Article in British Journal of Dermatology

[Jo]

Just stumbled across an article about Morgellons in the British Journal of Dermatology from the 87th Annual Meeting Birmingham, U.K. 10-13 July 2007

It comes from Burnley General Hospital, about a 45-year-old woman was referred to dermatology with a 3 month history of small fibres of varying colour emanating from
her skin.

Its not great for the cause - blames the internet mostly. Says it "the first report of Morgellons in the UK" - I DONT THINK SO!! (although technically it could be the first reported in a journal in UK).

Its on page 12 of this PDF (should be free access)

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi...3.2007.07846.x

I found it interesting because in the same pdf - like page 9, there are reports of ongoing pruritus and these people are treated seriously.

The label draws us together and then puts us in the Derms crazy box. I put the Derms in a box....with a couple of our creature friends

Jo xx

[hilly]

Jo, can't see how to get the article without paying... am I just being thick ? OK don't answer that.. lol.. Milly x

[Jo]

Hi - sorry Milly, you are right. I thought I'd checked access without being logged in - it must have remembered my cookie

Will try and attach it......shucks....its too big.....will try and paste it instead.......

Morgellons disease: Fibre or Fiction?
S. Ogden and I. Coulson

Burnley General Hospital, Burnley, U.K.

A 45-year-old woman was referred to dermatology with a 3-month history of small fibres of varying colour emanating from her skin. She had brought to the consultation multiple microscope slides with small coloured fibres mounted upon them that she said had mainly arisen from underneath the skin of her palms. She specifically denied any concerns that there was any parasitic infestation of the skin, although she did describe her condition as an ‘infection’ and bathed at least once daily in antiseptic.

She had diagnosed her condition as Morgellons disease and had brought information about the disease downloaded from the Internet. Examination was unremarkable; vitamin B12
levels and Lyme serology were checked and were normal. She was reassured that there was no evidence of infection in her skin; however, she declined referral to psychology or psychiatry services and did not wish to consider treatment with antipsychotic medication.

Morgellons disease is considered by most dermatologists to be synonymous with delusions of parasitosis a form of monosymptomatic hypochondriacal psychosis. However, these
patients complain of fibres or granules emanating from the skin rather than parasitic organisms. There may be an associated psychiatric condition such as psychosis, depression or anxiety. Patients report symptoms such as sensations of itching, burning or things crawling on the skin as well as the production of fibres or granules from the skin.

The Morgellons Research Foundation was formed in America in 2002 and is dedicated to ‘finding the cause of an emerging infectious disease, which mimics scabies and lice’. The founder of the Morgellons Research Foundation derived the name from a condition described by Sir Thomas Browne in the 17th century: ‘that endemial distemper of children in Languedoc, called the morgellons, wherein they critically break out with harsh hairs on their backs’.

Management of patients with this condition is challenging. Patients require thorough examination and basic investigations to rule out organic disease. It has been suggested that once organic disease has been discounted, the use of the term ‘Morgellons disease’ when communicating with patients about their condition may be a more successful way of establishing a rapport, compared with the use of the more traditional term of ‘delusion’, which is usually resisted. Treatment options include antipsychotic medications such as olanzapine, pimozide and risperidone.

This is, to our knowledge, the first reported British case of Morgellons disease.

The case highlights the ever-increasing role of the Internet in providing patients with potentially misleading information that can encourage self-diagnosis and resistance to appropriate treatments.

[Jason]

As the Brits would say what a load of "bullocks"

[Jo]

Dont 'beat around the bush' Jason, just say what you mean

[hilly]

Thanks Jo......

Yes I agree Jason... would like to say something even ruder but perhaps better not.. lol....

They always come up with the theory that people think they have morgellons because they've seen it on the web... the truth is that most if not all people who have morg, had never heard of it and only finally found out about it after being dismissed by the medical profession and having to painfully research through the web until they found something that resembled the symptoms they were having... .

.. one day they'll all have egg in their faces... Milly

[lacey]

That report is infuriating - utter tripe and so patronising.
Steer clear of the anti-psychotic drugs. I was prescribed Pimazode by an Infectious Disease Doctor - who had neither seen me nor even spoken to me. The fact that this is in my records has influenced the view of all the doctors I have since seen.

Without the lyme specialist in Bolton and the Homeopathic Hospital here in Glasgow, God knows where I would be.

Also the support and humour of good folks like yourselves.

Now I've got my dander up I might just write to that reporter. Or is it worth it?

[Jason]

Hannah,

Its quite ironic you wrote an infectious disease doc prescribed you anti-psychotic drugs without either seeing you and even spreaking to you. But if a lyme doc prescribes antibiotics after they have seen the patient they get their pants sued off of them.

From memory actually wasn't Dr Jones (Lyme doc) being currently sued for prescribing an antibiotic to a child after a phone consultation. The medical board was trying to prove that by not seeing the patient and running tests that he couldn't be able to diagnose Lyme diesease. Wouldn't that be the same in the case of prescribing anti-psychotics!!

[hilly]

Just to remind everyone of what Dr. Owen said at the Lyme Conference in the UK last year.



Lately I have seen some patients who appear to have had the diagnosis of Lyme disease given serious consideration by doctors who perhaps would not previously have given Lyme much attention. If so this is good news.

It seems that in the UK in the NHS some consultants are starting to appreciate Lyme disease for what it is: A poly-symptomatic, relapsing, insidiously progressive and highly unpleasant illness which may be quite common and may be present with otherwise normal blood tests and absent physical abnormalities.

In America last year I had the feeling that many Lyme literate doctors felt that we had turned the corner and at last progress was being made. I hope the same is true here. I think it will only be a matter of time before a doctor is found to be negligent for failing to diagnose Lyme and this will really focus doctors' attention on the condition.

There are many potential obstacles: Even if Lyme is diagnosed there is the problem of appropriate treatment and we do not know what constitutes adequate or appropriate treatment but I believe in the future doctors will have to be more prepared to listen to patients who have relapsed.

On this drab February Monday I hope this message gives some comfort to those who are battling to have this condition recognised and taken seriously.

Doctor David Owen

BSc MB BCh LLM


I like the bit where he says

??? 'I think it will only be a matter of time before a doctor is found to be negligent for failing to diagnose Lyme and this will really focus doctor's attention on the condition' ???

and I reckon that goes for Morg as well....

Milly x

[Jo]

Hi Lacey,

Your question about the journalist.....I'd say yes, if you know and can trust them not to rubbish Morgellons or worse still, expose you.

I've emailed one of the authors of that report to inform them of the CDC transcript for their interest. Worth a shot!

The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD)....ummm interesting acronym
http://www.bad.org.uk I'd love to find a way of emailing all of its members.

Jo xx