Written by: Pranil Prasai - 2022012, Grade X
Posted on: 12 January, 2021
Morgellons is the informal name of a self-diagnosed, scientifically unsubstantiated skin condition in which individuals have sores that they believe contain fibrous material. Morgellons disease is an uncommon, poorly understood condition characterized by small fibers or other particles emerging from skin sores. People with this condition often report feeling as if something were crawling on or stinging their skin. The sores are typically the result of compulsive scratching, and the fibers, when analyzed, are consistently found to have originated from clothing and other textiles. The condition was named in 2002 by Mary Leitao. She chose the name from a letter written by a mid-17th-century physician. Morgellons is poorly understood but the general medical consensus is that it is a form of delusional parasitosis in which individuals have some form of skin condition with sores that they believe contain fibers. Its presentation is very similar to delusional parasitosis, with the addition that people with the condition believe there are inanimate objects in their skin lesions. In 2001, according to Leitao, her then two-year-old son developed sores under his lip and began to complain of bugs. Leitao says she examined the sores with her son's toy microscope and discovered red, blue, black, and white fibers. She states that she took her son to see at least eight different doctors who were unable to find any disease, allergy, or anything unusual about her son's described symptoms. Leitao says that her son developed more sores, and more fibers continued to poke out of them. Some people who suspect they have Morgellons disease claim they've been ignored or dismissed as fakers. In contrast, some doctors say that people who report signs and symptoms of Morgellons disease typically resist other explanations for their condition. The signs and symptoms linked to Morgellons disease can be distressing.
Source:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgellons and https://www.mayoclinic.org/morgellons-disease/art
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