Re: Entomology publication on people who feel invisible bugs

[Guest guest]

PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE by Dr. Hinkle, Entomologist at Univ. of GA: http://www.ent.uga.edu/pubs/hinkle-EkbomSyndrome.pdf

K, Henry. Read it.

What a bunch of double-speak malarkey. One example below. They note environmental causation and then attribute the symptoms to psychological. Who wrote this? Lees-Haley?

Physical CausationsPhysical causes of pruritus include actual arthropods and other factors as discussed byBlum (12), especially environmental particulate matter (99). Some DP cases may be precipitated by actual physical causes such as insulation causing dermal irritation or static electricity attracting fibers or fragments that feel like stings (12, 65, 86, 99, 101, 113). Various allergens and environmental materials such as formaldehyde can produce dermatitis (15). Numerous components of sick building syndrome have been associated with symptoms of invisible bugs (83, 89, 101). Conditions produced by actual physical causes are referred to as illusions of parasitosis; these individuals acknowledge the true cause of their discomfort once it is explained.

[Guest guest]

"Almost everyone I know...has dealt with at least one of these types of persons."

Mr. Henry,

I double dog dare you to put that paper on the 2500 plus member group of Sickbuildings@....

Ms. Sharon

[Guest guest]

Henry,A very important publication. I have dealt with, and given papers on what I had termed, "Delusional Mycophobia". Almost everyone I know in the IAQ industry has dealt with at least one of these types of persons.My dataset was started 11 years ago when I was at McCrone Research. I worked with the Cook County Health Department trying to solve some of these cases.Interestingly, the symptoms (at least in my study) overwhelmingly affect women. The women appear to have very normal aspects of their lives except this one problem. They are almost always middle aged, single, or widowed.I have sampled skin, had the "bugs" sent in for analysis and worked very closely with my dataset people. Ekbom Syndrome is a very good fit. I have also worked with sufferers of Morgellon's (fiber disease). Actually, I am also finding some similarities with the "contrail" group(s).Thanks for posting the review.john shane

Friends and colleagues:

You may have a call from a sufferer, so you'd find this article useful.

It made me wonder: do IAQ experts refer clients to mental health

specialists?

PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE by Dr. Hinkle, Entomologist at Univ. of GA:

http://www.ent.uga.edu/pubs/hinkle-EkbomSyndrome.pdf

Abstract

Ekbom Syndrome is synonymous with delusory parasitosis, a belief that

one’s body is infested by invisible bugs. Persons suffering from this

syndrome

often claim to feel dermal sensations and to visualize the bugs,

although no one else can see them. Ekbom Syndrome is a delusional

condition; it is intractable and cannot be corrected by argument or

evidence.

Ekbom Syndrome sufferers exhibit a range of predictable behaviors

in their attempts to eliminate their infestations, including seeking

identifications and treatment from physicians and entomologists.

Frequently

they also experience comorbid psychological conditions. Because

this is a delusional affliction, successful treatment typically requires

neuroleptic medications, necessitating intervention by medical

professionals.

Henry Slack

US EPA Region 4

Atlanta, GA, USA

[Guest guest]

This sounds identical to what people who suffer from Morgellons Disease complain of. FYI, the CDC has a database of over 10 THOUSAND complaints. It can' not 'delusional' as there are numerous reports/confirmations of reddish/purple you name it colors, 'fiber like' protrusions coming out of the skin.

Since most doctors are not aware of MD, they assume that its delusional. Nor are most shrinks, as they derived their income from psych diagnoses.

A while back researchers at NY Stony Brook University found 'fibers'...this must be a very highly evolved patient to effect the SEM device! These are not invisible 'bugs' by any stretch of the imagination.

Considering the massive amount of receptors in the skin ie vibrational, touch, pressure, pain, these 'fibers' will impact said sensory perception.

Vitaly Citovsky, Ph.D.

Our continuing screen of additional Morgellons patients has identified Agrobacterium genetic material in three additional individuals. Thus, all Morgellons patients screened to date have tested positive for the presence of Agrobacterium, whereas this microorganism has not been detected in any of the samples derived from the control, healthy individuals.

SEM Images of Morgellons Patients’ Fibers and Lesions, SUNY

Below, please see eight SEM (Scanning Electron Micrograph) images generated by Dr. Citovsky's research group at SUNY Stonybrook.

(We

would like to thank Mark Darrah, Research Director of the Morgellons Project in Dr Citovsky's lab, for arranging for the SEM imaging which was done at the Materials Science and Engineering Dept, Stony Brook University. Dr Citovsky's group, under the direction of Mark, is continuing to research Morgellons disease and we will share new information from his group as it becomes available to us.)

Image 1: White Fiber – Calcite covered

Image 2: Green Fiber emitting microscopic Alumina “rockâ€

Image 3: Ribbon-like fiber coated with minerals with a cylindrical fiber and faceted fiber adjacent

Image 4: Skin Lesion of patient one with fibers stabbing through epidermis – note the smaller fibers

Image 5: Skin lesion of patient two with large and small fibers as in patient one

Image 1: White Fiber – Calcite covered

Back to top >>>

Image 2: Green Fiber emitting microscopic Alumina “rockâ€

Back to top >>>

Image 3: Ribbon-like fiber coated with minerals with a cylindrical fiber and faceted fiber adjacent

Back to top >>>

Image 4: Skin Lesion of patient one with fibers stabbing through epidermis – note the smaller fibers

Back to top >>>

Image 5: Skin lesion of patient two with large and small fibers as in patient one

Back to top >>>

Image 6: Vesicles under epidermis of patient two connected by “filamentsâ€

Back to top >>>

Image 7: Lower magnification of vesicles from patient two

Back to top >>>

Image 8: Vesicles under epidermis from patient one (blurred due to sample movment during SEM)

Angel De Fazio, BSAT

President/Executive Director

NTEF

Re: Entomology publication on people who feel "invisible bugs"

PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE by Dr. Hinkle, Entomologist at Univ. of GA:

http://www.ent.uga.edu/pubs/hinkle-EkbomSyndrome.pdf

K, Henry. Read it.

What a bunch of double-speak malarkey. One example below. They note environmental causation and then attribute the symptoms to psychological. Who wrote this? Lees-Haley?

Physical Causations

Physical causes of pruritus include actual arthropods and other factors as discussed by

Blum (12), especially environmental particulate matter (99). Some DP cases may be precipitated by actual physical causes such as insulation causing dermal irritation or static electricity attracting fibers or fragments that feel like stings (12, 65, 86, 99, 101, 113). Various allergens and environmental materials such as formaldehyde can produce dermatitis (15). Numerous components of sick building syndrome have been associated with symptoms of invisible bugs (83, 89, 101). Conditions produced by actual physical causes are referred to as illusions of parasitosis; these individuals acknowledge the true cause of their discomfort once it is explained.

[Guest guest]

I actually experienced the feeling when I was at my sickest in August of 2002. Thank God, just for one night. It was awful. I drank a dark ale and had the weirdest reaction. I woke up in the middle of the night and it literally felt like my skin was crawling. I itched all over from head to toe and could get no relief. I took a cold bath and a heavy dose of Benedryl and finally drifted off to sleep. In the morning, the reaction was gone.

I would not wish that feeling on my worst enemy. Nor would I wish on them, someone who tries to treat that as a psychological illness. People like that, who think they can write authoritative papers based on the premise that you can only treat physically what you can see physically - even when they acknowledge there is an environmental exposure component that triggered original symptoms - are delusional health hazards.

Sharon

This sounds identical to what people who suffer from Morgellons Disease complain of. FYI, the CDC has a database of over 10 THOUSAND complaints. It can' not 'delusional' as there are numerous reports/confirmations of reddish/purple you name it colors, 'fiber like' protrusions coming out of the skin.Since most doctors are not aware of MD, they assume that its delusional. Nor are most shrinks, as they derived their income from psych diagnoses.

A while back researchers at NY Stony Brook University found 'fibers'...this must be a very highly evolved patient to effect the SEM device! These are not invisible 'bugs' by any stretch of the imagination.Considering the massive amount of receptors in the skin ie vibrational, touch, pressure, pain, these 'fibers' will impact said sensory perception.Vitaly Citovsky, Ph.D.Our continuing screen of additional Morgellons patients has identified Agrobacterium genetic material in three additional individuals. Thus, all Morgellons patients screened to date have tested positive for the presence of Agrobacterium, whereas this microorganism has not been detected in any of the samples derived from the control, healthy individuals.SEM Images of Morgellons Patients’ Fibers and Lesions, SUNYBelow, please see eight SEM (Scanning Electron Micrograph) images generated by Dr. Citovsky's research group at SUNY Stonybrook.(We would like to thank Mark Darrah, Research Director of the Morgellons Project in Dr Citovsky's lab, for arranging for the SEM imaging which was done at the Materials Science and Engineering Dept, Stony Brook University. Dr Citovsky's group, under the direction of Mark, is continuing to research Morgellons disease and we will share new information from his group as it becomes available to us.)Image 1: White Fiber – Calcite coveredImage 2: Green Fiber emitting microscopic Alumina “rockâ€Image 3: Ribbon-like fiber coated with minerals with a cylindrical fiber and faceted fiber adjacentImage 4: Skin Lesion of patient one with fibers stabbing through epidermis – note the smaller fibersImage 5: Skin lesion of patient two with large and small fibers as in patient one

Image 1: White Fiber – Calcite coveredBack to top >>>

Image 2: Green Fiber emitting microscopic Alumina “rockâ€Back to top >>>

Image 3: Ribbon-like fiber coated with minerals with a cylindrical fiber and faceted fiber adjacentBack to top >>>

Image 4: Skin Lesion of patient one with fibers stabbing through epidermis – note the smaller fibersBack to top >>>

Image 5: Skin lesion of patient two with large and small fibers as in patient oneBack to top >>>

Image 6: Vesicles under epidermis of patient two connected by “filamentsâ€Back to top >>>

Image 7: Lower magnification of vesicles from patient twoBack to top >>>

Image 8: Vesicles under epidermis from patient one (blurred due to sample movment during SEM)

Angel De Fazio, BSATPresident/Executive DirectorNTEF

Re: Entomology publication on people who feel "invisible bugs"

PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE by Dr. Hinkle, Entomologist at Univ. of GA: http://www.ent.uga.edu/pubs/hinkle-EkbomSyndrome.pdf

K, Henry. Read it.

What a bunch of double-speak malarkey. One example below. They note environmental causation and then attribute the symptoms to psychological. Who wrote this? Lees-Haley?

Physical CausationsPhysical causes of pruritus include actual arthropods and other factors as discussed byBlum (12), especially environmental particulate matter (99). Some DP cases may be precipitated by actual physical causes such as insulation causing dermal irritation or static electricity attracting fibers or fragments that feel like stings (12, 65, 86, 99, 101, 113). Various allergens and environmental materials such as formaldehyde can produce dermatitis (15). Numerous components of sick building syndrome have been associated with symptoms of invisible bugs (83, 89, 101). Conditions produced by actual physical causes are referred to as illusions of parasitosis; these individuals acknowledge the true cause of their discomfort once it is explained.

Sharon Noonan Kramer

[Guest guest]

Is it really a delusional affliction, or is it a neurologic condition that causes the sensation they know is real and are looking for the cause of. Doctors (who aren't psychiatrists) are very quick to determine that something they can't figure out is psychogenic.

I have, in fact, had clients who reported these bugs-under-my-skin symptoms. They were totally irrational in their imagined cause, but I believe that they truly felt the incessant itching sensation in their skin.

Anyone interested in Ekbom syndrome should also be familiar with Morgellons disease

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgellons

Steve Temes

Entomology publication on people who feel "invisible bugs"

Friends and colleagues:

You may have a call from a sufferer, so you'd find this article useful.

It made me wonder: do IAQ experts refer clients to mental health

specialists?

PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE by Dr. Hinkle, Entomologist at Univ. of GA:

http://www.ent.uga.edu/pubs/hinkle-EkbomSyndrome.pdf

Abstract

Ekbom Syndrome is synonymous with delusory parasitosis, a belief that

one’s body is infested by invisible bugs. Persons suffering from this

syndrome

often claim to feel dermal sensations and to visualize the bugs,

although no one else can see them. Ekbom Syndrome is a delusional

condition; it is intractable and cannot be corrected by argument or

evidence.

Ekbom Syndrome sufferers exhibit a range of predictable behaviors

in their attempts to eliminate their infestations, including seeking

identifications and treatment from physicians and entomologists.

Frequently

they also experience comorbid psychological conditions. Because

this is a delusional affliction, successful treatment typically requires

neuroleptic medications, necessitating intervention by medical

professionals.

Henry Slack

US EPA Region 4

Atlanta, GA, USA

[Guest guest]

(and others),

I'm sure you didn't intend to characterize me as a hypochodriacal, middle aged, widowed woman but that is what you did with your response to Henry's post.

I have experienced what could be described as " bugs " under the skin but I didn't call it that because I found an explanation and a treatment. It was a problem with the nerves near the surface of the skin and it certainly felt like something was just below the surface. While it wasn't " bugs " it tended to drive me " buggy " until someone figured out what was going on.

We must be very careful with how we characterize and judge what we haven't personally experienced and what science/medicine has not yet been able to diagnose and treat in a mature, peer-reviewed, statisticaly verified manner. Our science, much like the US Patent Office 100 years ago, doesn't have nearly all the answers.

That said, just because our medicine doesn't have an explanation for this, how can we possibly conclude it is not physical? What evidence - other than by elimination so therefore we can imagine an explanation - what evidence do we have for those conclusions?

For us to conclude it is not physical then we must believe that the mind and the occult has dominion over our science.

Sorry, but despite my ideas which tend to be more unconventional than the acceptable norm, I'm not willing to jump to that " imaginary " conclusion.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

-----

Henry, A very important publication. I have dealt with, and given papers on what I had termed, " Delusional Mycophobia " . Almost everyone I know in the IAQ industry has dealt with at least one of these types of persons.

My dataset was started 11 years ago when I was at McCrone Research. I worked with the Cook County Health Department trying to solve some of these cases.

Interestingly, the symptoms (at least in my study) overwhelmingly affect women. The women appear to have very normal aspects of their lives except this one problem. They are almost always middle aged, single, or widowed.

I have sampled skin, had the " bugs " sent in for analysis and worked very closely with my dataset people. Ekbom Syndrome is a very good fit. I have also worked with sufferers of Morgellon's (fiber disease). Actually, I am also finding some similarities with the " contrail " group(s).

Thanks for posting the review.

john shane

Friends and colleagues:

You may have a call from a sufferer, so you'd find this article useful.

It made me wonder: do IAQ experts refer clients to mental health

specialists?

PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE by Dr. Hinkle, Entomologist at Univ. of GA:

http://www.ent.uga.edu/pubs/hinkle-EkbomSyndrome.pdf

Abstract

Ekbom Syndrome is synonymous with delusory parasitosis, a belief that

one’s body is infested by invisible bugs. Persons suffering from this

syndrome

often claim to feel dermal sensations and to visualize the bugs,

although no one else can see them. Ekbom Syndrome is a delusional

condition; it is intractable and cannot be corrected by argument or

evidence.

Ekbom Syndrome sufferers exhibit a range of predictable behaviors

in their attempts to eliminate their infestations, including seeking

identifications and treatment from physicians and entomologists.

Frequently

they also experience comorbid psychological conditions. Because

this is a delusional affliction, successful treatment typically requires

neuroleptic medications, necessitating intervention by medical

professionals.

Henry Slack

US EPA Region 4

Atlanta, GA, USA

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[Guest guest]

Sharon, Agreed. However, studying something and making conclusions based on that dataset IS science. This is so because the tools used have eliminated the things the subjects were sending in as the problem(s).Since these people are a very small subset of the general population and an even smaller subset of those being any kind of a cohort group, then there will necessarily be things missed. But, of the group I studied and the things they sent in or I sampled, NONE of the artifacts were biological.I will say that some of the persons had general maladies and, in my opinion and observations, were trying to pin those maladies on an extrinsic cause.The debate is not whether or not these people suffer, but what is the cause of the suffering.Opinion is vacuous without data.johnshane.

"we don't have an explanation for something, how can be possibly make a conclusion?"..

You can't. If one does not have an explanation for something, that does not give them the ability to conclude an explanation that the problem is delusional. That is not science now and it never was.

Sharon

[Guest guest]

Henry,

You are wonderful in many ways, too. It is incorrect to conclude someone is delusional when they say they feel "bugs" under the skin. If it were one person, this might carry weight. But when thousands of people, (some of who you KNOW to be wonderful), provide testimony of experiencing the phenomenon; who is this person (who I don't know to be wonderful) to write they are delusional? It's a dangerous mind set that this person is in a position to publish medical papers, yet would carelessly twist absence of evidence to conclude it proves evidence of absence.

As you note, short term hallucinations from detox is not in the same category of those who have nerve ending sensations from an environmental exposure that feels like their skin is crawling. Even the author of the folly admitted these people seem logical in every other way.

So, thanks for hearing what we are saying. That is much of what makes you so wonderful!

Sharon

Sharon -You are wonderful in so many ways, but I think you have missed an important point: some people have hallucinations. If I say it's an bug, and a bug expert can't find a bug, I AM WRONG. Period. My buddy who had the DTs (delirium tremens, from alcohol withdrawal) felt hundreds of bugs crawling on him -- but no one ever saw one. By all accounts, he was hallucinating. If I tell you that it FEELS like a bug, but maybe it's not, then I am open to other explanations - skin irritation from fiberglass, nerve sensitivity changing due to a medication, etc. Then I can be rational. You are correct: no "expert" should label these people as delusional, just because they don't know what's going on. Let's distinguish between these. Genuinely crazy people who will not accept another explanation, and non-crazy people who know they feel SOMETHING and may be labeled as delusional because it's an easier diagnosis. Is this OK?Thankx for all your fighting for those mis-labelled as "delusional".HenryRe: Entomology publication on people who feel "invisible bugs"Posted by: "snk1955@..." snk1955@... snk1955Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:23 pm (PDT)"we don't have an explanation for something, how can be possibly make a conclusion?"..You can't. If one does not have an explanation for something, that does not give them the ability to conclude an explanation that the problem is delusional. That is not science now and it never was. Sharon

[Guest guest]

,

Now I am more confused than ever. Who were these people? Why were you studying them? How many people did you study? What did they send or you sampled that were not biological artifacts? Sorry, did I miss a post somewhere?

Sharon

Sharon,

Agreed. However, studying something and making conclusions based on that dataset IS science. This is so because the tools used have eliminated the things the subjects were sending in as the problem(s).

Since these people are a very small subset of the general population and an even smaller subset of those being any kind of a cohort group, then there will necessarily be things missed. But, of the group I studied and the things they sent in or I sampled, NONE of the artifacts were biological.

I will say that some of the persons had general maladies and, in my opinion and observations, were trying to pin those maladies on an extrinsic cause.

The debate is not whether or not these people suffer, but what is the cause of the suffering.

Opinion is vacuous without data.

johnshane

[Guest guest]

,

Interesting stuff! Are you still doing this research? If not, when did you do this over what period of time? If so, would you like other subjects to study? 25 people is too small to form any conclusion for a broad population. But this sounds like it has the potential to be a valuable project. Forgive me, , but I forget what you do over IAQ matters. I don't remember if you are an IH? or a mycologists? or an...etc?

Sharon

Sharon,Sorry for the confusion if I caused it.Finding people is hard to do. I did not seek out these people. Mostly, they came to me through McCrone Research because we were the place of last resort. We would get the "weird and wonderful" when others could not figure things out. Others referred these people to us.As I have always quoted, "when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro". McCrone Research was kind of like that.I have about 25 people in the study and am always looking for more. Not a large group, I know, but probably a larger study than anyone else I know of.The samples sent by the people in my study, and even the pictures I have seen on TV and on the web, are carpet fibers, fiberglass, scabs, flesh, and vegetable matter. I assume that most of these artifacts aregetting into the skin from contact when body fluids trap them or when they float into open wounds.I am making no judgments about the people, on ly have seen no evidence for the artifacts being anything but explainable by simple light microscopy.Some of these people my indeed have some neurological disorder, but some definitely do not.There is also a recurring theme among my group, and others I have questioned. Many on this group will recognize these:1) the person is very sincere about the symptoms/problem2) the person is completely normal in other parts of their lives, except for this one problem3) the person will rehears from start to finish every symptom each time you speak to them about it. - they are fixated about it4) after helping them / treating them ( I worked with a physician at Cook County Hospital) they get better for a time, but then revert back to same symptoms/problems5) They are almost always female and older, widowed or never been marriedJust the facts.john

Sharon Noonan Kramer

[Guest guest]

Sharon,Sorry for the confusion if I caused it.Finding people is hard to do. I did not seek out these people. Mostly, they came to me through McCrone Research because we were the place of last resort. We would get the "weird and wonderful" when others could not figure things out. Others referred these people to us.As I have always quoted, "when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro". McCrone Research was kind of like that.I have about 25 people in the study and am always looking for more. Not a large group, I know, but probably a larger study than anyone else I know of.The samples sent by the people in my study, and even the pictures I have seen on TV and on the web, are carpet fibers, fiberglass, scabs, flesh, and vegetable matter. I assume that most of these artifacts aregetting into the skin from contact when body fluids trap them or when they float into open wounds.I am making no judgments about the people, only have seen no evidence for the artifacts being anything but explainable by simple light microscopy.Some of these people my indeed have some neurological disorder, but some definitely do not.There is also a recurring theme among my group, and others I have questioned. Many on this group will recognize these:1) the person is very sincere about the symptoms/problem2) the person is completely normal in other parts of their lives, except for this one problem3) the person will rehears from start to finish every symptom each time you speak to them about it. - they are fixated about it4) after helping them / treating them ( I worked with a physician at Cook County Hospital) they get better for a time, but then revert back to same symptoms/problems5) They are almost always female and older, widowed or never been marriedJust the facts.john

"we don't have an explanation for something, how can be possibly make a conclusion?"..

You can't. If one does not have an explanation for something, that does not give them the ability to conclude an explanation that the problem is delusional. That is not science now and it never was.

Sharon

[Guest guest]

As someone who has suffered from this affliction, I completely agree with

Steve's assessment that just because a patient might have belief's about there

illness that defies common sense or even worse is just plain impossible doesn't

mean the affliction is in there head just that they are misguided or mistaken

about what is driving the condition.

Many times the belief is so strong it is counter productive to try to convince

the patient they are plain wrong or might be mistaken as to the cause, nothing

you say or do short of a proper diagnosis and complete cure that doesn't of

course exist is going to convince them otherwise.

I would recommend to any physician that is not mired in all the psychological

WOO WOO of these times to emphasize to there patient that just because I don't

accept your explanation of the condition doesn't mean that I think your

condition isn't physiological or organic in nature.

The condition I had was so bad I could feel the bugs not just biting but

actually crawling on my skin and scratching would alleviate the symptom. I tried

ignoring the sensations which proved as difficult as ignoring a real insect

crawling on your skin.

I was living in a really moldy house at the time these symptoms were at there

worse. They got much better after I removed myself from the moldy environment

but didn't totally go away. This was also almost ten years into my illness. One

might question what I was doing in a really moldy house this far into my illness

surely I knew better? Short answer I wanted to see if it would make me sick. It

took about three weeks to get a very definitive answer.

Recently to my amazement I found I was ignoring a very important aspect of my

illness that being diet. I have started on an elimination diet back in febuary

of 2011 and that has almost completely eliminated my " delusional parasitosis "

symptoms as well as a lot of fatigue, brain fog, and " Stomach Bloat "

The diet I am sticking to is strict avoidance of gluten containing foods and

nuts mostly. I am still trying to sort it out which is very difficult cause I

still believe I am reacting to airborne factors such as pollen, mold, dust, etc.

When I get sick I go into lock down mode eating mostly just meat which seems to

never give me symptoms, and than as I usually feel better I eat lots of

alternative grains, rice, millet, quinola, teff, buckwheat, beans, fruit, fruit

juice, vegetables etc. People say to stay away from corn, dairy, soy and

potatoes but I'm not quite sure yet I need to do this, I have to suffer from a

few more hard knocks before I go there. Problem with food is I suspect the

symptoms are not just delayed but build, or accumulate with time and exposure

which makes identifying them very very difficult which is why I do the all meat

lock down thing.

I plan on taking a home built (metal stud and skin) truck camper and moving to

the northwest this winter cause from the weather sites I have read there is

never any pollen or mold in the air in places where it's snowing. If I can't

remove it from the air I'm going to some place where it's not present.

I've tried controlling my environment countless times and always seem to fail.

My latest attempt:

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x74/antares41_41/house1_2.jpg

I can't close myself up in this structure because the drywall stinks to high

heaven. I'm assuming it isn't Chinese the contractor assured me it wasn't. It

is so strong I have to put a fan by the door and blow in fresh air which keeps

me from filtering the air which was the objective. If I leave a bannana peal in

the trash the smell is overwhelming also (doors shut). I've tried hooking a air

filter up outside and blowing in fresh air (winter time) this helped with the

drywall smell but didn't seem to help with my symptoms much more than just

sleeping in my subaru wagon.

It's hard not just throwing in the towel and offing myself part of my

determination comes from not wanting to die but also standing up against the no

good for nothing maggots who are trying to dismiss this condition as

pyshcological. I can't do that if I'm dead. That and I haven't run out of money

yet.

Christ

>

>

>

>

> Is it really a delusional affliction, or is it a neurologic condition that

causes the sensation they know is real and are looking for the cause of.

Doctors (who aren't psychiatrists) are very quick to determine that something

they can't figure out is psychogenic.

>

> I have, in fact, had clients who reported these bugs-under-my-skin symptoms.

They were totally irrational in their imagined cause, but I believe that they

truly felt the incessant itching sensation in their skin.

>

>

> Anyone interested in Ekbom syndrome should also be familiar with Morgellons

disease

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgellons

>

>

>

> Steve Temes

>

>

>

> Entomology publication on people who feel " invisible

bugs "

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Friends and colleagues:

>

> You may have a call from a sufferer, so you'd find this article useful.

> It made me wonder: do IAQ experts refer clients to mental health

> specialists?

>

> PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE by Dr. Hinkle, Entomologist at Univ. of GA:

> http://www.ent.uga.edu/pubs/hinkle-EkbomSyndrome.pdf

>

> Abstract

> Ekbom Syndrome is synonymous with delusory parasitosis, a belief that

> one’s body is infested by invisible bugs. Persons suffering from this

> syndrome

> often claim to feel dermal sensations and to visualize the bugs,

> although no one else can see them. Ekbom Syndrome is a delusional

> condition; it is intractable and cannot be corrected by argument or

> evidence.

> Ekbom Syndrome sufferers exhibit a range of predictable behaviors

> in their attempts to eliminate their infestations, including seeking

> identifications and treatment from physicians and entomologists.

> Frequently

> they also experience comorbid psychological conditions. Because

> this is a delusional affliction, successful treatment typically requires

> neuroleptic medications, necessitating intervention by medical

> professionals.

>

>

> Henry Slack

> US EPA Region 4

> Atlanta, GA, USA

>

[Guest guest]

Hmmm, let me see like the theory Vietnam Vet's have a psychological disorder

where they " just happened " to be exposed to agent orange.

Christ

>

>

>

> We make conclusions on evidence and posit theories from evidence. Science

doesn't make up things without knowing something about a particular subject.

Otherwise, ALL untrained people could have theories that would be competing for

acceptability.

>

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Commenting from the cheap seats on this one, as a complex systems technology guy

rather than as a patient who's experienced this, and certainly with no medical

expertise.

Seems to me that if the first medical professional who was consulted by a

patient with this complaint pulled a Miranda card out of their pocket and read

the following, it would reduce the number of people who get a particular cause

set in their head:

" There is a set of sensors under your skin, connected to some nerves which

transmit sensation, connected to (name brain region) where a great deal of

sensory information is processed to see what really needs attention, the output

of which then goes to the part of your brain where you actually think and are

aware. While there may be something on your skin causing a problem, in many

patients what you are experiencing is caused by a malfunction of the sensors,

transmission, or (brain region). Let's see which of these possibilities we can

rule out. "

[Guest guest]

Commenting from the cheap seats on this one, as a complex systems technology guy

rather than as a patient who's experienced this, and certainly with no medical

expertise.

Seems to me that if the first medical professional who was consulted by a

patient with this complaint pulled a Miranda card out of their pocket and read

the following, it would reduce the number of people who get a particular cause

set in their head:

" There is a set of sensors under your skin, connected to some nerves which

transmit sensation, connected to (name brain region) where a great deal of

sensory information is processed to see what really needs attention, the output

of which then goes to the part of your brain where you actually think and are

aware. While there may be something on your skin causing a problem, in many

patients what you are experiencing is caused by a malfunction of the sensors,

transmission, or (brain region). Let's see which of these possibilities we can

rule out. "