Morgellons Skin Disease or Morgellons is a mysterious skin disorder that was first described more than 300 years ago. The disease is characterized by multi-colored fiber-like (filamentous) strands extruding from the skin in conjunction with various dermatologic and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Some of these multi-colored fibers (filamentous) are of microscopic size, while others have the appearance of fibers and granules coming out of the skin that can be seen growing with the naked eye. The multi-colored fibers range in color: white, blue, black, red and are often regarded by the medical community as common house hold lint. In this respect, Morgellons disease resembles and may be confused with delusional parasitosis. The association with Lyme disease and the apparent response to antibacterial therapy suggest that Morgellons disease may be linked to an undefined infectious process. At the moment there is no agreed-upon physical cause, etiology, diagnostic criteria or proven treatment, further clinical and molecular research is needed to unlock the mystery of Morgellons disease. Morgellons disease is not yet known to be fatal.
As of February 2006, more than 2,000 reports of the disease have been reported on the Foundation's website. Reports come from all 50 U.S. states and 15 nations, including Canada, the UK, Australia and The Netherlands. The majority of reports have come from Texas, California and Florida. People with the skin disease often describe feelings of bugs or parasites scuttling beneath their skin and open lesions that heal slowly and which ooze out blue and white fibers, some as thick as spaghetti strands. Attempts to remove the fibers are said to elicit shooting pains radiating from the site.
