Don't poke those lesions, please !!

[bharathyeju]

Hello,
Don't poke those lesions please !!
My sincere advice to all of you here is to refrain from poking the lesions, even if your mind may force you to do so. Poking will necessarily delay the natural process of healing of the lesions, as you are pulling out items from subcutaneous level and the process will disturb the setup of surrounding healthy cells. Even if you find fibers, do not pull them out for the same reason, as these foreign bodies will automatically come to the surface and get thrown out as the lesions heal. You should apply external antifungal and anti bacterial creams for the lesions and wait for them to get cured naturally.

Taking bath in water applied with natural antifungal/antibacterial herbs will help to apply the herbal potion uniformly over the entire skin surface. As I have already mentioned in my earlier post, the leaves of Indian Neem would be of great value in this case. I also understand that the leaves of the Umbrella Trees ( also known as Persian Lilac or Chinese Lilac), which is a wild variety of the Indian Neem and grown as an ornamental roadside tree in places like Texas, USA is also equally useful. But they say, some parts of the umbrella tree, like its fruits, are poisonous, so please consult a local herbalist before its usage. By the way,the climate of California appears to be ideal for growing Neem trees, but I do not know why they are not grown there. Also I am sure each of you will have some local herb which is known for its antifungal/antibacterial properties and you could as well use them with your bathing water to control the lesions.
Here is an extract from the site 'howicuredmorgellons dot com'. Even though the site itself deals with an extensive protocol of medicines, in another portion of the site, I found a letter in a different context. What I liked about the quoted portion of the letter is the name of Dr.William Harvey of Houston who claims to have treated seventeen cases of Morgellons. Whether all the seventeen cases were successful or not, I do not know, but I defenitely like his approach. First of all, Dr.Harvey needs to be complimented for his guts to be able to think outside the conventional box of 'professional parrotoism' by confirming that the Morgellons is real and not delusional. Secondly, even though he has treated seventeen cases, he openly admits that he has not understood the intricacies of the disease and used a high dosage of antibiotics. Thirdly, he almost hit the bull's eye of the disease when he says that it is an expression of the immunodeficiency of the skin. And lastly a ray of hope for all Morgellons' sufferers, when he writes that after taking the treatments, the skin is able to restore its natural immunity, which personally I never thought it would, as I was always thinking that Morgellons is an expression of an immunodeficiency of the body, brought about by a basic disease which may be noncurable and that the medications should be continued for life. I would advise the Forum administrators to get in touch with Dr.Harvey and seek his guidelines if possible.

Here is the extract of the letter:

"
(5/8/04) A Medical Mystery: Delusional Parasitosis

Frank X. Mullen Jr.
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/8/2004 07:49 pm

David B. Parker/David B. Parker
PLAGUED FOR YEARS: Theresa Blodgett's upper thigh is covered by a rash. The
Reno resident has been plagued for years by a mysterious illness.



For more than three years Reno resident Theresa Blodgett, 37, has had a
mystery disease that seems like a plot device from the television show "The
X-Files."

Blodgett's symptoms include feeling invisible "parasites" biting her skin.
She complains of overwhelming fatigue and body aches. She suffers from hair
loss, skin lesions, rashes, and blue or red "fibers" that sprout from her
lesions. She sees tiny black specks - like coffee grounds - on her arms.

More than a dozen doctors have told her the cause of her strange ailment is
in her mind.

But a controversial new theory says many people who are branded with
delusions of parasitosis are suffering from a physical illness, not a mental
disease. Enlarged images of the "parasites" are posted on several Web sites
and a Texas doctor said he has found biological causes and physical evidence
for many of the symptoms described by Blodgett and others.

Dr. William Harvey of Houston said many of his chronic fatigue patients,
including 17 with "mystery disease" symptoms, have tested positive for
borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that also causes Lyme disease. He
suspects the weird symptoms and parasites are not the cause of the illness,
but are opportunistic infections and organisms taking advantage of the
lowered skin immunity of people whose systems are weakened by the microbe.

Harvey said delusional parasitosis is a real disease, but some of the
patients he's seen aren't hallucinating. Because the symptoms of the real
disease match the description of the psychosomatic ailment, doctors often
misdiagnose the cases, he said.
.................................................. ......
.................................................. ......

Some research done

William Harvey, the Houston physician who believes the disease is real, said
he saw his first Morgellon's patient in November 2001. She was the daughter
of a surgeon who suffered from unexplainable skin lesions.

"The patient told me some strange stories about things that were living on
her skin so I, too, wondered if her illness was psychologically based," he
said.

He looked at the lesions and saw "tiny colored threads" in the wounds. He
sent several specimens to a mold expert for analysis. The fibers were put in
culture dishes to grow, but only a fungus called candida tropicalis was
found.

Harvey also found tiny worms on a patient's scalp that later proved to be
the nymph form of a feline parasite - a tapeworm that preys on cats and
shouldn't be found on humans. Other patients were infested with forms of
algae, other plant pathogens, or candida tropicalis, the fungus found in the
laboratory culture of the "fibers."

"Once I started taking these patients seriously, I saw the variety and
number of unusual and unexpected skin occupants was real, they were
unequivocally there," Harvey said. "I still don't know what some of these
things are, but my theory is that the symptoms are a phenomenon of a much
larger process that has rendered their skin immunity ineffective."

The process could allow plant and animal organisms that couldn't survive on
uninfected people to thrive on Morgellon's patients' skin.

Some patients report the "crawling feeling" without the threads, lesions or
other symptoms, Harvey said, and all seem to have easily testable immune
deficiencies. All 17 of his "Morgellons'" patients in Houston have tested
positive for the microbe associated with Lyme disease, he said.

Harvey said he treats the skin lesions with a lactic acid cream and all the
other symptoms with high-dose antibiotics. He said the lesions heal over
with treatment, but they leave blue indentations at the sites of the skin
breaks. "That scar may give us a clue," he said. "Something pathologic is
happening there."

His first two patients who have completed treatment for their borreliosis
symptoms appear to have recovered their skin immunity and lost their
"Morgellons'" sores as well, he said.

"Kill the infectious agent and the immune system appears to reset itself,"
he said.

Harvey said physicians' inability to see diseases before they are officially
"discovered" in peer-reviewed journals isn't rare.

"Diseases are defined within a box and thus everything outside that box
isn't the disease," Harvey said. "That's the way medicine and science
evolves. All definitions in all texts change continuously. In this case we
know enough to broaden the size of the box and know that in time we'll get
to the more fundamental reality."

"This disease isn't alien or magical; it's real and the symptoms are real,"
said Harvey, who is board-certified in aerospace medicine and has worked
both as a space-medicine researcher and in hospital emergency rooms. "After
three-and-a-half years, I'm still trying to understand this as objectively
as I can.

"Without understanding the skin lesions fully, I'm treating patients with
antibiotics and having clinical success. Something appears to have happened
to their skin immunity."

But most dermatologists and other doctors interviewed said they aren't
buying the theory, even though they haven't seen Harvey's research or the
microscope photos of the strange fibers. They dismiss the mystery disease as
a mental condition.
"

With regards,
Yours B

[tcmgpt13]

I believe most folks here are already aware of Dr. Harvey and his studies since he has been discussed on the forum. Articles were posted about him in the past. It's been awhile since he practiced in Houston, TX. Also one of his most enthusiastic patients is a member here. Her name on the forum is ladycolorado. I am not sure that Harvey sees patients anymore, but his last location was Colorado Springs. If you want to read more about Harvey you could do a search on the main page of this forum on the top of the page.

Neem trees are being grown in the US to some extent. Here is a farm in FL which sells live plants as well as products (in case anyone is interested).

Neem Tree Farms

You can buy live neem leaves from this site to use in the bath.

Neem Tree Farms - Raw Botanicals

There is also a lot of information about neem on the above site. Evidently there are about 500 reports in the NIH about the usefulness of this plant available free online (a link is provided on this site).

"In the US, it is most often used as an immune system booster with multiple actions that make it particularly effective. First it increases activity of both the cell-mediated system (the Killer T response) and macrophage response (white blood cells). It also is packed with antioxidants that are critical in preventing age-related disorders.

Increasing the killer T cell response and the macrophage response would be helpful to anyone fighting disease, as we are.

Here is a salve for itchy skin on the site as well. Wonder if it might be as effective as DSP cream. Great ingredients in it:

Neem Tree Farms - Healing Breezes - X-Balm

Indication: Very soothing, painkilling and fast healing! As an interesting side effect, minimizes wrinkles and even old scars. Often helps 'unhealable' dermatitis and various long-standing nasty rashes.
Application: As many times as you feel the troubled spot acting up. Once applied, relief is nearly instantaneous and most people will reach for the jar without thinking about it the second they start itching again. Depending on the situation, it may be applied up to twice per hour, but major irritation should be gone within three days. For serious cases, a wrap may be applied overnight.
Contraindication: None Known / Reported
2 ounces

INGREDIENTS: Aloe Vera, Castor, Olive, Jojoba, Neem honey, Beeswax, Calendula ,St. Johns Wort, Plantain, Yarrow, Burdock, Chaparral, Chickweed, Cleavers, Comfrey, Avocado, Cocoa, Coconut, Kokum, Mango, Mowrah, Palm, Shea, Neem oil, Tocopherol, Lecithin, Apricot Kernel, Borage, Emu, Evening Primrose, Hemp, Meadowfoam, Sweet Almond, Wheatgerm, Pine, Propolis, Swedenbitters, Benzoin Gum, Orange Essential Oil, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Foraha, Chamomile, Helicrysum.

[Katinka]

Hi B,
Neem tabletts is one of my herbs I'm using additionally to my other meds.
450 mg - 3x daily.
I read all about it at the internet...great stuff...antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasite...
Katinka

[bharathyeju]

Hello,
Thank you tcmgpt13, for the valuable inputs. I did not know Dr.Harvey was discussed earlier in this form, I should have seen it, in that case just forget those comments of mine.

With regards,
Yours B

[Sadsack]

B -
Thanks for your efforts in bringing information to the forefront...don't worry about any repetition - there are always other new people for whom it will be "new".
I just wanted to point out that most of "us" believe that Morgellons is a total systemic penetration. I have felt "movement" in response to various interventions deep within the roots of my teeth, inside my brain, and other organs of my body. I have also expelled some nightmares through my digestive tract (where I believe the whole thing gets started and continues to "regenerate").
I only point this out because strategies that just focus on the skin will miss much of the infection (or is it "invasion"?).
I never did pick at the lesions - I rubbed oils/creams/ointments into them as well as into unbroken skin. This procedure drew things out of the skin everywhere, and healed the lesions. But I also worked on things like colon cleanses, etc, at the same time. So it was an "outside-in and inside-out" simultaneous effort. Oh, yeah, and the environment, too.
I turned the corner on this about 15-16 months ago, with no regression (knock on wood!).
SS

[bharathyeju]

Hello,
Dear Sadsack, it is very true that Morgellons is not limitted to skin level and that it requires internal medicine. But , I would consider if external lesions could be taken care of, it is as good as curing it by 60%. This is because it is the lesions that reminds one continuously about the disease and makes one's mind get stuck to the issue round the clock,further deteriorating the condition.
Also your finding regarding cleansing if the intestine is very important. I have read at least one case in which the patient did an intestine cleansing at the onset of the disease when the fly bites were felt and said to have cured of the case.

With regards,
Yours B

[Kritters]

Dear B,

Thanks for bringing that information by Dr. Harvey to the forefront again.

You mentioned 'fly' bites just now and I'm wondering why you say they are 'fly' bites. Had you mentioned something about this in your previous posts? If so I apologize for not remembering.

Is that website you mentioned yours? (again...sorry for the brain fog) My neck is killing me this morning.

Best,
Kritters

[Sadsack]

B -
Yes - getting the lesions cleared up does help. Just being able to go out in public without covering up is a relief. When I had them, I used to do everything I could in the middle of the night - like Walmart - and sleep during the day.
There are quite a few people who don't have lesions. It seems that these people have far more hair issues - moving, "biting" hair. I don't have that.
SS

[bharathyeju]

Hello,

Hai Kritters, yes, when I came to this Forum, I was thinking that the Morgellons disease was caused by a fungi along with a small fly. The flies and their larvae(nymph) were expected to cause the external lesions and allbody insect biting and crawling sensation mainly at night. The flies are smaller than one millimeter in size and broadly may be classified as Noseeums. I understand that the Noseeums are well known intruders in California and Florida areas during Spring season and are also known to spread filerial worms.
I thought that the worm factor is optional and may not be present in all Morgellons patients. But after reading Sarothra's posts, it appears that the worm factor is an essential term, may be more important than the fly, since there are reports that the disease also manifests itself without external lesions. I could imagine that slime is required for the fungus to live under the human skin and I thought this could be taken care of by the presence of a slime fungi in addition to a filamentous fungi. But, the case of finding the worms on intestinal cleansing immediately after the insect bites which triggered the Morgellons' symptoms shows that worms were already there even before the insects came. Incidently, the referred case is taken from MRO's site under Patient Survey section. Again, some worm like attachments are seen on the Morgellons creature photos shown at MRO's site. So, may be the worms are as important as the fungi and the insect may not be always there?. Intestinal cleansing and deworming , therefore, should be an important aspect of Morgellons disease control protocol.

Sorry to hear you are in pains.

With Regards,
Yours B

[Kritters]

Originally Posted by bharathyeju

Hello,

But, the case of finding the worms on intestinal cleansing immediately after the insect bites which triggered the Morgellons' symptoms shows that worms were already there even before the insects came.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, may be the worms are as important as the fungi and the insect may not be always there?. Intestinal cleansing and deworming , therefore, should be an important aspect of Morgellons disease control protocol.

Sorry to hear you are in pains.

With Regards,
Yours B

The neck is much better today, thanks! Great thinking! I have seen the pics of the worms encased in the filaments (phago-fungi?)...and I agree the intestinal cleansing and deworming should be a must (I think DE accomplishes that).. but .....so you're saying the insects are not laying the larvae initially? That the worms are already in the system? I have to agree... and think they are there because of some screw up in the bio-engineering of the dna in agrobacteria. Just my thoughts, though.....(a continuing process).

Best,
Kritts