Morgellons disease: Managing a mysterious skin condition
Morgellons disease is mysterious and controversial. Here you'll find answers to common questions about Morgellons disease — and suggestions for coping with it.
Morgellons disease is a mysterious skin disorder characterized by disfiguring sores and crawling sensations on and under the skin. Although Morgellons disease isn't widely recognized as a medical diagnosis, experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating reports of the condition.
If you suspect that you have Morgellons disease, you may have many questions about the condition. Here's what you need to know about Morgellons disease, including practical tips for managing your signs and symptoms.
What are the signs and symptoms of Morgellons disease?
The Morgellons Research Foundation lists six primary signs and symptoms of the condition:
* Skin lesions accompanied by intense itching
* Crawling sensations on and under the skin, often compared to insects moving, stinging or biting
* Fatigue significant enough to interfere with daily activity
* Inability to concentrate and difficulty with short-term memory
* Behavioral changes
* Fibers — which can be white, blue, green, red or black — in and on the lesions
These signs and symptoms might appear along with changes in vision, stomach pain or other gastrointestinal symptoms, and changes in skin texture and pigment.
Morgellons disease shares characteristics with various recognized conditions, including attention-deficit disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder and a mental illness involving false beliefs about infestation by parasites (delusional parasitosis).
How long has Morgellons disease been around?
In 1674, English physician and writer Sir Thomas Browne used the term "Morgellons disease" to describe "black hairs" emerging from childhood skin lesions. Today, the Morgellons Research Foundation doesn't claim that the disorder described by Browne is the same as Morgellons disease. Rather, the foundation adopted the term as a convenient label for a set of signs and symptoms.
How widespread is Morgellons disease?
Reports of Morgellons disease have been made in every state in the United States and 15 countries around the world. Most reported cases are clustered in Calfironia, Texas and Florida.
What do researchers know about Morgellons disease?
Beyond anecdotal reports, researchers know little about Morgellons disease. The Morgellons Research Foundation reports no known causes of Morgellons disease and no successful treatment for the condition. Whether Morgellons disease is contagious remains a mystery.
How controversial is Morgellons disease?
Current attitudes toward Morgellons disease fall into various categories:
* Some health professionals believe that Morgellons disease is a specific condition likely to be confirmed by future research.
* Some health professionals believe that signs and symptoms of Morgellons disease are caused by another condition, often mental illness.
* Other health professionals don't acknowledge Morgellons disease or are reserving judgment until more is known about the condition.
Some people who suspect Morgellons disease claim they've been ignored, criticized as delusional or dismissed as fakers. In contrast, some doctors say that people who report signs and symptoms of Morgellons disease typically resist other explanations for their condition.
How can you cope with the signs and symptoms of Morgellons disease?
The signs and symptoms linked to Morgellons disease can be distressing. Even though health professionals disagree about the nature of the condition, you deserve compassionate treatment. While research continues, take positive steps to manage your signs and symptoms.
* Establish a caring health care team. Find a doctor who acknowledges your concerns and does a thorough examination. Since Morgellons disease often requires frequent follow-up visits, a local health care team may be most convenient.
* Be patient. Your doctor will likely look for known conditions that point to evidence-based treatments before considering a diagnosis of Morgellons disease.
* Keep an open mind. Consider various causes for your signs and symptoms, and follow your doctor's recommendations for treatment — which may include long-term mental health therapy.
* Seek treatment for other conditions. Get treatment for anxiety, depression or any other condition that affects your thinking, moods or behavior.
* Keep track of the latest news about Morgellons disease. Supplement the information you find online with articles published in peer-reviewed medical journals. Remember that some sources are more reputable than are others.
To learn more about Morgellons disease or to report suspected cases of Morgellons disease, call the CDC Morgellons information and voice mail line at 404-718-1199.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Morgellons Disease: The First Victim to Become ‘Symptom-Free’ Shares Her Story of Triumph
This compassionate story is revealed for the first time by a victim who suffered with Morgellons disease for nearly 10 years.
[ClickPress, Fri Mar 02 2007] Connie M shares a story that surely all Morgellons sufferers can relate to. A story of her struggled for many years trying desperately to get help from the medical community for an insidious disease, only to be told that she has 'Delusions of Parasitosis' or DOP and that it is 'all in her head'.
Morgellons Disease is so new that it's not even recognized by the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) as a disease. They have promised to investigate Morgellons since June of last year, but has yet to begin their investigation.
Morgellons is a horrific disease where the victim feels as though there are animals crawling under their skin and biting them constantly. Lesions bearing strange multi-colored fibers form all over their bodies. These fibers appear to be “silica based”, while all life as we know it is “carbon based”. Furthermore, these fibers do not begin to burn until they reach 1700 degrees F, leading to all sorts of rumor and speculation about their origin. Sufferers also experience chronic fatigue and 'Brain Fog' so severe, that most victims not only spend 10 to 20 hours a day sleeping, but they also can't remember what they said 2 minutes ago. These symptoms are almost always accompanied by depression and hopelessness which is intensified by the tendency for the medical community to draw a conclusion without conducting adequate research, and has lead several sufferers to suicide.
Connie's heroic story is one of fortitude and commitment to finding an effective treatment before even knowing the name of this debilitating affliction. Through a friend who's involved in the distribution of a product that's used in third world countries to purify drinking water, they stumble upon an extremely effective treatment. Connie tells of the struggles, the pain and ultimately arriving at a point where she could say “I am now symptom-free!”
Morgellons disease is reported in every state in the United States, and in most other countries, predominantly the UK, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand along with many parts of Asia.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people in the US and millions around the world are infected by Morgellons.
The Medical Profession has already decided that it is 'all in the victims head' and Morgellons does not exist. This is precisely what the early AIDS patients experienced 25 years ago.
“If not for the Internet, I don't know where these people could go for support”, says Jeff Sohler, founder of MorgellonsHope.com, one of many websites dedicated to the disease. “I would say that Morgellons is the “First Internet Disease”, and that the Internet will not only provide a “support structure” for victims, but will also be the vehicle that “raises awareness” of Morgellons. This will help change the way the people, and more notably, the medical community perceives the disease, which is the first step to finding a cure.”
Connie's video can bee seen at www.MorgellonsHope.com.
MorgellonsHope.com is an on-line Community dedicated to supporting sufferers of Morgellons Disease. The site features Articles, Videos, Blogs, Galleries, a Forum, GeoMap, Research and much more.
Jeff Sohler
MorgellonsHope.com
Read the original article here
[ClickPress, Fri Mar 02 2007] Connie M shares a story that surely all Morgellons sufferers can relate to. A story of her struggled for many years trying desperately to get help from the medical community for an insidious disease, only to be told that she has 'Delusions of Parasitosis' or DOP and that it is 'all in her head'.
Morgellons Disease is so new that it's not even recognized by the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) as a disease. They have promised to investigate Morgellons since June of last year, but has yet to begin their investigation.
Morgellons is a horrific disease where the victim feels as though there are animals crawling under their skin and biting them constantly. Lesions bearing strange multi-colored fibers form all over their bodies. These fibers appear to be “silica based”, while all life as we know it is “carbon based”. Furthermore, these fibers do not begin to burn until they reach 1700 degrees F, leading to all sorts of rumor and speculation about their origin. Sufferers also experience chronic fatigue and 'Brain Fog' so severe, that most victims not only spend 10 to 20 hours a day sleeping, but they also can't remember what they said 2 minutes ago. These symptoms are almost always accompanied by depression and hopelessness which is intensified by the tendency for the medical community to draw a conclusion without conducting adequate research, and has lead several sufferers to suicide.
Connie's heroic story is one of fortitude and commitment to finding an effective treatment before even knowing the name of this debilitating affliction. Through a friend who's involved in the distribution of a product that's used in third world countries to purify drinking water, they stumble upon an extremely effective treatment. Connie tells of the struggles, the pain and ultimately arriving at a point where she could say “I am now symptom-free!”
Morgellons disease is reported in every state in the United States, and in most other countries, predominantly the UK, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand along with many parts of Asia.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people in the US and millions around the world are infected by Morgellons.
The Medical Profession has already decided that it is 'all in the victims head' and Morgellons does not exist. This is precisely what the early AIDS patients experienced 25 years ago.
“If not for the Internet, I don't know where these people could go for support”, says Jeff Sohler, founder of MorgellonsHope.com, one of many websites dedicated to the disease. “I would say that Morgellons is the “First Internet Disease”, and that the Internet will not only provide a “support structure” for victims, but will also be the vehicle that “raises awareness” of Morgellons. This will help change the way the people, and more notably, the medical community perceives the disease, which is the first step to finding a cure.”
Connie's video can bee seen at www.MorgellonsHope.com.
MorgellonsHope.com is an on-line Community dedicated to supporting sufferers of Morgellons Disease. The site features Articles, Videos, Blogs, Galleries, a Forum, GeoMap, Research and much more.
Jeff Sohler
MorgellonsHope.com
Read the original article here
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Morgellons: Medical Mystery Revisited
Morgellons: Medical Mystery Revisited
There's nothing out of the ordinary when you first meet the Houchins family. But then, ordinary really is only skin deep
Roy Houchins started noticing changes in his body about 3 years ago...
"You try to sleep at night, you can't sleep,” he said. “The inside of your ears, your eyes, there's biting and stinging as well. You look for things and you can't find anything."
He dropped 40 pounds in just two months. He stopped sleeping, his vision began to blur and even more bizarre, he says he felt bugs crawling under his skin.
"I actually had a piece of a bug that came out of my foot,” he said.
Read the rest of the article here
There's nothing out of the ordinary when you first meet the Houchins family. But then, ordinary really is only skin deep
Roy Houchins started noticing changes in his body about 3 years ago...
"You try to sleep at night, you can't sleep,” he said. “The inside of your ears, your eyes, there's biting and stinging as well. You look for things and you can't find anything."
He dropped 40 pounds in just two months. He stopped sleeping, his vision began to blur and even more bizarre, he says he felt bugs crawling under his skin.
"I actually had a piece of a bug that came out of my foot,” he said.
Read the rest of the article here
Monday, February 5, 2007
Morgellons Disease - Skin Care Article
Causes of Eczema on Hands and Effective Treatment
By Dane Bergen
One of the most annoying forms of eczema is atopic eczema on hands. In this area it can get very irritating indeed. With the constant use of the hands, and their easy reaching access, the itching can become unbearable, and scratching the itch can become a habit which leads to a very severe rash in some people, and often times spreads up the forearms of the person affected.
Eczema on hands is one of the most common places to have breakouts of eczema. This is because the hands are a very dry area of skin on the body. Other area’s include the elbows, knee’s, ears and face. These are also some of the most visible area’s that other people will notice which is why eczema is such a troubling disease and can lead to lowered self esteem and lack of confidence which is at times a far worse side effect than the eczema itself, because even when the eczema is cured, this lower self esteem and lack of confidence can stick around for years, and even a lifetime, which is why it should be treated the best way possible as soon as possible.
Discovering that you have eczema on hands is often one of the first signs of the onset of a worse eczema epidemic, so if you have itchy hands, and suspect that it could be eczema on hands, go and see your doctor straight away to get the correct tests done to have it properly diagnosed so treatment can start before the problem gets worse, because eczema on hands has a tendency to get worse quite quickly without proper attendance and treatment.
The treatment of eczema usually begins with professional doctors treatment. Commonly the patient goes to visit a dermatologist (skin specialist) and some tests are run to determine the type of eczema and the severity and from this point a plan of attack can be made to target the eczema to try and relieve the discomfort and possibly get rid of it completely. If this does not work, or not with the effectiveness that the patient envisioned, they generally turn to other methods, such as holistic treatment, natural treatment or home remedies which many only provide a placebo effect, however some have been shown to provide significant relief.
If you see eczema on hands of someone you know or if you have it yourself, go and visit a doctor and take the required steps for treatment before the problem escalates. This is a very important point – do it as soon as possible as urgency is the key to effective treatment.
By Dane Bergen
One of the most annoying forms of eczema is atopic eczema on hands. In this area it can get very irritating indeed. With the constant use of the hands, and their easy reaching access, the itching can become unbearable, and scratching the itch can become a habit which leads to a very severe rash in some people, and often times spreads up the forearms of the person affected.
Eczema on hands is one of the most common places to have breakouts of eczema. This is because the hands are a very dry area of skin on the body. Other area’s include the elbows, knee’s, ears and face. These are also some of the most visible area’s that other people will notice which is why eczema is such a troubling disease and can lead to lowered self esteem and lack of confidence which is at times a far worse side effect than the eczema itself, because even when the eczema is cured, this lower self esteem and lack of confidence can stick around for years, and even a lifetime, which is why it should be treated the best way possible as soon as possible.
Discovering that you have eczema on hands is often one of the first signs of the onset of a worse eczema epidemic, so if you have itchy hands, and suspect that it could be eczema on hands, go and see your doctor straight away to get the correct tests done to have it properly diagnosed so treatment can start before the problem gets worse, because eczema on hands has a tendency to get worse quite quickly without proper attendance and treatment.
The treatment of eczema usually begins with professional doctors treatment. Commonly the patient goes to visit a dermatologist (skin specialist) and some tests are run to determine the type of eczema and the severity and from this point a plan of attack can be made to target the eczema to try and relieve the discomfort and possibly get rid of it completely. If this does not work, or not with the effectiveness that the patient envisioned, they generally turn to other methods, such as holistic treatment, natural treatment or home remedies which many only provide a placebo effect, however some have been shown to provide significant relief.
If you see eczema on hands of someone you know or if you have it yourself, go and visit a doctor and take the required steps for treatment before the problem escalates. This is a very important point – do it as soon as possible as urgency is the key to effective treatment.
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