Morgellons Disease - Causes - Diagnosis - Symptoms - Treatment

Morgellons Disease was unknown to me, until today when I read a news report from the Associated Press (AP). The AP news report was getting attention by many media outlets. Whenever I see a disease I have not previously heard of, I check into the symptoms and history behind the disease.

What I found for Morgellons Disease was quite unusual. Morgellons Disease symptoms were described as erupting sores, the sensation of bugs crawling on you (also a complaint of Restless Legs Syndrome), with red and blue fibers coming from your skin. Disbelievers suggest the fibers are coming from the environment not related to any illness. People claiming to have Morgellons Disease also complain of symptoms which are indicative of arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and Lyme disease:

• joint pain
• fatigue
• brain fog

Yet there appears to be no concrete evidence that Morgellons is anymore than a mystery at best or delusional at worst. To date, there is no established criteria for the cause, diagnosis, or treatment of Morgellons Disease.

Update: July 2007 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• CDC: Unexplained Dermopathy (aka "Morgellons")

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received an increased number of inquiries regarding an unexplained skin condition which some refer to as “Morgellons.” Persons who suffer from this unexplained skin condition report a range of cutaneous (skin) symptoms including crawling, biting and stinging sensations; granules, threads, fibers, or black speck-like materials on or beneath the skin; and/or skin lesions (e.g., rashes or sores). In addition to skin manifestations, some sufferers also report fatigue, mental confusion, short term memory loss, joint pain, and changes in vision.

The cause of this condition is unknown, and the medical community has insufficient information to determine whether persons who identify themselves as having this condition have a common cause for their symptoms or share common risk factors.

To assist in learning more about this condition, CDC is conducting an epidemiologic investigation. To learn more about the investigation, please refer to the following link: CDC's Unexplained Dermopathy Investigation.

More Related Resources:

• Morgellons Watch
• Morgellons Disease from Wikipedia
• Morgellons Research Foundation
• CDC Probes Bizarre Morgellons Condition from washingtonpost.com
• Itching for Answers to a Mystery Condition from Time.com
• Morgellons disease: Managing a mysterious skin condition from Mayoclinic.com

_{Photo from Morgellons Watch}