJU thanks for your reply..
Come the good weather here in the Northeast..
I’ll be making home-made pickles too..
Actually I do use apple cider vinegar in my food but not daily..
I will, from now on, make it a point to take 2 tbs a day straight..
Today I swallowed a ladle full of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar..
With no ill effects but had I consumed straight white vinegar I dunno..
Dabbed apple cider vinegar on the sore spots & it burns like crazy!
My diet consists of varied high acid liquids like squeezed citrus etc..
In 6 yrs I’ve never seen an insect just visible tracks on the skin..
I’ve thought it over for some time& believe it’s blood-born parasites..
I don’t discount any theory of insect involvement..
I was bitten by something in the tropics & this condition followed..
Whatever tiny faction was delivered into my bloodstream at that time..
Incubated for awhile & began it’s life process over in my system..
Other than having to deal with these persistent lesions..
I enjoy near perfect health..
My skin is scar-free once a lesion heals after 3-7 months..
I’ve checked the Internet quite extensively & came up with this..
Filariasis perhaps is to blame but what type of Microfilariae I dunno..
I was infected 6 months before I began a round of Ivermectin..
I suspect it may’ve slowed it down some..
My symptoms subsided for 18 months then returned with a vengeance..
I’ve had yearly outbreaks ever since..
Recently I did 3 rounds of Stromectol (Ivermectin)..
My condition is mild this month in comparison to last year this time..
But it will no doubt get worse again..
To reiterate, at first I thought it was a case of scabies..
Hence the continuous Lindane treatments..
Now having seen the fibers or filaments under the microscope..
I know it’s not that at all..
My 60x -100x scope is just not powerful enough but it serves..
Why won’t scientists here in American studying this give us a clue..
Surely they know something definitive by now..
Nothing I’ve applied topically will cure it..
Sulphur ointment discourages it & keeps it from spreading too rapidly..
Once it gets going though it’s hard to stop..
Back to the drawing board..
Cloverdale
Hello Cloverdale,
Thanks a lot for your reply. This was important for me to know, since if these insects ( you know I believe in the theory of insect’s nymph living under the skin ) were infact doing a scavenging work for the body, total removal of them may prove harmful.
Regarding vinegar, I meant consuming it internally. In this part of the world, we use edible quality white vinegar for making pickles. You can use any other edible quality vinegar which you are familiar with. If you have no acidity problem, try to take one table spoon of vinegar mixed with a glass of water, one in the morning and one in the evening after food. May be you use a straw to drink it so that your teeth does not come in contact with it. To start with, you can even try with only one teaspoon of it per day. Also since I am not a medical professional, I would advise you to get the opinion from your health consultant before trying it. It is my view that the insect need the fungi for its life cycle and vinegar should esily break it.
Here is an article which gives general advantages of intake of vinegar:
http://www.naturodoc.com/library/lifestyle/umeboshi_vinegar.htm
Try for two days and let me know if it helps you. Also it appears that Alfalfa has got antifungal properties, and I read from Net that it is also used by some people as cure, do you have any experience?
With regards,
Bharathyeju,
Site: http://bharathyeju.blogspot.com
Below (open) question posed March 20, 2009 by BHARATHYEJU..
He asks: “So, my open question to the readers here of this Forum is if there is any body here who enjoys perfect health with regard to the above disease conditions, and still suffering from the symptoms of Morgellns’. A positive answer to this question will be a great impetus for continuing this study further”..
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[email protected] says in reply…
My answer to you is YES! I DO ENJOY OTHERWISE PERFECT HEALTH!
Even in the face of this scourge that has afflicted me for 6 years..
Until I got my hand-held microscope in January I thought it was bugs..
Like on the order of scabies.. My symptoms seemed to suggest that..
However after seeing the threads which to me appear to be fungi..
I can now discontinue harried applications of Lindane & Permethrin..
I’ve even stopped ingesting Ivermectin.. I’ll try the vinegar wash..
Thank you for reminding me.. Sounds reasonable & it may neutralize it..
But there is no cure for Morgellons just a management protocol..
You gotta learn to live with it..
But first you must get it outta your head that it’s bugs..
Flying, biting, crawling, egg laying insects or what have you..
Morgellons is in a class by itself & more flora than fauna..
The pH of ones blood can be a factor so I suggest baking soda 2X aday..
Test your saliva over a weeks time at the same hour every day..
There are paper strips made for this purpose & get an average reading..
Which’ll be a good indication of you blood’s pH..
Too acid & you got problems anyhow so what’s the harm..
Perhaps one or two of the maladies people seem to be suffering..
May subside or correct itself but the Morgellons isn’t going away..
I’ve no credentials in this area of study.. I’m a layman..
And I’ve dealt with this daily to the point of distraction..
6+ years I have observed & spot-treated each lesion & I’ve had many..
They do heal but not until the contents inside the wound is removed..
That’d be the filaments & also the black specks..
Need I say more.. Keep the area clean & covered..
Use Mupirocin 2% ointment it helps remove the biofilm..
I’ve alot of advice but I still deal with my lesions everyday..
I’d like to hear from someone who thinks they’ve beaten it..
Oh & thanks to the person who suggested I buy a hand-held microscope..
(60x-100x)sold at Radio Shack for under $12..
It saved my sanity.. CLOVERDALE
I began having sores erupting on my skin with small black fibrous masses inside for about 6 years ago. About 2 yrs ago I started drinking kefir (probiotic drink, similar to yogurt, but with many more species of probiotics in it). The kefir apparently helps the immune system. The sores got smaller and many of them disappeared altogether. Then I reached a plateau with no more progress. A few months ago I began taking a product that helps my cells make glutathione. Under this regimen, I rejoice daily as I feel younger and all my physical problems are reducing dramatically. Understanding the importance of glutathione in the cells, which has been decrasing since you were 20 years old, you will understand how increasing the cellular production of glutathione will boost your health. See http://www.yourmaxgl.com for more info.
I KNOW THE ORIGIN OF MORGELLONS DISEASE!
This was a type of bio-warfare weapon from the early 1970’s and has been used directly to terrorize me as subject for a film shoot. They were sold on the internet as “dancing hairs”. These fibers can be remote-controlled in the body. See my microscope photos. Painful skin lesions can be eradicated with a vacuum cleaner.
http://www.moddonna.com
Hello,
How many of you have tried using vinegar as a possible cure. If you have not tried already, and if your stomach permits,try vinegar pickles with your food for a week and see if your condition improves.Do not use alcohol with vinegar.Any feedback in this connection will be helpful.
With regards,
Bharathyeju,
Site : http://bhatathyeju.blogspot.com
After more review it seems like the fibers I have are much thicker and possibly longer than others I’ve seen. (Never knew there was so many videos on youtube haha). Has me a little confounded. Oh well.
To add to that above, symptoms lasting about 6 years now. Past three years the severity of the hives has grown much MUCH less but the weird wirey things have gotten slightly worse (Just a little bit).
All you people sounding crazy with the bug voices in your ears and “not believing in the bug” and urine therapy need to stop.
You’re making us sound crazy… because you probably are in fact crazy and trying to jump on the bandwagon of a real problem. Go back to your UFOS please.
Itchy dots similar to flea bites but bigger, occasionally open but most the time closed. Location is on the tops of my left forearm and the middle of my right shin. Feeling of bugs under the skin and slightly painful. Scarring and skin damage definitely. Colored wires much thicker than my body or head (or pubic for that matter) hair. Mostly redish and purplish and some kind of yellowish. They look completely fake but they pop up under the skin and can be pulled out, often looking like they are going to end right under the surface but continuing to unravel to quite some length (its really weird looking to pull them out). They do appear much more vibrant under ultraviolet light (i tried it out). They look kinda cool to be honest. Haha. Morgellon artwork maybe? Id have to save up the wires for a long time lol.
Does it suck? Yes. Is it ruining my life… not really. It’s itchy… it hurts…its unsightly. But I have more things to worry about. I hope that its identified or cured soon. I really do. Until then I have more to worry about as my life is quite busy. Ive moved twice during this time and I have moderate sanitation habits (I mean I bleach my shower 2 times a month and wash my sheets every 2 weeks… vacuum every 4-5 days… that’s moderate right?) No pets. Pretty normal diet… I’ll buy rice and chicken from the market…get fast food once or twice a week… nothing weird. No prescriptions except an occasional vicodin for my neck. Theres my story. Good luck everyone who really has this problem.
Hello,
Hi Jhona, since you have a microscope, I urge you to have a look at how the eggs hatch.It should be easy to collect a few white eggs into a clear polythene bag and observe its development for few days till they hatch.Check if you are able to confirm the emergence of an early stage nymph with characteristic springtail attached to a fiber and all covered in slime. May be if you can feed a few drops of blood to it, the the nymph may start even growing. You may need to spray a few drops of water into the bag to maintain the moisture level.In the absence of moisture, the whole thing will dry up and look like a comet with a long tail (fiber) ending up in a white spot, which makes the hard part of the nymph. At this stage as confirmed by Morgellons Reaserch, the nymph does not have a sack over its body.
Another important fact about the eggs I forgot to mention, is that even the eggs doe not look like having a sack.It appears like a small dense speck of starch, but comes with a V-shaped fiber wing which makes it buoyant and allows it to soft land on the host’s body with out getting damaged by the shock of the elctrostatic force of attraction.
And to Cheryl m., I do not think you have a cause for worry, such allergies are quite common from food items like Shell fish, visit to a Park having some allergy vausing trees or plants and in some rare cases due to spider bytes. Keep consulting your doctor and you should be free of it soon.
With regards,
Bharathyeju,
Site: http://bharathyeju.blogspot.com