EzineArticleBoard.com

Morgellons syndrome remains a mysterious skin (cutaneous) condition that remains highly controversial. In the USA, the Center for Disease Control has not yet issued a final conclusion about the disease, but its current opinion is that it is an unexplained dermopathy. Many medical practitioners believe the condition is a psychological rather than physiological disorder.

The Mayo Clinic describes the condition as being associated with a range of reported symptoms including skin rashes or sores that can cause intense itching; crawling sensations on and under the skin, often compared to insects moving or biting; fibers, threads or black stringy materials protruding from the skin; severe fatigue; an inability to concentrate and short-term memory loss; behavioral changes; joint pain; vision changes.

The origin of the condition dates from 2003 and has been attributed to Mary Leitao and her son, Drew. The boy, two years old at that time, developed sores near his lip and began to complain to his mother of bugs crawling on his skin. Leitao had a bachelor of science degree and worked as a laboratory technician. She observed red, blue, black, and white fibers protruding from the lesions. She took her son to see at least eight different doctors who were unable to find any abnormalities. Eventually, Leitao consulted a leading pediatrician at Johns Hopkins. The specialist could not find anything abnormal with the skin of the boy. He wrote to the referring physician noting that Leitao might benefit from a psychiatric evaluation.

Mary Leitao persisted. In March 2007, the online Psychology Today magazine reported that she had contacted a second specialist at John Hopkins – an infectious disease expert. He reviewed the medical records of Drew and refused to see him. He suggested Mary Leitao might be suffering from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, a psychiatric syndrome in which a parent pretends or purposefully makes their child sick, to attract attention from the health system. According to Leitao, several medical professionals she has contacted share the view that she suffers from a psychological disorder. Nevertheless, both parents of Drew continue to claim their son suffers from recurring lesions. The father, Edward Leitao, is an internist with South Allegheny Internal Medicine in Pennsylvania.

The disease has provoked volatile confrontations between patients and physicians. Some sufferers complain they have been diagnosed as delusional or simply dismissed as fakers. On the other hand, some physicians report that patients presenting with the disease resist alternative explanations for their condition.

The name Morgellons disease was first used in the late 1600s to describe a rare skin disease suffered by children in a localized region within France. That name was borrowed by the Leitao parents to describe the disorder affecting their son.

Skin parasites make you cringe, don’t they? Morgellons remains unresolved in the medical industry. Are you interested to see some information on treatment for this disease?