Morgellons Disease: Skin Crawling Mystery may be Delusion

A Disease known as Morgellons, also called "Unexplained Dermopathy" has baffled dermatologists and specialists alike as to what causes the "skin crawling" feeling on its sufferers. 

Morgellons Disease has long since been a mystery to medical professionals. A $600,000 study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) began in 2008 to determine how common Morgellons is and what possible could cause it. 

Morgellons Disease symptoms include include abnormal skin sensation, sores and prominent fibers in the affected areas.

The study has recently made a breakthrough: the skin crawling sensation is probably just a delusion. To find this out, researchers conducted a study on 3.2 million and found 115 patients with symptoms that matched Morgellons.

Morgellons Disease Statistics

• Only 4 out of 100,000 patients had Morgellons, making it a rare disease.
• 77% of patients studied were white and female, with the average age of 52.
• Patients were given surveys and about a third of the patients submitted to physical and psychological testing.

Researchers from the CDC took hair, urine and blood samples from the 115 patients to find out if there could be an infectious disease caused by a bacteria, virus or fungi and found none. When the researchers tested the sores and legions on the skin, they concluded that they were self-inflicted from scratching or rubbing the most sensitive areas. Other findings included:

• Over half the patients rated their overall health from poor to fair
• 70% reported chronic fatigue or tiredness
• 59% had cognitive defects
• 50% were found to have traces of drugs in their hair follicles

Although the study suggests that Morgellons is a form of psychosis or what some psychologists may describe as "delusional parasitosis", the CDC released a statement, saying the study "confirms what anybody who has ever seen a patient with this knows, which is that these patients are suffering greatly and their suffering is real; they shouldn't be dismissed."

Patients of Morgellons Disease just want acknowledgment. Most refuse the idea of having a psychiatric disorder that is causing their painful and annoying sensations. 

Videos

Morgellons Disease is All In Your Mind Video

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sourced by Emily Sutherlin