Sufferers of
Morgellons disease complain of invisible parasites biting their skin. And they get skin lesions from which sprout strange fibers. And mysterious black spore-like specks appear on their skin. Cases of this strange disease
seem to be spreading, especially in the Bay area. One theory is that it has something to do with Lyme disease. Or it may be a case of mass delusion. The medical community
seems to think it's mass delusion. Most people who show up complaining of these symptoms get diagnosed with 'delusional parasitosis', which is a psychological problem in which people imagine that they're infested by parasites. Not having any medical qualifications at all, I won't weigh in on whether this is a real disease or mass delusion, but some of the behavior of the patients does sound suspiciously bizarre. Take the case of Theresa Blodgett:
She gathers up the black specks, the mysterious fibers and the small, fuzzy 'cocoons' she finds on her skin and around her home. She tapes the macabre samples to typing paper, but she said no doctor will analyze the collection. Physicians who glance at the specimens dismiss the lot as stray hairs, clothing fibers, scabs and other common household debris, she said.
So either she really is suffering from something and is desperately but unsuccessfully trying to get doctors to pay attention to her, or she's obsessively collecting house dust and stray flecks of dirt and convincing herself that these things are parasites attacking her. (Thanks to 'K' for the links)
Comments
I submitted five or six dozen of these particles to a prominent dermatologist (Joaquin Brieva) in Chicago, but after a brief look with a pocket magnifying glass, he dismissed them as dirt. Compare the shape of those particles with this image of a tropical rat mite: http://goo.gl/GV9Y8.
I submit that a bug that is 0.3mm long that doesn't want to be removed from the host, clings hard causing the investigator to shear their appendages off in the removal process. They can hang onto the surface of a bathtub very effectively. That's why patients are always submitting 'dirt particles' as evidence of a mite infestation.
Just ordered a more powerful microscope, hoping to be able to zoom in close enough to show the exoskeleton surface or image a nymph (which start out about the size of a pinpoint), thereby possibly dispelling the dirt particle answer more definitively.
Anyone know someone that has been treated (and gotten rid of them)? As a population, they're really tough to stop.
If you've already come up empty trying to get doctors to help you, you can try Eurax, which you can purchase over the counter on Amazon.co.uk (MedsChemist has the best prices). It will take at least two weeks to arrive. If you have a very hardy species (like Tropical Rat Mites), Eurax will help in a small way but will ultimately fail. You can also try Pyrethrin (buy Riptide and dilute it by two parts water to one part Riptide). It won't hurt you, but it may slow the bugs down. If you don't have any open lesions on your skin, you can try submerging yourself in saturated saline (about three pounds of salt per gallon of water).
Saturated saline is a nuclear weapon against skin parasites, but it will not affect any latent egg supply, so you'll probably have to take a dip a couple of times per day lasting anywhere from 70 minutes to twelve hours (depending on the hatch rate).
If you have the slightest cut, the salt will burn and make any small wound bigger (thereby exposing a larger section of skin to salt in future sessions). The answer to that is pain meds. If you don't mind the risk of morphine addiction, get a prescription for Vicodin or similar. If not, 600mg of gabapentin will take the edge off the salt burn after the first fifteen or twenty minutes. Although, in that initial period, gabapentin is helping, you'll still be quite uncomfortable; grit your teeth and have faith, it will pass.
FYI, it takes at least an hour for the gabapentin to get into your system, so you'll need to reserve an hour or two after first taking it before exposing your wounds to salt. It's best if you have a filter to keep the surface of the water from becoming a bug graveyard - you want to be able to monitor your progress, so you are only seeing freshly killed bugs on the surface, not dead bugs from previous sessions. That means your time in the salt will be occupied by sucking surface matter into the filter. If you can afford one, attach a skimmer to the filter intake and watch it work, otherwise you'll spend your time doing the skimmer's job by hand.
It may take several weeks to overcome any latent egg supply. You will not be able to work or have much of a life while you're engaged in this battle. Take great care not to cut yourself or otherwise damage the skin surface. If you do, you can try sealing cuts with nail polish, but you'll have to reapply it over and over because water degrades nail polish on skin very rapidly.
Good luck
when about 29(2 yrs ago)i developed a sore on my neck that grows strange white hairs and some black wire like hairs(they grow back daily)have removed some redstrand like hairs when trying to remove the problem. since i had some ingrown hairs in the past i thought nothing of it till the red strand now i just get clear or white thin hair like strands and just got a new bump developing on my scalp always prickly little black hairs and a few white or translucent hairs coming out I would never tell a doctor this and have been seeking what help i can but no insurance i do think there are some crazies jumping on the train butt there are some real strange documented cases along with the article and video about the one lady who's doctor had the FBI lab test her hair out of a wound and could not identify it as hair or any known fabric that has been tested I dont want attention lol i dont tell any one about it i am ashamed i act like its a acne problem and very embarrassed of my skin but starting to believe in this disease I remember when CWD came out(chronic wasting disease)that was affecting deer and some one joking that it came from insurance companies trying to kill off the population to save on claims well possibly lymes came from there to just a thought about these new diseases and it may have just went wrong(also there is a old book speaking about same symptoms of morgs)(can find the links to the vidd about the testing and the book one of the first medical books written still in existence)I have a lot of symptoms ppl are claiming like memory loss, fatigue, itchy all the time even before when i thought i just had foliculitus and now soars that would not heal But the scary part is i see it starting to affect my Girl of 7 yrs and worry for our kid. very strange that these same symptoms where described so long ago and that the AMA denies it and pushes the DP agenda wich some may have but not all there is also a video with the head of the AMA speaking about this and with facts slapped on the table and he is very strange in his answers and cant debate the issue with logic just pushes the agenda really think about it what do psychologist really do but judge ppl and talk if you have enough money to spend to cry to some one maybe your just a baby and if you think you can analyze or dose some one with chemical to get better its normal to be depressed, pissed off, and stand for your own beliefs its not normal to bend over and do what some one else tells you is best(for who them or the ppl in control of a nut job industry)maybe kids could get some help if they have been abused but dont think that any way being a drugged out zombie to get over your issues will help just deal with it and dont forget about all the crap our gov. here in the USA has done to people in the name of medical studies(lets see giving ppl ghonarea,sifilice ect that many died from not knowing any of what was goingon (also LSD xperiments)