Guest guest Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 I found a copy of this article in a local ED and was wondering how many people have come across this. Andy Wheeler, Paramedic _______________________________________________ http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/medical/stories/MYSA051106.morgellans ..KENS.32030524.html Doctors puzzled over bizarre infection surfacing in South Texas Web Posted: 05/12/2006 10:51 AM CDT Deborah Knapp KENS 5 Eyewitness News If diseases like AIDS and bird flu scare you, wait until you hear what's next. Doctors are trying to find out what is causing a bizarre and mysterious infection that's surfaced in South Texas. Morgellons disease is not yet known to kill, but if you were to get it, you might wish you were dead, as the symptoms are horrible. " These people will have like beads of sweat but it's black, black and tarry, " said Ginger Savely, a nurse practioner in Austin who treats a majority of these patients. Patients get lesions that never heal. " Sometimes little black specks that come out of the lesions and sometimes little fibers, " said , Morgellons patient. 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 , whose son had Morgellon's disease. While all of this is going on, it feels like bugs are crawling under your skin. So far more than 100 cases of Morgellons disease have been reported in South Texas. " It really has the makings of a horror movie in every way, " Savely said. While Savely sees this as a legitimate disease, there are many doctors who simply refuse to acknowledge it exists, because of the bizarre symptoms patients are diagnosed as delusional. " Believe me, if I just randomly saw one of these patients in my office, I would think they were crazy too, " Savely said. " But after you've heard the story of over 100 (patients) and they're all — down to the most minute detail — saying the exact same thing, that becomes quite impressive. " developed Morgellons just over a year ago. He called his mother in to see a fiber coming out of a lesion. " It looked like a piece of spaghetti was sticking out about a quarter to an eighth of an inch long and it was sticking out of his chest, " said. " I tried to pull it as hard as I could out and I could not pull it out. " The 's spent $14,000 after insurance last year on doctors and medicine. " Most of them are antibiotics. He was on Tamadone for pain. Viltricide, this was an anti-parasitic. This was to try and protect his skin because of all the lesions and stuff, " said. However, nothing worked, and 23-year-old could no longer take it. " I knew he was going to kill himself, and there was nothing I could do to stop him, " said. Just two weeks ago, took his life. developed the lesions four-and-a-half years ago. " The lesions come up, and then these fuzzy things like spores come out, " she said. She also has the crawling sensation. " You just want to get it out of you, " said. She has no idea what caused the disease, and nothing has worked to clear it up. " They (doctors) told me I was just doing this to myself, that I was nuts. So basically I stopped going to doctors because I was afraid they were going to lock me up, " said. Harriett Bishop has battled Morgellons for 12 years. After a year on antibiotics, her hands have nearly cleared up. On the day, we visited her she only had one lesion and she extracted this fiber from it. " You want to get these things out to relieve the pain, and that's why you pull and then you can see the fibers there, and the tentacles are there, and there are millions of them, " Bishop said. So far, pathologists have failed to find any infection in the fibers pulled from lesions. " Clearly something is physically happening here, " said Dr. Randy Wymore, a researcher at the Morgellons Research Foundation at Oklahoma State University's Center for Health Sciences. Wymore examines the fibers, scabs and other samples from Morgellon's patients to try and find the disease's cause. " These fibers don't look like common environmental fibers, " he said. The goal at OSU is to scientifically find out what is going on. Until then, patients and doctors struggle with this mysterious and bizarre infection. Thus far, the only treatment that has showed some success is an antibiotic. " It sounds a little like a parasite, like a fungal infection, like a bacterial infection, but it never quite fits all the criteria of any known pathogen, " Savely said No one knows how Morgellans is contracted, but it does not appear to be contagious. The states with the highest number of cases are Texas, California and Florida. The only connection found so far is that more than half of the Morgellons patients are also diagnosed with Lyme disease. For more information on Morgellons, visit the research foundation's Web site at www.morgellons.org. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 I came across something real similar in the Caribbean. She had tiny shiny black dots all over her body..the tub would be full of them when she took a bath. I thought they were bugs until I looked under a scope at them...just shiny black things..no legs or mouth parts. She was going nuts,,thinking things were crawling all over her. The one time I did a skin impression (slide pressed onto skin) I found a chigger..go figure... The specialists in Florida thought it might be a mold issue. We lookded at a lot of fibers and things..I had always assumed they were environmental contaminants. She did have a history of drug abuse and depression. Also she had experienced some major weight loss and the docs told her they thought she might be metabolizing some of her (illegal) chemical history stored in the adipose tissue. Whenever she would leave the island, the symptoms would go away. Raina > >Reply-To: texasems-l >To: texasems-l >Subject: Morgellons disease >Date: Sat, 13 May 2006 15:16:26 -0000 > >I found a copy of this article in a local ED and was wondering how >many people have come across this. Andy Wheeler, Paramedic >_______________________________________________ > >http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/medical/stories/MYSA051106.morgellans >.KENS.32030524.html > >Doctors puzzled over bizarre infection surfacing in South Texas > >Web Posted: 05/12/2006 10:51 AM CDT >Deborah Knapp >KENS 5 Eyewitness News > >If diseases like AIDS and bird flu scare you, wait until you hear >what's next. Doctors are trying to find out what is causing a bizarre >and mysterious infection that's surfaced in South Texas. > >Morgellons disease is not yet known to kill, but if you were to get >it, you might wish you were dead, as the symptoms are horrible. > > " These people will have like beads of sweat but it's black, black and >tarry, " said Ginger Savely, a nurse practioner in Austin who treats a >majority of these patients. > >Patients get lesions that never heal. > > " Sometimes little black specks that come out of the lesions and >sometimes little fibers, " said , Morgellons patient. > >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 > , whose son had Morgellon's disease. > >While all of this is going on, it feels like bugs are crawling under >your skin. So far more than 100 cases of Morgellons disease have been >reported in South Texas. > > " It really has the makings of a horror movie in every way, " Savely >said. > >While Savely sees this as a legitimate disease, there are many >doctors who simply refuse to acknowledge it exists, because of the >bizarre symptoms patients are diagnosed as delusional. > > " Believe me, if I just randomly saw one of these patients in my >office, I would think they were crazy too, " Savely said. " But after >you've heard the story of over 100 (patients) and they're all — down >to the most minute detail — saying the exact same thing, that becomes >quite impressive. " > > developed Morgellons just over a year ago. He called >his mother in to see a fiber coming out of a lesion. > > " It looked like a piece of spaghetti was sticking out about a quarter >to an eighth of an inch long and it was sticking out of his chest, " > said. " I tried to pull it as hard as I could out and I >could not pull it out. " > >The 's spent $14,000 after insurance last year on doctors and >medicine. > > " Most of them are antibiotics. He was on Tamadone for pain. >Viltricide, this was an anti-parasitic. This was to try and protect >his skin because of all the lesions and stuff, " said. > >However, nothing worked, and 23-year-old could no longer take >it. > > " I knew he was going to kill himself, and there was nothing I could >do to stop him, " said. > >Just two weeks ago, took his life. > > developed the lesions four-and-a-half years ago. > > " The lesions come up, and then these fuzzy things like spores come >out, " she said. > >She also has the crawling sensation. > > " You just want to get it out of you, " said. > >She has no idea what caused the disease, and nothing has worked to >clear it up. > > " They (doctors) told me I was just doing this to myself, that I was >nuts. So basically I stopped going to doctors because I was afraid >they were going to lock me up, " said. > >Harriett Bishop has battled Morgellons for 12 years. After a year on >antibiotics, her hands have nearly cleared up. On the day, we visited >her she only had one lesion and she extracted this fiber from it. > > " You want to get these things out to relieve the pain, and that's why >you pull and then you can see the fibers there, and the tentacles are >there, and there are millions of them, " Bishop said. > >So far, pathologists have failed to find any infection in the fibers >pulled from lesions. > > " Clearly something is physically happening here, " said Dr. Randy >Wymore, a researcher at the Morgellons Research Foundation at >Oklahoma State University's Center for Health Sciences. > >Wymore examines the fibers, scabs and other samples from Morgellon's >patients to try and find the disease's cause. > > " These fibers don't look like common environmental fibers, " he said. > >The goal at OSU is to scientifically find out what is going on. Until >then, patients and doctors struggle with this mysterious and bizarre >infection. Thus far, the only treatment that has showed some success >is an antibiotic. > > " It sounds a little like a parasite, like a fungal infection, like a >bacterial infection, but it never quite fits all the criteria of any >known pathogen, " Savely said > >No one knows how Morgellans is contracted, but it does not appear to >be contagious. The states with the highest number of cases are Texas, >California and Florida. > >The only connection found so far is that more than half of the >Morgellons patients are also diagnosed with Lyme disease. > >For more information on Morgellons, visit the research foundation's >Web site at www.morgellons.org. > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 One of our crews transported a very young child recently (for something unrelated to the skin condition) who had a very unusual appearance to the skin on part of his body. One of the ER nurses said that she thought it was Morgellons, but I don't know whether or not that was ever confirmed. Your post has rekindled my curiosity. I think I'll try to do some more followup on our patient. Maxine Pate hire-Pattison EMS ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 13 May 2006 15:16:26 -0000 > >Subject: Morgellons disease >To: texasems-l > >I found a copy of this article in a local ED and was wondering how >many people have come across this. Andy Wheeler, Paramedic >_______________________________________________ > >http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/medical/stories/MYSA051106. morgellans >.KENS.32030524.html > >Doctors puzzled over bizarre infection surfacing in South Texas > >Web Posted: 05/12/2006 10:51 AM CDT >Deborah Knapp >KENS 5 Eyewitness News > >If diseases like AIDS and bird flu scare you, wait until you hear >what's next. Doctors are trying to find out what is causing a bizarre >and mysterious infection that's surfaced in South Texas. > >Morgellons disease is not yet known to kill, but if you were to get >it, you might wish you were dead, as the symptoms are horrible. > > " These people will have like beads of sweat but it's black, black and >tarry, " said Ginger Savely, a nurse practioner in Austin who treats a >majority of these patients. > >Patients get lesions that never heal. > > " Sometimes little black specks that come out of the lesions and >sometimes little fibers, " said , Morgellons patient. > >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 > , whose son had Morgellon's disease. > >While all of this is going on, it feels like bugs are crawling under >your skin. So far more than 100 cases of Morgellons disease have been >reported in South Texas. > > " It really has the makings of a horror movie in every way, " Savely >said. > >While Savely sees this as a legitimate disease, there are many >doctors who simply refuse to acknowledge it exists, because of the >bizarre symptoms patients are diagnosed as delusional. > > " Believe me, if I just randomly saw one of these patients in my >office, I would think they were crazy too, " Savely said. " But after >you've heard the story of over 100 (patients) and they're all — down >to the most minute detail — saying the exact same thing, that becomes >quite impressive. " > > developed Morgellons just over a year ago. He called >his mother in to see a fiber coming out of a lesion. > > " It looked like a piece of spaghetti was sticking out about a quarter >to an eighth of an inch long and it was sticking out of his chest, " > said. " I tried to pull it as hard as I could out and I >could not pull it out. " > >The 's spent $14,000 after insurance last year on doctors and >medicine. > > " Most of them are antibiotics. He was on Tamadone for pain. >Viltricide, this was an anti-parasitic. This was to try and protect >his skin because of all the lesions and stuff, " said. > >However, nothing worked, and 23-year-old could no longer take >it. > > " I knew he was going to kill himself, and there was nothing I could >do to stop him, " said. > >Just two weeks ago, took his life. > > developed the lesions four-and-a-half years ago. > > " The lesions come up, and then these fuzzy things like spores come >out, " she said. > >She also has the crawling sensation. > > " You just want to get it out of you, " said. > >She has no idea what caused the disease, and nothing has worked to >clear it up. > > " They (doctors) told me I was just doing this to myself, that I was >nuts. So basically I stopped going to doctors because I was afraid >they were going to lock me up, " said. > >Harriett Bishop has battled Morgellons for 12 years. After a year on >antibiotics, her hands have nearly cleared up. On the day, we visited >her she only had one lesion and she extracted this fiber from it. > > " You want to get these things out to relieve the pain, and that's why >you pull and then you can see the fibers there, and the tentacles are >there, and there are millions of them, " Bishop said. > >So far, pathologists have failed to find any infection in the fibers >pulled from lesions. > > " Clearly something is physically happening here, " said Dr. Randy >Wymore, a researcher at the Morgellons Research Foundation at >Oklahoma State University's Center for Health Sciences. > >Wymore examines the fibers, scabs and other samples from Morgellon's >patients to try and find the disease's cause. > > " These fibers don't look like common environmental fibers, " he said. > >The goal at OSU is to scientifically find out what is going on. Until >then, patients and doctors struggle with this mysterious and bizarre >infection. Thus far, the only treatment that has showed some success >is an antibiotic. > > " It sounds a little like a parasite, like a fungal infection, like a >bacterial infection, but it never quite fits all the criteria of any >known pathogen, " Savely said > >No one knows how Morgellans is contracted, but it does not appear to >be contagious. The states with the highest number of cases are Texas, >California and Florida. > >The only connection found so far is that more than half of the >Morgellons patients are also diagnosed with Lyme disease. > >For more information on Morgellons, visit the research foundation's >Web site at www.morgellons.org. > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Morgellon's? Hmmm. I find it strange that no real medical journals have ever documented it. I think it is a recipe of delusions + internet..... Kirk D. Mahon, MD, ABEM 6106 Keller Springs Rd Dallas, TX 75248 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Wonder if the incidence is high in places where meth use is high? Kirk D. Mahon, MD, ABEM 6106 Keller Springs Rd Dallas, TX 75248 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Am Journal Clinical Dermatology 2006;7(1):1-5 I cant get the journal...so dont know what it may say... Re: Morgellons disease Morgellon's? Hmmm. I find it strange that no real medical journals have ever documented it. I think it is a recipe of delusions + internet..... Kirk D. Mahon, MD, ABEM 6106 Keller Springs Rd Dallas, TX 75248 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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