Understanding the Connection Between Morgellons and Lyme

Morgellons disease is a complex skin disorder characterized by slow-healing skin sores with unusual fibers sticking out from the skin or embedded under unbroken skin. 

Many medical professionals call Morgellons disease a delusional parasitosis because they believe patients scratch and itch their skin until they bleed. They assume accompanying fibers are textile filaments stuck to the skin. 

In other words, some medical professionals think an imaginary parasitic infection causes their patients’ symptoms. 

However, extensive research concludes that infections spread by ticks can contribute to Morgellons disease—which may be a manifestation of Lyme disease. If you or someone you love has been suffering from unresolved Morgellons symptoms, you can probably blame an underlying bacterial infection. 

In partnership with medical researchers, the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation funds groundbreaking studies that increase our understanding of this debilitating disease. Through our research and grassroots efforts, we hope to provide hope and healing to patients as we strive to understand the root causes of their symptoms. 

As many medical professionals doubt that an underlying bacterial infection causes Morgellons, we’ll guide you through the studies that provide the most conclusive results. 

What is Morgellons disease?

 

Morgellons Disease Lesions on Wrist

Morgellons Disease Lesions on Wrist

Patients with Morgellons disease experience spontaneous, slow-healing and painful ulcerating skin lesions across their head, face, trunk, or limbs. These lesions can be quite large and leave disfiguring scars. 

Patients suffering from Morgellons also experience strange fibers or filaments that sprout from their skin and grow deep between skin layers. Morgellons fibers are made out of keratin and collagen proteins stemming from skin cells that an infectious bacteria invaded. 

Nearly all Morgellons patients studied test positive for Borrelia burgdorferi infections. Borrelia burgdorferi is a group of spirochetal bacteria transmitted through black-legged tick bites and quickly spread from the site of the bite through the body if left untreated. 

As the bacteria spreads throughout the body, it takes up residence in the tissues, which causes joint, heart, and nervous system problems such as: 

  • Fatigue
  • Arthritis
  • Meningitis
  • Neuropathies
  • Muscular pain
  • Cardiac disease
  • Ulcerating lesions
  • Cognitive dysfunction 
  • Unusual skin fiber growth
  • Erythema migrans (bulls-eye) rash

Many of these symptoms mirror Lyme disease. The parallel makes sense since the same group of bacteria is responsible for both conditions. 

What is Lyme Disease? 

 

Tick “questing” for the next host

Lyme borreliosis, otherwise known as Lyme disease, is another tick-borne illness caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a spirochetal bacteria. Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes live in ticks found in two main regions in the United States: the northeast and mid-Atlantic region and the north-central region. However, both infected areas have grown considerably over the last two decades to reach southern Canada. 

A group of children living in Lyme, Connecticut, became the first documented cases of Lyme arthritis in 1976. 

Since then, medical researchers have found that Lyme disease is a complicated illness encompassing a broad range of symptoms beyond arthritis. These symptoms attack many  systems of the body, including the following:

  • Skin
  • Joints
  • Heart
  • The nervous system

The CDC estimates that 300,000 people per year fall victim to Lyme disease. 

Lyme borreliosis spreads to humans through tick bites from infected black-legged ticks. Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes live inside the ticks, travel through the tick’s saliva, and enter the tick’s bite site to infect human hosts. 

Once inside the skin, the spirochetes quickly spread through the body. The spirochetes do this using adaptations that allow them to outmaneuver the host immune system while passing through tissues too dense for the defense.

An example of an Erythema Rash

A small portion of Lyme patients experience an Erythema migrans (EM) or a bulls-eye rash—the tell-tale sign of a Borrelia burgdorferi infection. The bulls-eye rash is considered a type of lesion. Patients may exhibit the rash for anywhere from three days to a month after being bit by an infected tick. The delay makes it harder to diagnose the cause.

The bulls-eye nickname comes from the dark red patch of skin in the middle of an irritated red ring. These bulls-eye rashes grow as the illness progresses. While bulls-eye rashes are a tell-tale sign of Lyme borreliosis infection, these rashes are often misdiagnosed or dismissed due to irregular shapes or presentations that don’t follow the perceived norm.

If left untreated, the bacterial infection will disseminate, potentially spreading secondary rashes to other areas of the body. 

Usually, an antibiotic regimen will resolve Borrelia infections and their symptoms.

While many patients with both Lyme and Morgellons diseases experience bulls-eye rashes, most patients with tick-spread Borrelia infections do not, making a positive diagnosis difficult. 

When bulls-eyerashes don’t manifest with symptoms consistent with Lyme disease, a clinician may conduct blood tests for Lyme. Unfortunately, limitations of the testing mean that many patients receive false negative results, hampering their ability to get treatment and allowing their illness to intensify relatively unchecked. 

Lyme and Morgellons

Morgellons Disease Fiber Extrusion on Leg

Morgellons Disease Fiber Extrusion on wrist

In this study, researchers identified 25 Morgellons patients based on fiber growth and ulcerating lesions. They collected tissue and body-fluid samples  to test rigorously at three independent laboratories. While only two-thirds of the patients met the criteria for CDC Lyme Surveillance, everyone tested positive for a Borrelia burgdorferi infection despite taking antibiotics to treat their symptoms. 

Researchers concluded that Morgellons disease is a manifestation of Lyme borreliosis, the infection responsible for Lyme disease. 

Though researchers don’t yet understand why, only a small subgroup of Lyme disease patients—mostly middle-aged caucasian women—develop Morgellons symptoms. These nasty symptoms include fiber growth, ulcerating lesions, debilitating fatigue, and cognitive decline. 

Patients in this subgroup have trouble conquering their spirochetal infections independently and sometimes even after help from antibiotics. Without successful treatment, symptoms and the underlying infection may persist for months or even years without relief. 

If you or a loved one are suffering from Morgellons disease and don’t know where to turn, you can find doctors who understand your condition through our website. 

We still have much to learn about Morgellons disease.  

Please consider donating to our foundation today.  Every dollar donated goes to help fund research that will provide relief to suffering patients, improve diagnosis, and educate doctors and patients on better paths to healing. 

 

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Clinical Diagnosis of Morgellons Disease

Medical professionals often misdiagnose Morgellons disease symptoms. They may miscategorize them as other illnesses ranging from skin conditions to psychological disorders.

This leaves many patients without the care and treatments they need for relief.

All too frequently, doctors say nothing is physically wrong with their Morgellons patients. Instead, they attribute real symptoms to delusions of infestation—meaning the patient just thinks something has infected them. 

However, evidence supporting an infectious cause is stacking up. 

The majority of the medical community refuses to acknowledge Morgellons as an actual infectious disease, despite evidence on the contrary. 

To develop a clinical diagnosis, a research team led by Marianne J. Middelveen has proposed criteria for identifying and classifying Morgellons disease.

Morgellons overview

Morgellons is a complex skin disease characterized by ulcerating lesions (open sores) with protruding or embedded filaments. 

These filaments or fibers are made from the patient’s skin cells that have gone hay-wire. They’re made of the same protein, keratin, and collagen that make our hair, skin, and nails.  

Using hand-held light microscopes at 50x magnification, researchers can see filaments or fibers in the skin of Morgellons patients. The fibers may be blue, red, green, black, or white and are found growing under unbroken skin, protruding from calluses, and sprouting around skin lesions or open sores. 

Aside from the strange fibers and obviously painful open sores, patients suffering from Morgellons disease also experience symptoms consistent with unresolved Lyme disease. These symptoms involve many different body systems and severely impact a patient’s quality of life. A patient with Morgellons may experience all of these symptoms:  

  • Extreme fatigue
  • Muscle pain 
  • Arthritis 
  • Cardiac disease
  • Memory loss
  • Brain fog
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Disfiguring open sores
Morgellons Disease Fiber Extrusion

Morgellons Disease Fiber Extrusion

Through dozens of studies, researchers have discovered that 98% of Morgellons patients have an underlying Borrelia burgdorferi infection. Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochetal bacteria spread through black-legged tick bites. They’re also the leading infectious agent in Lyme disease. 

These spirochetes have been positively identified in patient tissue and body fluid samples using cell culture growths, PCR testing, SEM, TEM, light microscopy, and various staining techniques. 

Morgellons patients account for up to 6% of Lyme disease diagnoses in Australia. This fact hints to researchers that persistent Lyme disease may manifest as Morgellons disease instead of a standalone illness. 

The spirochetes in Lyme disease and Morgellons persists after antibiotic therapy through various adaptations that allow it to outrun the patient’s immune system. The little parasites hide inside specific cells and slow growth until the treatment stops. 

Because of spirochete evasiveness, Morgellons disease is challenging to treat. Researchers and doctors haven’t yet discovered a practical course of antibiotic treatment that can permanently resolve the infection. 

Clinical Diagnosis for Morgellons

Partly because of the treatment and diagnosis issues associated with Morgellons, Middelveen’s research team created a clinical diagnosis scheme for Morgellons. The idea behind the research is to help medical professionals accurately diagnose and evaluate the severity of their patients’ illnesses. 

Medical classification schemes for disease staging help doctors objectively identify and assess disease severity and progression to prescribe the correct therapies and treatment

Morgellons Disease Lesion Close Up

Morgellons Disease Lesion Close Up

routes. Syphilis, another spirochetal infection characterized by skin lesions, is categorized by three stages that reflect an array of skin sores and lesions associated with the disease. 

Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria are the primary infectious agent that causes Morgellons disease. These flagellated spirochetes can “swim” through dense tissues and complex cellular structures, allowing them to travel or disseminate throughout the body of their hosts and infect a wide range of body tissues in various locations. In patients with a localized classification, the bacteria often haven’t yet spread beyond the body part that was initially bitten by the infectious tick. 

The “class” designations in the staging for Morgellons disease denote how long the patient has been experiencing symptoms and whether the symptoms are local to one area of the body or disseminated to include others.  

The “class” designations for the disease spread are paired with one of three varying stages of lesion progression. These stages help medical professionals assess the severity of the Borrelia infection. Stage A lesions are milder than Stage C lesions; Stage B lesions are somewhere between. 

Below we share the specific classes and stages of Morgellons disease.

Class I

Early localized: lesions and fibers have been present for less than three months and are found on one central body area such as the head, trunk, or extremities. 

Class II

Early disseminated: lesions and fibers have been present for less than three months and involve more than one area of the body. 

Class III

Late, localized: fibers/lesions have been present for more than six months and are found on one area of the body, such as the head, trunk, or extremities. 

Class IV

Late, disseminated: lesions and fibers have been present for more than six months and have spread to more than one body part. Patients may have lesions and fibers on their head, trunk, and extremities. 

Stage A 

During the first or early stage of Morgellons disease, the lesions have little immune cell reaction to the spirochetal infection. There are no macrophages (white blood cells) or hemorrhaging (bruising) in or around the lesions. 

The skin cell layers are still organized, and the keratinocytes—cells that make keratin—have not been pushed into overdrive by the invading spirochetes. 

Painful lesions on a Morgellons patient’s legs

Stage B

Patients with Stage B lesions have an intermediary pattern that has progressed beyond Stage A but hasn’t yet reached the advanced degree seen in Stage C. 

Stage C

White blood cells, macrophages, and Borrelia species colonies are easily found in late Stage C lesions samples. There’s remarkable bruising or hemorrhaging around the lesions, and the invading spirochetes have activated both Keratinocytes (keratin-producing cells) and fibroblasts (collagen-producing cells). The cells work in overdrive to produce unusual fibers and filaments. The skin cell layers in Stage C lesions have also been disrupted and are unorganized.

While identifying a clinical diagnosis can go a long way toward helping patients suffering from this disfiguring illness, there’s still much we don’t yet understand. 

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Our researchers have made huge strides over the last decade to understand this debilitating illness better. But we are still far from reaching a cure or gaining traction in the mainstream medical community. 

Only through grass-roots efforts can we spread awareness about the genuine impacts this disease has on Morgellons patients and their families. 

Please do

nate today to the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation so we can continue to fund more research like this and spread awareness. 

What are Morgellons Fibers?

Patients with Morgellons disease make bizarre claims that unusual hairs or fibers are sprouting from their skin. Many of these fibers cling to the skin—especially around the edges of open wounds. 

These fantastically colored fibers don’t resemble any filaments naturally produced by mammalian cells, baffling medical professionals. But some doctors simply dismiss them as lint from clothing getting stuck in scabs.

To “prove” that these fibers are real to sometimes contrarian doctors, some patients collect skin debris to show their doctors. 

Unfortunately, a patient’s habit of collecting bits of fuzz and skin doesn’t help disprove their illness.   Such efforts may actually push a doctor to support a delusional diagnosis! 

Join the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation as we take a deep dive into the research surrounding these mysterious Morgellons fibers. 

What are Morgellons Fibers? 

Morgellons Disease Fiber Extrusion on Leg

Morgellons Disease Fiber Extrusion on Leg

Many people suffering from Morgellons disease have been told that the colored fuzz they see around their sores is just lint from towels that adhered to the skin after they bathed. However, further examination of these fibers has shown that collected filaments do not match any of the 880 known compounds used to make textiles. 

And the fibers don’t just collect around lesions. Patients experience fibers protruding from the skin all over their bodies—especially around calluses. Adding to the puzzle, researchers can see colored fibers embedded in intact skin when using a handheld 60X magnification light microscope. 

Fibers and filaments from Morgellons patients come in wild colors including blue, red, purple, black, white and clear. Most of these colors aren’t seen in mammalian hair, leading many to think they must be from textiles. But medical researchers have used dye-extraction techniques to pull the pigments from these hairs without success. Such efforts would easily discolor textile fibers.

Morgellons fiber structure

Morgellons Disease Fiber Extrusion

Morgellons Disease Fiber Extrusion

Many of the fibers specimens studied show a similar structure to hair strands. The fibers have follicular bulbs and scaling consistent with hairs and grow in or near hair follicles. But not all of the fibers look like hairs; some lack hair-like scaling and are smooth or flattened and wrinkly. 

Because pigments can’t be pulled from colorful fiber samples, researchers have concluded that the fibers’ colors are refractory, meaning the structure of the fibers reflect light in such a way that they appear to be colored. 

Although purple and blue aren’t colors seen in animal hair, iridescent (a metallic sheen), and refractory colors are consistent with keratin. Keratin is the same class of protein that colors birds’ feathers and is also prevalent in human skin.  

Morgellons fiber composition

Morgellons fibers seem to originate from the layer of the skin where hairs grow—the layer  where keratinocytes are most active. Keratinocytes are the special skin cells that make keratin, the predominant protein that makes up hair, skin, and nails. 

Keratin is a filament protein, meaning it forms long strands that help support cells by acting like scaffolding. Keratin fibers help support tissue cells and give skin its strength and durability. Knowing this, researchers ran several tests to determine Morgellons fiber composition. 

Using a special staining technique, researchers applied a keratin-specific dye to fiber samples. When applied to Morgellons fiber samples collected from patients, the researchers discovered that the dye took to the fibers in patches. That means that the fibers are at least partly made of keratin. 

Collagen is another fibrous protein that occurs naturally. It’s the primary building block in tissues. Collagen strands create a lattice around cells to offer support and help create connective tissues, muscles, skin, hair and bones. 

Suspecting collagen as an ingredient in Morgellons fibers, researchers applied collagen-specific stains to patient samples. Sure enough, the dye colored the non-keratin parts of the fibers. In other words, Morgellons fibers aren’t from textiles at all—the body manufactures them.

Morgellon fiber production

Morgellons Disease Fibers Magnified Specimen

Morgellons Disease Fibers Magnified Specimen

With Morgellons patients, it seems that keratin and collagen-creating cells have run amok, pushing into overdrive to make oversized fibers. But why? 

Researchers discovered spirochetes near the misbehaving cells in fiber tissue samples.  Plenty of research and documentation point to a spirochetal infection playing a role in Morgellons disease symptoms. Nearly all Morgellons patients test positive for Borrelia burgdorferi, the main player in Lyme disease and other tick-borne bacteria. 

 

Borrelia burgdorferi in particular, has several adaptations that allow it to attach to the outer walls of keratin- and collagen-producing cells. In some instances, the bacteria wiggles its way inside the tissue cells and takes up residence—triggering the protein-producing cells to go berserk and make huge strands of protein. 

These proteins grow quickly, sometimes working their way up through the skin. Others grow in a tangle below the surface. It’s entirely possible that the itchy, crawling sensations a Morgellons patient feels are these large filaments growing within their tissues. 

Morgellons patients not only experience protruding hairs and open sores, but they also experience problems with finger and toenail growth, joint lesions and disintegrating teeth—structures that are all dependent on healthy keratin and collagen production. In other words, the body is redirecting too much of its supply of keratin and collagen to something less…helpful than joints, nails and hair.  

Disputing the CDC

Many Morgellons cynics point to a landmark 2012 Morgellons CDC study that stated that the fiber specimens they collected from Morgellons patients were 83% protein and likely made of superficial skin or cellulose, a plant fiber found in cotton. 

However, medical researcher Marianne J. Middelveen (the author of the studies referenced in this post) has pointed out that cellulose is a plant-based carbohydrate, not a protein. If 83% of the sample was made of protein (which is consistent with Middelveen’s findings), that means a small percentage of the sample (less than 17%) was exclusively cellulose and could have come from textile lint stuck to open wounds.

With this detail in mind, the CDC study actually supports the notion that Morgellons fibers are abnormal keratin and collagen strands as both are the most predominant proteins in human tissues. 

More research is needed 

Despite major breakthroughs in Morgellons research since 2012, there’s still debate over whether Morgellons disease is even legitimate. Please consider donating to the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation to help us spread awareness through grassroots efforts and research grants. 

Even small donations can help us find relief for so many patients who are suffering from this debilitating and often disfiguring illness. 

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What Causes Morgellons Disease: Understanding Borrelia Spirochetes

Imagine you hire armed security guards because you just attained a priceless piece of art. No one likes the thought of a cat burglar breaking in past the security guards and making away with the art without being caught. 

But this may be just what’s happening within the immune system of Morgellons patients trying to deal with the unwanted intruder of Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes. The security system is simply outmatched by a smaller, faster opponent. And that leaves the priceless artifact of good health in the hands of the invaders. 

Through this article, we’ll explain how  Morgellons patients suffer from a low-level, persistent infection rather than a mental illness many claim. Despite having many avenues for testing, Morgellons patients and their doctors often come up short when diagnosing this debilitating disease. 

By piecing together the latest research around Borrelia burgdorferi, a tick-borne pathogen, the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation would like to help you better understand spirochetal infections and Morgellons disease. 

What is Borrelia burgdorferi?

Example of flagellated bacteria

Through many scientific and clinical evaluations, researchers have noted that up to 98% of Morgellons patients have tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi infections—the leading player in Lyme disease. 

Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) is a flagellated spiral-shaped bacteria or spirochete that has many tails. The bacterium uses these tails as tiny propellers to swim through fluids. Bb colonies can be found in small rodents and spread to new hosts through bites from the blacklegged tick—a prominent tick species across much of North America. 

Ticks feast on many different hosts—including humans—throughout their life cycle, transmitting the infecting bacteria during each blood meal. Bb primarily lives in the tick’s gut, but when conditions are right, it migrates up the tick, collecting in its saliva and spreading to the new host. 

Once in the new host, Bb quickly colonizes host tissues. The groups of growing and dividing bacteria depend on host cells like human skin cells to provide the nutrients they need to survive. 

How Borrelia burgdorferi spreads through the body

Morgellons Disease on Scalp

Morgellons Disease on Scalp

If left untreated, the founding colony of fully motile or swimming bacteria quickly disseminates through the host’s tissues. In regards to human patients, this means that the infection can spread throughout the body and into other tissues—not just skin—causing the vast array of symptoms we see in Morgellons and Lyme disease patients. 

Spirochetes are up to one thousand times smaller than the cells that make up our bodies. The size disparity, paired with their high motility, allows them to swim through our dense tissues, cellular structures, and membranes.

Usually, our immune system does a fabulous job catching and eliminating invasive bacterial threats. However, natural immune system response isn’t up to the chase for many patients. Human immune cells can only travel through the extracellular space—the fluid surrounding individual cells in tissues. They’re too large to fight infection inside individual tissue cells where Bb can hide. 

Special adaptations like its slender body shape, minuscule size, and high mobility allow Bb to enter cells, outmaneuver immune responses and travel through the host tissues without using the bloodstream. As Bb infection spreads throughout the body, the types of lesions left in its wake reflect the progressive stages of the disease. 

Treating Borrelia burgdorferi infections

Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes are the ultimate cat burglars of the cellular world, as we alluded to above. Not only can they outrun immune cells, but Bb can also evade many forms of clinical testing and antibiotic treatments. 

Borrelia spirochetes have an entire repertoire of adaptations that allow them to survive adverse conditions. Some antibiotic treatments, like doxycycline, azithromycin, and nitazoxanide work by collecting in the extracellular space—creating harmful conditions and preventing growth. In the presence of these medications, the bacteria can turn on genes that will slow growth or change into a cyst. 

In cyst form, Borrelia species can survive almost indefinitely in poor conditions. When the environment improves, cysts will revert back into spirochetal form and proceed to colonize within the host tissues. This behavior could explain why many Morgellons patients find relief through antibiotic therapy, but experience flare-ups after treatment stops. 

Many medications used to treat bacterial infections cannot pass through cell walls and enter intracellular spaces within tissues. The spirochetes may improve their survival by slipping through cell walls and hiding inside the host’s cells—where antibiotic drugs cannot reach them. 

Limits of Borrelia burgdorferi testing 

While it’s true that a Borrelia infection may seem bloodborne—it is spread by a tick after all—this isn’t the case. In reality, Borrelia species don’t spread through the body via the host’s bloodstream. It doesn’t need to since it can swim through tissues. Knowing this, it makes sense that patient blood tests often come back negative, spurring many medical professionals to say Morgellons is a mental disorder rather than a biological malady. 

But there’s more than one way to use blood testing to diagnose disease. 

Even though the pathogen doesn’t travel through the bloodstream, the markers a host’s immune system uses to hunt spirochetes do. Scientists can identify these markers called antibodies in a patient’s blood sample and count how many there are. The antibody count will be high if the patient is fighting an ongoing infection. The antibody count will decrease as the immune system conquers the infection and clears the pathogen. 

While this may seem straightforward, Borrelia’s adaptations discussed above come into play. If the spirochetes have gone dormant or become cysts, the immune system may not be making antibodies against them. That means even serological antibody testing can lead to false negatives.

Cultures and PCR

Example of cell culture growth

Scientists can also take tissue samples, grow bacterial cultures, or test for Borrelia DNA. While growing cultures can be an accurate testing option, the growth and identification process may be not only lengthy but expensive. 

DNA testing may not always be accurate as the lab-grown strains of Borrelia spirochetes are genetically different from the strains found in the wild, which may also account for false-negative test results leading to harmful misdiagnosis.

Light microscopy

Due to these constraints, light microscopy is one of the best ways to diagnose Morgellons disease clinically. Using a handheld microscope, clinicians can examine lesions for colored Morgellons fibers. While how the spirochetal infection triggers fiber production is still unknown, they seem to be caused by Borrelia spirochetes hiding in specific skin cells. 

Borrelia burgdorferi and Morgellons disease

While it is true that the vast majority of Morgellons patients have experienced an underlying Borrelia burgdorferi infection, researchers still don’t fully understand the infection’s mechanics in Morgellons patients. 

Many questions remain as to whether Morgellons symptoms are, in fact, due to a persistent infection, a reaction with dead spirochetes, an autoimmune disease triggered by an initial infection, or all of the above. 

We know Morgellons disease has a pathogenic cause—it’s not a delusional disorder. Morgellons patient suffering is real, tangible, and can be successfully treated with the right approach. 

Through your charitable donations, the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation can help fund future studies to find answers for those suffering. 

Every little bit counts. Please consider donating $5 or more to help relieve the suffering of future Morgellons patients.

 

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Morgellons Disease and Elusive Treatments: A Case Study

Finding suitable treatments for Morgellons disease has been perplexing for researchers—and causing continued patient suffering—for some time. It can be challenging to pin down an infectious cause for Morgellons-like symptoms in some patients when serological testing returns false negatives. 

What’s more, Morgellons disease symptoms don’t always respond well to antibiotics. This leads far too many researchers to diagnose patients with psychosis and treat them with antipsychotics with the assumption that the patient is delusional. 

To better understand treatment difficulties for Morgellons disease, you’ll need to understand the pathogen causing the underlying illness, how these infecting bacteria behave in the body, and how they respond to treatment. 

To shed light on a patient’s pathway to help and healing, the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation will present the findings from a patient case study and unfolding research surrounding Borrelia species spirochetal bacteria.

Failed Morgellons Disease Diagnosis Case Study 

This case study is a typical example of how difficult diagnosing and treating Morgellons disease can be. It followed a middle-aged Caucasian female who went to a clinic in Calgary complaining of vaginal itching. She eventually developed ulcerating lesions and fiber growth throughout her body. 

For three years doctors prescribed many different treatments without success.

Here’s a timeline of events: 

Summer 2014

The patient experienced what she assumed was a mosquito bite. The bite was red, itchy, and cleared up more than a month later. The patient didn’t experience any other symptoms and didn’t think anything more of it. 

March 2015

The patient came to a Calgary clinic because she was experiencing vaginal itching that had lasted several weeks. Doctors discovered that her vagina and vulvar regions were red and rashy and that she also had experienced “skin loss, hypopigmentation, cracks, fissures, and ulceration” in her genital tissues. 

 

Medical professionals conducted many tests, ruling out the most common STIs and bacterial infections. However, the patient did test positive for herpes simplex virus (HSV), for which she received treatment. The patient reported some improvement in her symptoms. However, she did not experience resolution of her genital fissures and ulcerations. 

June 2015

Morgellons Disease Fibers Magnified Specimen

Morgellons Disease Fibers Magnified Specimen

The patient returned to the clinic because she was still experiencing painful gynecological symptoms. The patient had also developed ulcerated, punctate erosions on her back. Researchers discovered black fibers embedded in her skin during a microscopic exam under 50x magnification. These fibers pointed her physician toward a possible Lyme diagnosis. 

The patient recalled being bit by an insect the previous summer and that she had developed a red, itchy rash that took longer than a month to heal. The patient thought the rash was a mosquito bite and didn’t think any more of it. 

Her doctor took a blood sample and a vaginal swab to test for tick-borne infections, and the patient tested positive for a host of Borrelia species. 

August 2016

The patient developed open sores on her shoulders and arms. She had been prescribed a doxycycline regimen for three months. While this treatment provided some clinical improvement, the patient’s symptoms didn’t go away. So her doctor extended her antibiotic treatment for another three months. 

January 2017

The doxycycline “completely failed to resolve her symptoms” and her physician halted treatment. 

Researchers studying her case conducted another series of serological testing and the patient tested positive for Borrelia species of spirochetal bacteria and several other infectious bacteria. She was placed on azithromycin and nitazoxanide therapy. The patient was able to heal completely from her lesions, regain everyday function and go back to work full time. 

The patient noticed that she experienced flare-ups if she ate sugary or processed foods or was under stress. 

October 2017

After breaking out in acne-like lesions on her chin, the patient returned to the clinic. She was experiencing a red, flaky perioral dermatitis-like rash around her mouth. Her azithromycin and nitazoxanide treatment had stopped and she began doxycycline therapy again. 

December 2017

Painful lesions on a Morgellons patient’s legs before antibiotic treatment.

The patient’s symptoms got worse and her other symptoms returned. At this time, the patient tested positive again for infections from Borrelia and other tick-borne bacterial infections. 

The patient resumed her azithromycin and nitazoxanide therapy and saw improvement for an entire year. 

December 2018

The patient discontinued her azithromycin and nitazoxanide treatment, and her symptoms relapsed, developing annular rashes on her hands, legs, back, and abdomen. Her lesions grew from 1 cm in diameter to 6 or 7 cm and she also developed secondary erythema migrans rash with blue embedded fibers. 

Researchers found Borrelia organisms in lesion biopsies. 

As a result of clinical observations and test results, her azithromycin and nitazoxanide treatment resumed with an added short course of prednisone.  

June 2018

Healing lesions post treatment

The patient’s therapy included tinidazole and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, which finally resolved her symptoms. She returned to living everyday life. 

The patient reported that she went back to working her full-time job and caring for her two children. Despite the gains she made in her current treatment, she did say she experienced relapses if she indulged in sugary or processed foods. 

Borrelia burgdorferi

This case study shows that the patient’s use of oral antibiotics, like doxycycline, failed to resolve her symptoms and clear the underlying bacterial infection. Results like this can lead many medical professionals to believe that Morgellons is a psychiatric illness, not the result of a disease. But why does this happen when patients clearly have an underlying infection? 

As it turns out, Borrelia species of bacteria, specifically Borrelia burgdorferi—the main player behind Lyme disease—adapt to living in mammalian hosts and evading both antibiotics and the hosts’ immune systems. 

Special adaptations

Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the bacteria known to cause Lyme disease and found in 98% of Morgellons patients, is spirochetal, meaning its spiral-shaped. It has many tail-like flagella that can whip and twirl, much like a propeller, to help it move. This bacteria is fully motile or capable of spontaneous motion. 

Research has found that not only can the bacteria “swim” along microscope slides, but they are actually capable of swimming through dense tissue and maneuvering through complicated cellular structures through which host immune cells are too large to travel. Bb can quite literally outrun and outmaneuver host immune cells. High motility found in Borrelia species may also account for the spirochete’s ability to move or disseminate through many different body parts and systems without using the bloodstream. 

What’s more, as part of the Bb life cycle, the bacteria can regulate the genes that trigger growth in response to environmental pressures. Meaning Bb can slow growth and go dormant inside a host until conditions are right, then begin multiplying and colonizing tissues within the host. 

The spirochete’s ability to go dormant explains why it may take up to a year for Lyme and Morgellons disease patients to experience symptoms after being bitten by a tick. This tendency may also account for false-negative serological tests. 

Slow growth regulation also comes into play when introducing antibiotics to treat Bb infections. Antibiotics like doxycycline, azithromycin, and nitazoxanide create an unfavorable environment, triggering Bb cells to go dormant—making the infection clear somewhat and improving symptoms. 

However, when antibiotic regimens halt, the environmental conditions improve so bacteria can begin growing and multiplying again—triggering more symptoms. 

Please note that doxycycline, azithromycin, and nitazoxanide work by stopping the growth of bacteria so that the patient’s immune system can clear the infection. These drugs do not outright kill the bacteria. 

In the end, Morgellons disease may be so challenging to treat because the bacteria responsible for the underlying infection can literally run and hide from both antibiotics and the patient’s immune response cells. 

Clearly, Morgellons disease still needs more research to understand how to better combat infectious bacteria like Borrelia burgdorferi that cause so much pain and suffering for Morgellons patients. 

Please donate today to help the Charles E. Hollman Morgellons Disease Foundation fund continuing research like this case study that can improve the quality of life for Morgellons patients everywhere. 

 

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How Do You Get Morgellons Disease?

The mainstream media and the medical community at large view Morgellons as a delusional disorder. But research over the last decade has found that Morgellons disease symptoms are a manifestation of an underlying bacterial infection. The culprit, spirochetal bacteria in the Borellia genus, are known to cause disease in other mammals and are spread by blacklegged ticks. 

 

If you have Morgellons symptoms, you may have suffered for years before finding a name for your illness. The Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation is here to help answer your questions surrounding Morgellons disease and raise awareness for healing. 

 

Through the remainder of this article, we’ll introduce how Morgellons symptoms spread through tick bites and how animals that contract the symptoms are cured. Then we’ll examine why people aren’t treated with known cures for the same symptoms, often being mislabeled with mental disorders instead.

How do you get a spirochetal infection? 

Understanding Morgellons disease requires knowing how ticks spread bacteria. Spirochetal bacteria, named for their spiral-shaped appearance, are responsible for many diseases. Borrelia, a group of spirochetes, causes infectious diseases like Morgellons, relapsing fever, and Lyme disease and is primarily spread through blacklegged tick bites.  

Ticks and disease

Ticks use unique sensory systems to detect the breath, body odor, body heat, and movement vibrations of animals. These adaptations allow the blacklegged tick to identify frequently used paths. 

 

Along these paths, ticks climb to the tips of shrubs and grasses and wait for their next hosts with arms outstretched—a behavior called questing. When an animal brushes by, the tick climbs aboard. 

 

Once on the host, ticks spend ten minutes to two hours looking for the right place to begin eating. Usually, ticks prefer moist, protected areas on the body that won’t be easily noticed, like the groin or ears. 

 

Once a tick has found the perfect spot to eat, it grasps the host’s skin and cuts through the surface layers. Next, the tick inserts a feeding tube and secretes a cement-like substance to hold it in place while it dines. 

 

While feeding, ticks excrete anesthetic laced saliva so that the host won’t be bothered by the feeding parasite. If the tick finds a well-sheltered spot, it can go unnoticed for its entire stay. 

 

Ticks usually suck blood for several days. Once they’ve had their fill, they’ll fall off. The host may be none the wiser. 

 

Problem is, ticks spread disease while they feed. If a host animal has a blood-borne illness, the tick ingests those germs during its meal. When the tick finds a new host, it then spreads those germs and illnesses through its saliva.

 

Blacklegged ticks seek a new host with every life stage. And since these ticks can live for three years, a single tick can spread disease through any number of animals—humans included.  

Symptoms of tick-borne illness

In many cases, people who contract tick-borne illnesses may never know that a tick bit them, and symptoms of a tick bite may take days or weeks to appear. 

 

If you like to go for adventures in tick-infested areas, take precautions to protect yourself from tick bites.

 

If you suspect you’ve experienced a tick bite, here are symptoms to watch for: 

 

  • Fever and chills 
  • Muscle aches and joint pain
  • Extreme fatigue 
  • Erythema migrans rash—“bullseye” rash

 

Generally speaking, an erythema migrans rash is a tell-tale sign of a Lyme infection. About 30% to 80% of infected people develop a rash that starts at the site of a tick bite. The rash can take anywhere from a few days to an entire month to show up after the bite, so you wouldn’t know that a tick bit you until after the tick is long gone. 

 

An example of an erythema migrans rash

“Bullseye rashes,” or Erythema rashes, get their nickname because they gradually grow in a bullseye shape over several days and may be as large as 12 inches across. As the rash develops, it also clears, leaving a red mark in the center surrounded by a red rim along the outermost edge with clear skin in the middle. The rash is warm to the touch but isn’t itchy or painful. 

 

Evidence suggests that Morgellons patients suffer from a form of chronic, systemic Lyme disease. When a person goes untreated for a tick bite leading to Lyme disease, the spirochetal infection can spread, causing symptoms in several different body systems and even leaving microscopic fibrous growths embedded in the skin and causing itchiness. Research also suggests that humans aren’t the only mammals to react to a Borrelia infection with lesions and fiber growth. 

Borellia infections in other animals

As seen in Morgellons disease, extraordinary keratin fibers and ulcerating lesions aren’t unique to humans. These are well-known symptoms of spirochetal infections in domestic dogs and livestock. 

Lyme disease in dogs

A dog with a tick between its toes

Our canine companions are susceptible to tick-borne illnesses too. Dogs with tick-borne diseases like canine Lyme experience many of the same symptoms as humans, including: 

 

  • General malaise
  • Fever
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Joint pain
  • Swollen connective tissues

 

However, furry friends can’t speak up and tell us that they aren’t feeling well, so initial symptoms may go unnoticed by owners for weeks or even months. Once noticeable symptoms like lameness become apparent, the underlying spirochetal infection has spread throughout the dog’s body. 

 

In 2016, researchers collected skin samples from nine dogs experiencing ulcerating lesions with unusual filament growth—strikingly similar to Morgellons disease. The dogs in question also had a history of tick exposure. 

 

Skin samples were examined under a microscope and used for culture growth. Researchers visually confirmed spirochetes under magnification, and the cultures grew a species of Borrelia bacteria. Researchers did not find the presence of Borrelia species in the asymptomatic dogs that were used as controls. That hints that the bacteria isn’t found in healthy canines and may be responsible for illness in the afflicted dogs. 

 

Through serological (blood plasma and antibody) testing, researchers found that most of the dogs had antibodies against Borrelia bacteria—which indicated that the animals’ immune systems in the study were fighting an ongoing infection. Again the control animals did not test positive for Borrelia antibodies and did not have an immunological history of the disease. 

 

In this study, owners of the infected dogs tried several different treatments to heal their pets’ sores and alleviate symptoms. In almost every case, topical treatments failed. Antibiotic therapies that included doxycycline were successful. 

Bovine digital dermatitis 

Since 1994, bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) has been a widespread and well-documented illness affecting dairy cattle in the midwestern United States. Characterized by open sores and long filaments, this disease can cause lameness, weight loss, a decrease in milk production, and even death in dairy cattle. The condition is highly contagious and can quickly spread through an entire herd, with devastating financial impacts for farmers. 

 

Because of BDD’s financial strain on the entire dairy industry, researchers quickly identified spirochetal infections as a primary cause. Over the last 20 years, antibiotic sprays and foot washes have been widely accepted treatments for infected animals. 

 

And yet antibiotic treatment for people with Morgellons still isn’t widely accepted. If you suffer from Morgellons disease symptoms and have been unable to find help, locate a doctor who understands now.

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Canine companions receive antibiotic treatment when a spirochetal infection causes open sores, general malaise, and unusual filament growths. 

 

Dairy cattle receive antibiotic treatment when a spirochetal infection causes open sores, filament growth, and decreased milk production. 

Yet when a person experiences a spirochetal infection with open sores, filament growth, and debilitating systemic symptoms, many experts call them “delusional.” 

Help us make Morgellons a disease acknowledged by practitioners as the debilitating disease it is. The harm and emotional turmoil that comes from misdiagnosis is too massive to adequately explain.

 

Help spread awareness and change the dogma surrounding Morgellons disease through grassroots efforts. Your donations help fund the research for practical solutions that can provide relief to those suffering from Morgellons disease.

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Current Morgellons Disease Research: Understanding the Methods Used

Recent Morgellons disease research has found ample evidence that a patient’s symptoms stem from the body’s reaction to a bacterial infection. The research supports that patients’ pain has a pathogenic cause and doesn’t stem from a neurological disorder, as some claim. 

Morgellons disease is characterized by colored filaments embedded in the skin and protruding from painful skin lesions. Morgellons patients also suffer from other seemingly inexplicable symptoms that severely impact their quality of life. 

Without an apparent cause, the mystery behind Morgellons has led many medical professionals to prescribe antipsychotics to treat neurologic symptoms. Patients walk away with no relief for the physical symptoms and some even question their own sanity. 

In all actuality, the culprit behind Morgellons disease appears to be caused by spirochetal bacteria front the Borrelia genus known to be spread by ticks and associated with Lymes disease. Although Borrelia spirochetes are detected across the board in Morgellons skin tissue, other pathogens may also play a role. 

Scientists continue to use these steps to refine our understanding of this enigmatic disease.

How do researchers identify infecting bacteria? 

When presented with an unknown bacterium, microbiologists work to isolate infection-causing bacteria. This helps them better understand the species with which they are dealing. Morgellons researchers have followed this same process to identify the spirochetes ravaging Morgellons patients’ lives. 

Standing on their own, any individual bacterial test may not offer conclusive evidence that Morgellons patients suffer from a spirochetal infection. However, by running a combination of these tests on multiple patients, researchers have concluded that species related to the  Borrelia genus are some of the pathogens responsible for Morgellons disease. 

Here’s a rundown of laboratory experiments used to identify spirochetal infection in Morgellons patients. 

Microscopic staining

In this Morgellon’s study, scientists took skin samples from participating patients. When examined under a microscope, it’s difficult to differentiate between skin cells and invasive bacteria. To help the bacteria visibly stand out from the surrounding cells, microbiologists use special staining techniques to dye the bacterial cells a different color. 

Once bacteria are stained, scientists can study their physical characteristics under different types of microscopes to determine to which group the unknown bacteria belong. Bacteria are initially classed or organized based on their physical structure under one of five groups of bacterial “shapes.” These shapes include rod (bacilli), round (cocci), spiral (spirilla), comma (vibrios), and corkscrew (spirochetes). 

The bacteria infecting Morgellons patients have a twisted corkscrew shape and are classified as spirochetal bacteria.

Going Deeper with SEM & TEM

An example of a transmission electron microscope.

After classifying the shape, researchers enlist SEM or scanning electron microscopy to go deeper. Electron microscopes help them describe bacterial cell structure, measure size, and study changes in the bacteria’s physical appearance. This kind of microscopy gives researchers a much better view of specimens than light microscopy alone. SEM helps researchers confirm the physical shape of infecting bacteria and gather essential details about their physical qualities. 

Beyond SEM, researchers turn to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for a high-resolution image of internal structures. Using TEM, researchers can see details as tiny as individual atoms. 

SEM and TEM help researchers understand the physical qualities and structures of the organisms they study. Their biggest drawback is that neither can provide any information about bacterial evolutionary development or offer any genetic identification. 

After using these physical classification techniques, researchers work next to identify the bacteria using DNA testing.

PCR or Polymerase Chain Reaction testing

An example of the machine used for PCR genetic testing.

DNA holds instructions and information inside all living organisms. Polymerase chain reaction tests, or PCR tests, are a fast and accurate approach to diagnosing infectious diseases using DNA collected from disease-causing agents. The machines used in PCR testing can identify the pathogen DNA mixed in a sample.

Researchers collect samples of blood, tissues, mucus, and saliva from patients to run a PCR test.

Each sample contains the patient’s DNA and DNA from the infecting bacteria. Researchers place samples taken from the patient in a particular machine and add an enzyme called polymerase. Within an hour, the polymerase enzyme causes the cells in the sample to clone the genetic material billions of times—including the bacterial DNA.

The PCR machines then sequence or decode the DNA strands to identify the infecting bacteria. 

Serological reactivity & antigen testing

Collecting a blood sample for testing.

Even after identifying the infecting bacteria, researchers are still unsure of the source. That’s why they turn to serological reactivity and antigen testing next. This kind of testing scans a person’s immune system for antibodies related to specific diseases. For instance, the spirochete that causes Morgellons or Lyme disease triggers certain antibodies. 

In serological testing for Morgellons disease, scientists collect blood from a patient. The serum, or liquid portion of the blood, is separated from the blood cells. Then researchers add an agent derived from Borrelia spirochetes to the serum. If the serum reacts to the agent, the researcher can infer that previous patient exposure to the bacteria caused an immune response. 

While this form of testing can be helpful in identifying illness, Lyme disease testing uses lab-grown bacterial strains that aren’t as genetically diverse as naturally occurring strains. The lack of natural diversity leads to both false positives and false negatives. That’s exactly the kind of thing that can reinforce some doctors’ thinking that Morgellons doesn’t stem from bacterial infection at all. 

So researchers have to take it even further for better understanding.  

Inoculations & culture growth

Cell growth culture made from an inoculation.

We’re used to hearing the term “inoculation” used in relation to vaccination. But in microbiology, inoculation means adding microorganisms into a culture, or prepared petri dish, to be grown and multiplied. In this Morgellons disease study, researchers added skin samples to a petri dish that contained everything the bacteria needed to grow and reproduce. 

When Borrelia species grew in a petri dish from a Morgellons patient skin sample, researchers knew that there were living bacteria in the sample they took from the patient and that they were dealing with an ongoing infection. 

Researchers can also use the bacteria grown through inoculations for further testing without collecting more samples from the patient.

Control groups 

In a number of the studies presented, the researchers also tested for Borrelia species in control groups or volunteers with no symptoms or history of Morgellons or Lyme disease. If members of the control group host the same spirochetes, the researchers can presume that the bacteria may not have a role in these infections. 

However, Borrelia species were absent in the control groups of volunteers and unique to the Morgellons patients across nearly all experimental procedures. This reinforces Borrelia spirochetes as the culprit behind Morgellons disease.

Treating the infection

Researchers have isolated and identified Borrelia spirochetes in multiple Morgellons patient studies. Because the disease appears to be caused by an underlying spirochetal infection, using antipsychotics to treat Morgellon symptoms is a misguided approach that can cause psychological and physical harm. 

The most effective way yet discovered to treat an underlying bacterial infection in Morgellons Patients is an antibiotic regimen. Morgellons patients lucky enough to find a doctor who understands Morgellons is an ongoing bacterial infection have already experienced reduced symptoms through antibiotic treatment.

And that’s a relief for more people being called delusional when dealing with a pathogenic disease. 

Donations are needed

Despite ongoing research proving otherwise, the CDC still doesn’t officially recognize the underlying cause of Morgellons disease. The symptoms of Morgellons disease are debilitating for patients and their families. Many patients must fight for care simply because this disease is considered a delusional disease without a physiological cause. 

Through research sponsored by the Charles E. Holman Foundation, we give patients the answers they need and discover better treatments. Experiments like the ones outlined here are costly and time-consuming—and more research is required. 

Your donation today will help fund future research for treatments and cures. You will also help us spread awareness and provide resources to help support those suffering from Morgellons disease. 

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Is Morgellons Disease Real or Imagined? Discover the Truth

The internet is rife with opinions and theories about Morgellons disease and its causes. Most related Google searches pull up articles claiming that Morgellons Disease is a mental disorder. Pundits on open forums make outlandish claims for dangerous treatments. While many sources are quick to cite fallacies and assumptions, let’s look at the facts.

The Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation funds research to increase our scientific understanding of Morgellons’ underlying cause, diagnosis, and treatment. Our foundation is a grassroots effort to spread factual awareness and promote and fund further research. 

This article will demystify Morgellons Disease by gathering and breaking down supportive findings.

Is Morgellons Disease Real or Imaginary?

Morgellons disease doesn’t exist in medical books. The CDC doesn’t even recognize Morgellons disease as an actual illness, instead referring to it as an “unexplained dermatopathy” and dismissing most telltale fibers underneath the skin as cotton fibers. 

Contrary to popular medical sites and even the CDC, the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation has found scientific evidence that supports the existence of Morgellons disease:

While symptom intensity varies from patient to patient, our research supports claims that common symptoms can be explained through replicable testing and observation. 

General Symptoms of Morgellons Disease

Morgellons patients suffer from a wide-ranging and often debilitating variety of symptoms, making a diagnosis challenging to pin down. However, patients typically suffer from: 

  • Slow-healing skin lesions
  • Inexplicable fibers in the skin
  • Overwhelming fatigue 
  • Gastrointestinal issues 
  • Heavy brain fog 
  • Itching, stinging skin 
  • Muscle aches and joint pain 
  • Dental deterioration 
  • Sleep disorders 
  • Other psychiatric manifestations 

Understanding dermatological symptoms 

Ulcerating skin lesions (open sores) are often one of the most outwardly visible symptoms a Morgellons patient experiences. Open sores may cover a patient’s face, shoulders, trunk, arms, or legs. The sores are painful, slow to heal, and usually have multicolored fibers or filaments embedded in or protruding from the skin. These are typically only visible using magnification.

Morgellons Disease Lesions on Wrist

Morgellons Disease Lesions on Wrist

Morgellons patients are frequently misdiagnosed as having delusions of parasitosis or infestation, meaning they have imagined a parasite living under their skin. And their sores are often described as self-inflicted—an assumption the patient must be clawing at their flesh to remove imaginary creatures crawling inside.

If you or someone you love suffers from Morgellons, you know this form of self-harm couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

Recent studies show that Morgellons patients aren’t delusional about their infestation. Something really lives deep inside their tissues, and doctors misdiagnosing Morgellons as a mental disorder can be extremely harmful.

Spirochetes: The Underlying Cause of Morgellons Disease

In several studies, Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes, a species of bacteria, have been found living in samples taken from skin, cerebrospinal fluid, and vaginal excretions of Morgellons patients. 

Morgellons Disease Fibers Magnified Specimen

Morgellons Disease Fibers Magnified Specimen

Open skin sores are a manifestation of the body’s battle against a spirochetal infection—not endless scratching. 

That constant tingly, creepy-crawling feeling Morgellons patients experience isn’t from the bacteria itself but instead a reaction to the infection. 

Deep within the skin’s layers, some cells make the keratin and collagen fibers that help give skin support and structure. With Morgellons patients, these cells kick into overdrive, making massive protein strands or fibers. Morgellons patients can feel these fibers growing in their skin.

That sensation alone would drive anyone a little crazy—and it does lead many in the medical community to label Morgellons patients as delusional.                                                           

Spread of Infection  

Supporting research suggests that a bacterial infection spread by ticks may cause Morgellons disease. When biting humans, infected blacklegged ticks can spread Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes. Such a bite can trigger a cascade of symptoms, usually resulting in Lyme disease.

 

After being infected, patients exhibit early signs of Morgellons including: 

  • Fever and chills
  • Headache 
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle and joint pain 
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Bullseye rash—Erythema margins rash

While the red “bullseye” rash is a strong early indicator of infection, not everyone bitten by infected ticks experiences it, making diagnosis difficult. 

When doctors suspect Lyme disease, they order blood tests to determine if the patient has antibodies present for Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. If tests come back positive, patients begin treatment with a course of antibiotics for 3-4 weeks. 

The bacterial infection that causes Lyme and Morgellons diseases is spread through bites from infected ticks.

The bacteria that causes Lyme Disease is hard to detect, rendering many tests inaccurate. False positives and false negatives for Lyme disease — and therefore Morgellons disease — are more frequent than they should be.

People falling under a false-negative typically don’t receive the antibiotic treatment they need, leaving their symptoms to fester and flare—sometimes for months or even years. Patients with Lyme are often misdiagnosed as having a different disease such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, lupus, psychiatric disorders, or others.

How is Lyme Disease related to Morgellons Disease?

Through research, we’ve unearthed strong evidence to support Morgellons disease as a manifestation of chronic, untreated Lyme disease. 

When well-meaning doctors misdiagnose patients with a false negative test for Lyme, patients fail to receive proper treatment. As you can imagine, misdiagnosis can lead to cascading symptoms that make matters worse and play with the emotions and mental health of patients who know something more is wrong. As far as test results may say, there’s nothing wrong with them. 

But getting a professional to believe they have a misdiagnosed or undiagnosed medical problem can be difficult. After all, Morgellons is misunderstood at best, leaving many doctors to treat the symptoms as if they stem from other problems, even mental disorders.

The dangers of misdiagnosis

The medical community often tries to lump undiagnosed Morgellons patients with other skin or chronic fatigue disorders. But when many patients don’t “fit” any known physiological diagnosis, they get tossed into the psychiatric realm, diagnosed with delusional disorders, and given antipsychotics.  

This approach ignores the underlying bacterial infection and symptoms usually worsen. Simultaneously, patients may even start questioning themselves when experts misdiagnose them, creating mental disorders not initially present after first infection. Yes, doctors can literally cause mental disorders in Morgellons patients through misdiagnosis.

Physicians should keep in mind that underlying infections can manifest as mental illnesses.

In a dermatological journal in 2018, researchers called out this problem that too many Morgellons patients recognize too well. 

“It is easier to declare mental illness the exclusive etiologic cause, thus blaming the patient, when confronted with perplexing symptoms that the practitioner cannot explain,” researchers stated in their study. “However, it is irresponsible to label a patient delusional without an appropriate psychiatric evaluation, and if mental illness is present a physician should bear in mind that an underlying infectious process can cause a pathological response resulting in mental illness.”

A misdiagnosed Morgellons patient’s life deteriorates the longer they go without help. Many patients will even withdraw from loved ones and activities they once enjoyed. 

When a person’s body declines, their mental health often follows. When left untreated, symptoms worsen, and quality of life plummets. Many patients lose hope with no end in sight for their suffering. 

Such long-term agony sadly makes Morgellons disease patients more likely than the average person to commit suicide.

More Research is Needed to Understand Morgellons

You shouldn’t question whether Morgellons is “real.” To those who suffer and their loved ones who watch helplessly, it is deeply palpable and consistently annoying or even debilitating. 

Morgellons disease is not imaginary; it is misunderstood. 

Over the last two decades, researchers have made breakthroughs in understanding its underlying cause and viable treatments. 

Still, more research is needed to fully understand Morgellons disease and educate the doctors who misdiagnose patients so those suffering from it will receive the treatments they deserve. 

Any donation you make will help the Charles E. Holman Morgellons Disease Foundation pave the way for greater awareness of this disease among the medical community and push for better treatment. 

Together, we can find answers to this misunderstood illness, providing treatment and hope for those afflicted by Morgellons disease. 

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Pi Ware speaks at 2020 Lyme Disease March

Pi Ware, director of documentary film “Skin Deep: The Battle Over Morgellons” speaks at 2020 Lyme Disease March

Pi Ware’s speech from the 2020 Online Lyme Disease March–why Morgellons Disease Awareness & Activism is important to the Lyme Disease Community and TIPS & TRICKS on how to advocate online through blogging and linking!

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