Mysterious Skin Disease continues to spread!

At first, they looked like tick bites. Then they grew itchy and painful and became open, weeping wounds.

The lesions spread across much of Tina Solovieff's body - her back, arms, legs and feet.

What happened next stunned and horrified her.

The 51-year-old El Cerrito, Calif., resident noticed strange, stringlike fibers emerging from the lesions - unlike anything she had seen, despite working for years as an intensive care nurse.

Hundreds of people in California, Florida, Texas and elsewhere tell similar stories of a mysterious skin condition they have dubbed Morgellons in honor of the first suspected case, described 400 years ago.

Is a new, unknown disease striking these regions? Or is it simply "delusional parasitosis," a condition in which people falsely believe they are infested by parasites?

Medical experts are divided. Most remain skeptical.

I've been seeing articles about this disease for the past 2 years at least
in various newspapers across the country.

The national media seems to be ignoring it of course.

Perhaps it has something to do with those imaginary chemtrails I
keep seeing overhead daily?
www.kansascity.com...


Here's an interesting new take on the disease worth considering.

www.chemtrailcentral.com...

It makes me itchy just thinking about it.

Here's the rest of the article, did'nt realize it was on a supscription
news site.

Posted on Fri, Mar. 18, 2005

Mysterious skin disease has some doctors doubting, others stumped

BY SANDY KLEFFMAN


WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - (KRT) - At first, they looked like tick bites. Then they grew itchy and painful and became open, weeping wounds.

The lesions spread across much of Tina Solovieff's body - her back, arms, legs and feet.

What happened next stunned and horrified her.

The 51-year-old El Cerrito, Calif., resident noticed strange, stringlike fibers emerging from the lesions - unlike anything she had seen, despite working for years as an intensive care nurse.

Hundreds of people in California, Florida, Texas and elsewhere tell similar stories of a mysterious skin condition they have dubbed Morgellons in honor of the first suspected case, described 400 years ago.

Is a new, unknown disease striking these regions? Or is it simply "delusional parasitosis," a condition in which people falsely believe they are infested by parasites?

Medical experts are divided. Most remain skeptical, if they have heard of Morgellons at all.

But Dr. Raphael Stricker, a San Francisco Lyme disease specialist, believes the condition is real.

"It's a very bizarre kind of symptom, and I think it's been trivialized in the past," Stricker said.

"But people are starting to pay more attention because there are more and more patients who seem to have it."

Today, more than 1,500 sufferers have registered with the Morgellons Research Foundation, including 400 from California. Hot spots in addition to the San Francisco Bay area include Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and the state of Florida. Registrants come from every state and 13 countries.

"There's a large proportion who are either nurses or teachers," noted Stricker. That only compounds the mystery.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote to a Florida senator last year that such unknown skin conditions have been "matters of concern" to the CDC for some time.

The agency examined 50 photos of lesions or objects and identified no parasites.

"We encourage the submission of specimens stored under proper conditions to either state or CDC laboratories for testing," Gerberding wrote.

To date, the CDC has received no such specimens from clinicians.

But Stricker noted the agency has not widely publicized how or to whom to send specimens.

"The CDC has no program to test Morgellons," he said. "They're being a little disingenuous."

Morgellons sufferers say they have difficulty finding any medical expert who will take them seriously.

San Ramon, Calif., resident Lien Kingsford, a 39-year-old document control coordinator, first noticed swelling and lesions on her foot after returning two years ago from a camping trip in Calistoga where she wore sandals.

Soon she had a crawling sensation under her skin. The lesions then spread to her face, neck, ears, arms and stomach. Doctors dismissed her.

"They would look at it with the naked eye and say stop scratching it," she said.

Hoping to rid her body of the mystery, Kingsford entered what she calls her compulsive phase.

"I got into this madness of cleaning, cleaning, cleaning," she said. Surviving on only a few hours of sleep each night, she vacuumed every room and used "every product known to mankind for sterilizing."

Solovieff, who became ill three years ago, has gone from doctor to doctor and been told repeatedly she is delusional. "You've got to stop picking at your skin," they said.

One reason the delusional parasitosis diagnosis comes so quickly is that Morgellons patients often meet the classic definition of the syndrome.

In medical school, doctors learn to watch for the "matchbox sign," when people bring in small boxes of dust, lint, scabs or hair to "prove" their parasite infestations.

Morgellons sufferers often bring in their fibers.

Dr. Dan Eisen, a UC Davis dermatologist who had not heard of Morgellons, said people frequently present things for him to examine.

"We'll look at it under the microscope, and we never find anything," he said. "Really, the patients function normally except for the fact that they have this one delusion."

Skeptics say the Morgellons fibers are most likely from materials that come in contact with the lesions.

But Stricker, who is treating six people with the condition, disagrees.

"It's really more than that because you can see them coming through the skin," he said.

Jenny Haverty, a clinical microbiologist at Marin General Hospital, also believes the condition is real. Her adult daughter began noticing the fibers emerging from various parts of her body in 2003, but she has never had lesions.

"It's just disgusting," Haverty said. "It's all over her shower and her bedding. It's pretty frightening.

"I've showed it to my co-workers, and they're all horrified," she added. "They're horrified that the medical community isn't open to this."

Haverty used a microscope to examine fibers from four people, each living in a different San Francisco area county. She discovered black, red, brown and clear fibers. Each person also had fibers that turned aqua blue under a fluorescent microscope. Many of the fibers had similar sizes and shapes.

There are several theories about possible causes. Sufferers often report biting and crawling sensations, but no one to date has discovered a parasite. Haverty placed a specimen in a culture solution, but no known fungus emerged.

Some speculate there might be an association with Lyme disease. Morgellons patients often test positive for Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme.

Stricker has noticed that antibiotics used to treat Lyme often help with Morgellons, but he doesn't know why.

Adding to the mystery, not every Morgellons patient tests positive for Lyme disease.

After conferring with the CDC, California health officials have decided to let others take the lead on investigating Morgellons at this time.

"Patients with such skin conditions would best benefit from a thorough clinical and laboratory evaluation by medical specialists, preferably at a university medical center," said state health department spokeswoman Lea Brooks.

Most people suffered in isolation until Mary Leitao formed the Morgellons Research Foundation several years ago.

Leitao, a biologist, grew concerned when her then-2-year-old son, Drew, developed the condition. Rushing to the Internet, she found others who had dealt with the lesions for years.

"They pretty much told me it has ruined their lives," she said.

Solovieff quit her job as an intensive care nurse in 1984. Seventeen years later, she noticed what appeared to be several small tick bites. She lived in a Berkeley, Calif., hills home at the time surrounded by a wooded area.

The bumps got bigger and deeper and spread throughout her body.

"I would go to bed and I would be itching so badly that it would literally keep me up at night," Solovieff said.

She began keeping voluminous records of the weird, multicolored fibers she plucked from her lesions. She taped them to bits of paper with the date and location where she found them.

That only increased the skepticism of doctors.

The disease began to consume Solovieff's life. She lost a relationship and was asked to leave a public pool until her sores healed.

"There's a real shame factor to this," she said.

Like many others, Solovieff has found the lesions come and go. This month, she has just one lesion on the back of her leg, but her body bears the scars of previous outbreaks.

For some, it all gets to be too much. Redwood City, Calif., resident Kathleena Ames, 52, recently spent several days in the psychiatric unit at Stanford Medical Center after her boyfriend rushed her there, telling them she was suicidal.

"I couldn't take it anymore," she said in a phone interview. She has had symptoms since 2000.

Kingsford found her way to cope after her brother almost died last November.

Sitting with her family in the hospital, she realized many people have bigger problems. She found comfort in a renewed religious faith and now hopes to help others who suffer from Morgellons.

"I'm hanging around waiting for some miracle drug to come out. If this is the way I have to spend the rest of my life, I'm OK with it. I still have lesions, but I refuse to let it consume my life."

---

Interesting....

About a decade ago, back when the "flesh-eating bacteria" bit was going around...we had some mysterious local cases here in FL. The weird part though, was the press blackout that happened one day. Build-up of the story, then the news pre-empted, no more stories or mention about it, not even in the paper... Was really eerie, and I'd only seen it once before, and that was in relation to the UFO CoverUp Live specials... Freaky when you witness coverup firsthand. I guess the good thing is that no further cases seemed to happen, and nothing ever came of it... I always wondered if it was some new WMD the government developed and then quickly quarantined and hushed up. Seems the most likely explanation...as the paranoia of it was almost at panic level here back then....

Maybe this one's origin is similar?

[edit on 25-3-2005 by Gazrok]

For some, it all gets to be too much. Redwood City, Calif., resident Kathleena Ames, 52, recently spent several days in the psychiatric unit at Stanford Medical Center after her boyfriend rushed her there, telling them she was suicidal.

I'm sorry, but I'd be suicidal also if I found one on my skin. Dermatology can be a guessing game - everyone's skin is unique. When I was a stressed-out child, I had to see a dermatologist for YEARS. He was brilliant, but he finally gave up.

He literally told me to experiment with household products...crisco...etc. I think he was hoping it was psychosomatic?

When I get stressed out, yes, I claw myself in my sleep. But should I find a parasite with my naked eye on my skin...I would definitely kill it by any means possible.

Those poor people. . . it must be quite embarassing.
Dot.

mod edit: fixed quote tags

[edit on 25-3-2005 by Spectre]

I dunno, I'll take 4 wild guesses, you tell me.

Guess #1 - Botflies? Their airtubes protured out thru the hosts skin, but the magnatude of what you described doesn't fit. Not indiginous to CA.

Guess #2 - Alpha particles? Like Thorium or Iridium exposure? But that wouldn't explain the things sticking out.

Guess #3 - Subcataneous gas gangreen? Naw. no way.

Guess #4. - Alien abduction experiment gone wrong?

Hmmm.
OK, it's gotta be #4, since UFOs hang out around there.

Man, I give up. You tell me.

Sounds like an X-files show? Wierd stuff.

Troy

There were at least two threads on ATS regarding this disease, both contain additional news sources interested parties might enjoy reading. Check 'em out if you want to know more. A search of the site should bring back numerous hits, at least two that I can remember in my short time here.

I don't buy the delusional parasitosis diagnosis, and I don't think they are related to aliens. The strands are protein based, very small, so small in fact I can't picture them serving any useful purpose as far as tracking or identification. Unless of course the aliens can shine a special light down on large areas and find those who have been infected by the glowing strands underneath their skin.

Far fetched to say the least. My bet would be a migrating parasite or bacterial evolution brought by gradual temperature change and exacerbated by a lack of immunity in the local, previously unexposed groups.

I find the nurses/teachers link interesting, but it could be a total coincidence seeing as the set is relatively small yet.

If this ends up infecting a million people, and 50% are teachers and nurses, then I think it's moved beyond the realm of pure coincidence. I really feel for those people, it must be incredibly irritating and frightening, not to mention disgusting.

What's most disturbing to me, is the reaction these people face from supposed medical professionals. There's nothing professional about many doctors, and their patients suffer for their incompetence and lack of compassion. Doctors are a part of a business, not nearly as concerned with the health and well being of their patients as they used to be. This is mostly due to the volume of business they do, and the attitudes of some people they treat. It's a complicated problem, and will require a solution - soon.

yuck....thats creepy, i read that second link of yours.....kinda freaked me out...

interesting though...

If this condition has been seen by medical professionsasl, and the cause isn't determined, there should be pictures out there.

Are there pictures? Sounds like a pretty standard parasite infection. Worms of some type by the description. Worm infections are just plain gross.

Isn't it a hoax made up to support another hoax, the chemtrail hoax ???

something like that happened back in the 1970's to 1980's around the Caribean area...

Quite Scary? ... I thought that type of disease was eradicated long time ago...Another come back!

That was probably Necrotizing Fasciitis, a well documented horrible infecrtion of Group A Strep bacteria switching to a much more agressive virulent state.

the hypothized Morgellons disease supposedly generates these multi-coloured fibres. Thusfar the only source of infection for Morgellons seems to be Morgellons.org wich gets quoted by a dozen paranormal sites and took liberty to make a connection with the chemtrail hoax.

Thusfar Morgellon is as much substantiated as the Gizah power plant, wich is cruel , because many people with lingering undiagnosed Lyme disease, might be jumping on the wrong bandwagon while they could be cured by other medicines/treatment in time!


[edit on 27-3-2005 by Silenus]

Wanted to give a bump to this thread, guess morgellons is running rampant in Texas now.

Patients say that's the worst symptom — strange fibers that pop out of your skin in different colors.

"He'd have attacks and fibers would come out of his hands and fingers, white, black and sometimes red. Very, very painful," said Lisa Wilson, whose son Travis had Morgellon's disease.

www.mysanantonio.com.../news/metro/stories/MYSA051106.morgellans.KENS.32030524.html

Shes says he "had" it. Not that they cured him, he tragically took his own life from the anguish, pain and financial burden of it all. I mean if i had these things coming out of me and nothing could be done about it....Scarily enuff, i might even think about such drastic measures. According to the article, most doctors WONT even acknowledge the parasitic disease even exists. Scary sad times we live in.

Those of you making jokes i.e, "alien abduction gone wrong" etc. If you could live one day in the shoes of someone with this affliction, if you could live in my shoes!

It has been 5 years - what should be some of the best years of my life, my kids lives - have been an absolute nightmare from which I want to awaken from so badly but can't!
Washing, scrubbing, cleaning, doctor visits, research, worrying, financial problems due to missing work, all of these are the things that consume my life now - my family's life!

I (we) have tried to rid ourselves of them, we've tried ignoring them, topical remedies, oral meds, homeopathic remedies, prescription drugs and the list goes on! I have even tried pet dewormers and pesticides ( on myself only!)

I am not a vendictive type person, I do not seek revenge or wish bad things on people because of my pain, but please DO NOT make such ridiculous insinuations regarding the legitimacy of this disease because when you do and people read your comments and hear your thoughts it lessens the possibilities of finding the answer to this! You help those that believe we are "delusional" continue to brush this off as "delusional parasitosis" and the like.

As I have said to many people and/or doctors, " If I were going to be delusional I sure would'nt waste my time imagining bugs on me! I would be the Queen of England or somebody with a much more interesting life!

To think that I might be "doing this to myself" is absurd as well! I liked what I looked like - I was actually very attractive, no beautiful! As this wears on my physical attractivness is rapidly disappearing. It is a task just to look halfway normal anymore!

My kids are growing up with this - my oldest boy is 16. He has had this for all of his puberty years. Although he has managed to have a normal social life he still has struggled with this and has to diligintly attend to his skin to avoid people from seeing these things or knowing something is "under his skin!"

So please if you are going to comment negatively on this subject - don't do it publicly. We don't need any negative attention only HELP.

kjv1966
5 year vet of this PITA!

kjv, this thread kinda died out, i tried to revive it but it got brought back up again in another thread. Why dont ya head over here www.abovetopsecret.com... and discuss your situation with the more scholarly ones of the thread.

Some of the members here are diligent like pitbulls in finding information out about stuff. They maybe able to help. Dunno if they can but its just a suggestion and worth a shot.

I suggest anyone that is interested in Morgellons disease should read the book titled, "Seeds of Deception - Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're eating." I did, and believe me it's scary. You should read about all the horrendous Frankenstein results of the GM processes and techniques. They routinely splice the genes/DNA of plants with animals and fungai, bacteria and viruses. Make up your own mind about this disease. I have. I would not be surprised to learn very soon that the disease is a result of Genetic Engineering. It certainly explain why most doctors in the USA won't deal with it. Most of them are heavily invested in the same GM bio-engineering companies. GM foods make up approximately 85% of all the foods that we eat today. I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT!!!!