Lesions form in the skin of the human body based on a mechanical, molecular process. A lesion formed in the skin is a response by the body to some action or stimulus. Causes can include irritation, abrasions, parasites, insect bites, fungus or minor wounds in the surface of the skin. To understand how lesions form, it helps to understand how the skin is constructed.
Human skin is formed in many layers and the thickness of skin varies depending on where it is located in the body (the actual number of layers is difficult to determine and medical sources vary as to how many layers there actually are). The deepest layers of skin reside in what is called the reticular layer (or true dermis). These layers are mainly made up of networks of overlapping, swirling collagen fibers and these layers are where the skin is actually “produced”. The surface layers of skin are mainly made up of dead skin cells that are deposited on the surface as tiny sacs of liquid keratin. A “gel-like” layer in between is believed to consist mainly of chondroiton sulfate according to recent research. One reason it is difficult to determine the actual number of layers in skin is that the layers aren’t very distinct – they are “knitted” together so perfectly that it is hard to distinguish where one layer stops and another one starts.
Skin forms itself in the body cell by cell using a very complicated (miraculous) process with DNA being the chemist and construction supervisor. Live skin cells are formed beneath or in the reticular layer and they have to constantly make their way through the deepest layers to become the dead skin cells we see on the surface (all the skin we see on our bodies are made of dead cells on the surface). In order for these skin cells to “rise” to the surface, they have to pass through the dense network of collagen fibers that make up the reticular layer (and the “gel-like” layer of chondroiton). The body produces enzymes that temporarily dissolve microscopic sections of this fiber network which allows the skin cells to pass through it (once the cell passes through, the body replaces this microscopic section of fibers with collagens). These enzymes are the only known solvent of collagen fibers – relatively strong acids (acids with a ph of 1 – sulfuric acid from a car battery has a ph of about 1) cannot dissolve these fibers even over an extended period of time. The following link is a good “primer” on how the skin of the human body is constructed (it appears to be aimed at beginning medical students and provides a good, basic overview of the construction of skin including hair, blood vessels and everything else):
http://www.angelfire.com/sd2/bi173/enotes2.html
There are many different unique types of keratins created in the body (26 are known at this time) and they are produced and distributed based on instructions from our DNA. Some keratins are acidic (from a chemical alkalinity perspective) while others are basic (not acidic). I’ve outlined the basic nutrients required for the body to form keratins in other posts. The major nutrients include beta carotene (which the body converts to vitamin A), sulfur, zinc, and the amino acids lysine and proline. The many different types of keratins formed in the body depend on the availability of other “minor” nutrients (for instance keratin K1 may require a small amount of a given mineral while K16 may require a small amount of a different mineral as part of the chemical formula). A good portion of the skin on the surface of our bodies is made of keratin K6 (K6 is one of the different types of keratin). Keratin K6 is also naturally deposited by the body in response to “wounds” in the skin (which could be an insect bite, parasite activities in the skin, abrasions, etc.) and mechanically helps to “glue” the skin together and repair it.
A common “beauty” treatment used to reduce wrinkles in skin called Retinol A (chemically it is retinoic acid which is a derivative of vitamin A) is used to take advantage of this natural reaction by the body. Retinol A is known as a keratin promoter which means that it promotes the deposition of keratin where it is topically applied to the skin. The way Retinol A works to reduce wrinkles is that it “tricks” the body into “thinking” that a wound has occurred at the site the retinol A is applied (this substance passes through the skin deeply enough to reach keratin “receptors” in the skin that tell the body when a wound has occurred – just more evidence of how miraculous DNA truly is). The body’s natural reaction to this “imaginary” wound is to produce keratin K6 and deposit it at the site of the “wound”. This mechanically “expands” the skin at this specific site which lessens the appearance of wrinkles (mechanically “raises” the skin in the “crevice” of a wrinkle).
Regardless of how a “wound” occurs to the skin, the body’s reaction is to produce and deposit liquid keratin to the wound site (and later collagens depending on the depth and severity of the wound) as part of the natural healing process. The skin is “glued” back together and then “knitted” together using keratins and collagens. Based on my experience and research, I think the lesions in Morgellons are a result of the body reacting to some stimulus or action (it could be a parasitic infection, insect bites, fungi, a deficiency in specific nutrients that allows the skin to “break down” at a microscopic level, or other similar occurrences or combinations of these things). Regardless of how the body is impacted such that its reaction is to produce and deposit these keratins, the basic mechanical process of lesions forming is the same. I think one reason the lesions that occur in Morgellons may have certain characteristics (like being more firmly attached to the skin and deeper in the skin, gelatinous consistency, “raised” edges, etc.) may be because of the type of “wounds” suffered combined with nutritional factors and how each individuals DNA responds (or can respond based on the nutrients available to produce keratins).
Based on my own experience with lesions and my research, I believe the lesions in Morgellons cases may be more of a keratin “puddle” rather than the normal “scabs” we are more familiar with (which also usually consist of dried blood which weakens the “scab” structurally). Keratin is a very tough, durable protein that in its liquid forms has properties similar to glue. Some skin cancers exhibit lesions that are known as keratin puddles because they form as a “puddle” of liquid keratin in areas affected by the cancer (cancers are caused by deformed cells that replace “good” cells in the natural process of maintaining the body). These puddles eventually “harden” into a gelatinous, deeply embedded lesion on the skin. Often, these lesions are anchored deeply into the skin by a deep “keratin plug” in the middle of the lesion. The only known (or medically accepted) methods of removing these types of lesions in skin cancers is to destroy the lesions with a very strong acid, or surgically remove them. I think the same principles of lesion formation may apply to Morgellons – the “wounds” in Morgellons are such that keratins are deposited from the deep layers of skin (making them very firmly attached) in response to the type of “wound” the body senses and where the body “senses” that wound occuring (how deeply the “wound” goes into the skin).
I believe in my case, the collagen fibers (which became severely overgrown from an excess of the nutrients required to build the two most prevalent structural proteins in the body, collagens and keratins) broke in the skin once I stopped taking the applicable nutritional supplements and caused my body to “sense” that a wound had occurred which resulted in the formation of keratin puddles (lesions) in my skin in various places. The lesions sometimes formed in my skin before my very eyes with no visible cause (I would see a “puddle” start to form and it would soon become a lesion). I believe the toughness of these lesions stemmed from the depth they were in the skin (the keratins were bonded to the deep layers of skin where they came from – the keratin on the surface is chemically bonded to the keratin in the deep layers of skin) and the fact that they were mostly keratin (not much blood in them to weaken the strength of the keratin). The raised edges around the lesions may stem from the bodies natural tendency to “pull the skin together” as part of the normal healing process (the tension of the underlying collagen fibers may play a role as well). If parasites or fungi are the underlying cause of lesions, I think it is possible that the same type of lesion may form because of the depth of the "infection" or possibly from damage to the collagen fibers or keratins in the skin that are produced by these things.
Medical science really is only beginning to understand the processes of how skin constructs itself at a molecular level and it is also only beginning to understand the mechanics and causation of lesions in the skin. The link below is to an article that discusses migrating skin lesions and possible causes (it is heavy in medical jargon, but still an interesting read if you have Morgellons):
http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v1.../5601905a.html
There are more articles available if you google “migrating skin lesions” or similar word strings and several discuss parasites as a cause. However, regardless of the causes of skin lesions, as a general statement, the formation of the lesions is basically the same mechanical and molecular process in all cases.