Morgellon’s disease is a very rare and mysterious skin condition that has been reported recently in the US and a number of other countries. It is characterized by itchy, painful skin lesions and a creepy-crawly sensation of fibers growing from inside the skin. Patients commonly complain of a feeling that insects are crawling under their skin and are stinging or biting them. Other symptoms include fatigue, memory loss, visual impairment, and difficulty concentrating. Due to some of these strange symptoms, many patients purported to be victims of this disease have been incorrectly diagnosed as having a psychiatric disorder. Cases of Morgellon’s disease have been reported in all 50 states of the US (mostly in Texas and Florida), Canada, Australia, and the UK.
At present, most physicians and dermatologists within the medical community hold the view that Morgellon’s disease is not a new disease but is simply a new name for known medical conditions. In some cases these are known skin disorders like scabies, allergic dermatitis, and contact dermatitis. Nevertheless, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has bowed to pressure from the Morgellon Research Foundation and a growing number of claimed Morgellon patients and are currently investigating the condition further. The CDC refers to this condition as Unexplained Dermopathy. Present research is inconclusive and the CDC states that it is unknown as to whether this is a new condition or whether individuals claiming to have Morgellons have some shared basis for the symptoms they display. While it is not known whether the condition is contagious, studies have shown that the disease is more likely to impact members of the same family.
Treatment
Because so little is know regarding this disease, there is no conclusive cure or course of treatment. Some dermatologists regard Morgellons as a delusional condition and prescribe anti-psychotic drugs like Pimozide, which also helps reduce the itching sensation that patients experience. Other physicians may prescribe antibiotics and anti-parasitic medications. Patients convinced that they have Morgellon’s often reject that their condition is delusional and look for alternative means of treatment on websites and discussion groups. As with any disease, however, the best form of treatment is simply to contact a qualified physician who understands the symptoms and follow his or her instructions.
Morgellons is characterised by and most known for its strange skin symptoms. People who believe they have the syndrome claim to experience a feeling of creeping, itching or crawling below their skin. They also report skin lesions, ranging from small spots to disfiguring marks, from which fibers emerge. These fibers are usually white or clear, but have also been reported in blue, black and red. Some people report finding what they call “fuzz balls” – small masses of fibers – underneath or inside their lesions. There have been some reports of people finding small, hard lumps of material underneath their skin, resembling grains of sand. No one is sure what these fibers or pebble-like objects are made of.