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Morgellons is a new name to most of us, and most people get surprised when they learn that it is a kind of a disease. Many people, because of its bizarre nature do not know it and it is not common. It is very rare to get a victim of Morgellons disease. Another reason that makes this disease a mysterious one is that it is not listed as one of the real diseases known by the medics.

What Patients Feel

Some of the people who had this disease in the past say that the sores produce different substances like fuzz balls, fibers, grainy substances and assortment of solid materials. The explanation they give is that the sores heal very slowly, but inexplicable sensation that is similar to insects crawling on and under the skin is what causes the main discomfort. There are many other symptoms that the victims claim to experience, apart from the main ones that affect the skin. These are lack of concentration, fatigue, memory lapses and mood swings. There is no medical cause of the disease that has been noted or confirmed.

It Is Mental Related

Many dermatologists who have been interview about this disease relate it to psychological disorders. The patient is never in his or her senses, which makes the disease to be categorized in the class of delusional parasitosis. This makes the patient believe that he or she is infested with insects or parasites.

This disease has perplexed the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who had to do a study as requested by California Senator Dianne Feinstein. The Democrat wanted to learn the cause of the disease because his state has a number of reported cases about this disease. The researchers targeted a managed care system that had about 3 million employees, where 115 patients were found to have Morgellons disease. The skin sample taken from the patients was the center of interest because. There was elasticity that was related to sunburn, while most areas of the skin looked like they were affected by insect bites. Even with such revelations, there were no parasites found on the bodies of the victims. In addition, the wool found on the sores is believed to be from the clothes they wore.

Their mental tests were done and about 60% of the patients showed cognitive defects after a full neuropsychological test. They proved to have problems with their memory and attentiveness. On a larger scale, Morgellons has some features that are similar to delusional infestation. Some may relate the condition to be some kind of somatoform disorder where when someone is distressed psychologically, the body tends to show some physical symptoms that a medical test cannot prove its occurrence.

Mary Leitao coined the name Morgellons in 2002; she claimed to have seen balls of fiber from the sores of her child. She got the name from a 17^th Century book that talked of children developing mysterious hair in France.