Positive Health Online

At the beginning of January 2015 I was consulted by a mature extremely active lady asking me if I could help her with a skin condition.  I asked her to describe her symptoms to which she replied intense itching and naturally, as one would expect, she was scratching to help alleviate the itching.  Whilst at the time of the consultation she did not have any open sores on her skin it became apparent that if she was not careful the skin would break and there was the likelihood it would become infected.

As Homeopaths we are trained to ask more definitive symptoms from the person seeking help such as does the skin feel better or worse for warmth or cool applications and what other symptoms was she experiencing alongside the itching.  She explained to me that it felt to her as if there was something crawling underneath her skin and also that it seemed to her that minute black fibres were coming out of her skin.  When I examined the skin more closely to see if I could see the fibres that she described I admit that if anything was there then I was unable to see them as they were invisible to the naked eye. These fibres she explained seemed to randomly emerge. As I continued to take notes of her case she also mentioned that she was experiencing an itching sensation inside her nose.

The lady was taking very few medically prescribed drugs and I checked those against the British National Formulary handbook,[1]to see if what she was describing was due to a medical drug reaction but to no avail. I also checked to see if there could have been any interaction with the nutritional supplements that she had self-prescribed and again there was no indication of such a reaction.

Investigating the case further she told me that she lived reasonably close to an army barracks that at the time was still used as an artillery testing and practice range and she had wondered if any dust particles from their testing material or other pollutants had been carried across with the wind and found its way into the air conditioning system within the building where she lived.  She had asked that this possibility be investigated by the management company.  She was beginning to feel that people would find her ‘odd’ and that because she was in her eighties they might think she was delusional or beginning to lose her mind and would not take her concerns seriously particularly as she was seeking answers to prove that she was not imagining things.

I asked about her day-to-day routine, her eating habits, her emotional well-being and found that her diet was very good, she was using a few nutritional supplements, was in good overall health, physically active and a member of a number of local groups demonstrating a high level of intellect.  She was determined to get to the bottom of this skin condition as it was beginning to make her feel ‘dirty’ and for a person who dressed immaculately this was naturally upsetting to her and I fully respected her grit and determination in exploring every avenue while trying to find an answer.

Taking into account all the factors I had obtained from the consultation I decided to prescribe the remedy Silica Terra 6c to be taken once a day for a week. From a constitutional viewpoint she was petite and slim with dark hair but she was not an anxious person lacking in self-confidence, in fact quite the opposite as explained above. The remedy Silica has the ability to promote foreign bodies from tissues[2] and there were rose-coloured blotches on her skin. Silica can also be very stubborn.

After taking the remedy she reported back that the Silica had helped to keep the ‘condition’ under control.  With a wide circle of friends, she continued her quest to discover what this peculiar thing was that she was suffering from and was fascinated when one of them handed her an article entitled Proof that Morgellons Disease is a Physical Illness – it isn’t ‘All in your head’ by John P. Thomas of Health Impact News.[3]  

I have read through this very informative article and many others during my research and discovered that Morgellons is thought of as a mental illness by doctors and not a physical one and the sufferers are referred to psychiatrists and ultimately prescribed anti-psychotic drugs to help them cope with their emotional problems.

Dr Gregory V Smith MD FAAP in his article A Message about Morgellons[4] writes:

“The personal medical history of most patients IS bizarre. The symptoms they describe, as well as their observations, seem totally beyond belief. When they occur on one’s own body, it can cause one to question his sanity. I know. I have had this disease since May, 2004. I have seen things happening to my own body which have stretched the limits of belief. I also developed neurologic symptoms early this year which became severe enough I have been unable to work since May, 2005.”

He goes on to say:

“Many patients report they have seen ‘fibres’ come out of their skin. They report seeing these odd fibres in their home and cars and report they have never seen these before. Even more strange, many report seeing living insects emerge from their skin! Many patients, thinking it the appropriate step, collect specimens and present them to the physician they consult - commonly a dermatologist.”

A research article published entitled Clinical, Epidemiologic, Histopathologic and Molecular Features of an Unexplained Dermopathy[5] was published 25 January 2012 and states;

“Morgellons is a poorly characterized constellation of symptoms, with the primary manifestations involving the skin.”

Concluding with:

“This unexplained dermopathy was rare among this population of Northern California residents, but associated with significantly reduced health-related quality of life. No common underlying medical condition or infectious source was identified, similar to more commonly recognized conditions such as delusional infestation.”

And while this disease is not recognized there are people who are unfortunately suffering.

Recently an article emerged bringing this so-called disease into the public’s eye when folk legend Joni Mitchell described her “weird incurable disease that seems like it’s from outer space”.[6] She too mentions the ‘fibres’ that cannot be identified, found it difficult to wear clothing and had crawling sensations on and under her skin.

Morgellons is a rare condition and although I have not had any updates from my client for a couple of years, the last I heard was that she had been fortunate enough to be referred by her GP to a Dr Anthony Bewley[7] a consultant dermatologist. It appears that both Dr Bewley and Dr Ruth Taylor, Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist see patients with difficult diseases which have not been fully established (such as Morgellons Disease).

As recently as January 2017 in an article written by Dorothy Kupcha Leland entitled Touched by Lyme, Threading your way through Morgellons Disease[8] for Lyme Disease.Org she introduces us to Dr Ginger Savely[9] a family nurse practitioner with a doctorate degree in nursing practice who since 2000 has been specializing in the treatment of Lyme Disease and since 2003 Morgellons.  Dr Savely’s book is entitled Morgellons: The Legitimization of a Disease.  The Charles E Holman Foundation[10] gives more information on Morgellons.

I conclude that whilst I have not been able to offer much support in respect of homeopathy to the client, this almost mysterious illness it would seem is now being slightly more recognized by the profession and I can only hope that sufferers are able to receive the appropriate treatment. Certainly homeopathy can help them with any emotional and physical symptoms since that is what homeopaths work with rather than dealing with any named disease.

Homeopathy is gentle, non-toxic and non-addictive and can safely be used by all ages and does not interfere with any prescribed medication.

References

1. British National Formulary
2. Murphy, Robin ND, Nature’s Materia Medica 3^rd Edition
3. http://bit.ly/2yyro13
4. http://bit.ly/2ze4jRZ
5. http://bit.ly/2y0k1MS
6. http://dailym.ai/2ivYepO
7. http://bit.ly/2hFlTEr
8. http://bit.ly/2ywoFWW
9. http://bit.ly/2lRQOll
10. http://bit.ly/2A7SmKq

Editor’s Note

PH Online readers interested in Morgellons are encouraged to read the highly informative article Morgellon: The 'M' Word You've Never Heard of and Lesions that Persist by Tammy Radicot published in PH Online Issue 210 - November 2013.