Are scurvy and morgellons related?

[2manyfibers]

Scurvy is a medical condition that was very prevalent in centuries past. Scurvy is actually a collagen deficiency and the classic symptoms of scurvy closely parallel the symptoms of Morgellons. Here are some of the symptoms these 2 conditions share:

- Diminished mental acuity (brain fog)
- Fatigue, tiredness, weakness
- Dental problems; scurvy symptoms include bleeding gums, swollen gums,
loose teeth, etc. Of course dental care today is far better than when scurvy
was prevalent, so people in times past often didn’t have many actual teeth left
to have problems with by the time they were in adulthood.
- Stiff, achy joints and bone pain
- Hair loss
- Skin lesions; with scurvy, the symptoms were “unprovoked” bleeding
from skin (including fingertips), bleeding in the scalp, bleeding from old scars,
slow healing and bruising easily (I’ll explain why lesions as we know them with
Morgellons may not have formed with scurvy a bit later)
- Behavioral changes ; mood swings, temperamental, irritability (similar to
ADD, depression and similar conditions today)
- Changes in skin – pigmentation, texture, thickness, etc.

While I can’t personally say for an absolute fact that Morgellons has any relation to scurvy, I think you’ll agree that based on the information above, the similarities between the two are quite striking and difficult to ignore. I personally believe the comparable symptoms of these 2 conditions are too similar to ignore without giving strong consideration to the cause of scurvy as possibly having some relationship with the symptoms of Morgellons.

Historically, scurvy has been considered to result from a total lack of vitamin C in the body (and I think quite possibly vitamin A as well). One thing I noticed about the nutritional sources of vitamin C is that most of them also contain some amount of beta carotene. Thus, when scurvy was prevalent as a medical condition, if someone wasn’t getting any vitamin C in their diets, they likely were not getting any beta carotene (vitamin A) either. Since scurvy is actually caused by a collagen deficiency (at least mainly), anything that prevents the body from being able to produce all the collagens it needs could cause scurvy (not only vitamin C, but other nutrients required to produce collagens like sulfur, zinc, lysine, proline, silica, etc.). Most of the nutrients required to produce these proteins are somewhat easier to get in the diet today than in times past (at least in small amounts) which could explain some variances or differences between the symptoms of Morgellons and scurvy. There are 3 major symptoms of Morgellons that aren’t considered to be classic symptoms of scurvy. However, I think it’s quite possible that these symptoms could well have been present with scurvy as well. These symptoms are:

- Lesions - scurvy sufferers in times past simply may not have had enough keratin (from a lack of vitamin A) to form actual lesions (rather than forming lesions using keratin as the body normally does, with a lack of keratin the blood simply seeped through the walls of blood vessels and out of the skin because the collagen fibers that construct blood vessels were so weakened and degraded that they couldn’t contain the blood). Lesions in skin are mechanically caused by the body depositing keratin in response to some stimulus (parasites, fungi or other types of wounds to the skin). I will post some information in a couple of days on how lesions mechanically form in skin that may help explain this.

- Crawling and biting sensations – when scurvy was prevalent, things like scabies, lice and other parasitic infections were far more common than today (and general hygiene was far less than today). People suffering from scurvy may have had similar crawling and biting sensations, but this simply may not have been considered to be specific to scurvy (even people without scurvy may have had these symptoms).

- Fibers in the skin – people 200 to 300 years ago obviously didn’t have access to microscopes or magnification equipment. These fibers may have been present in scurvy sufferers, but simply could not be visually detected at the time. Also, general hygiene (or lack thereof) and more primitive living conditions may have prevented people from noticing fibers as much.

Many Morgellons sufferers today may get some amount of vitamin C (or beta carotene, or the other required nutrients) – it simply may not be as much as they need of all the nutrients required to produce the needed collagens and keratins in the body. Many researchers believe that the US RDA for vitamin C is barely enough to prevent scurvy under the best circumstances and many people today suffer from “borderline” scurvy – some researchers consider heart disease to be a form of “low-grade”, chronic scurvy (the US RDA for nutrients is actually intended to be the amounts needed to prevent a deficiency severe enough to cause medical problems – not necessarily the amount truly needed to be as healthy as possible). The “classic” symptoms of scurvy in times past likely resulted from a complete lack of both of these vitamins. Based on my own experience and established biological and nutritional science, it seems quite possible that many cases of Morgellons could result partially from (or at least be impacted by) a significant or severe deficiency of one or both of these nutrients (as well as other nutrients like zinc and sulfur) as opposed to a complete absence of them (which may explain slight variations in symptoms between the two conditions). Anything that diminishes the body’s ability to build collagens (and keratins) could cause many of the symptoms of both scurvy and Morgellons; including a deficiency in any of the nutrients required by the body to build these 2 critical proteins. The symptoms of scurvy appear within about 90 days if no vitamin C at all is consumed. However, a chronic deficiency (as opposed to a total absence) of vitamin C (or other nutrients needed for collagen production) can result in symptoms similar to scurvy over a period of years and appear in a gradual fashion. For instance, heart disease doesn't happen overnight; it is a gradual process that occurs over a long period of time. If the nutritional deficiency is not corrected, the symptoms will continue.

Many scurvy sufferers in times past were seafaring men or soldiers that had no vegetables or fruits whatsoever to eat for months at a time (fresh, canned or anything else). Their diets consisted totally of salted, dried meats (and maybe fish occasionally for the sailors) and hardtack (which is similar to a really thin, hard, stale biscuit) so they likely consumed absolutely no vitamin C or beta carotene (vitamin A) at all. In fact, the reason British sailors were called “limeys” was because in the mid 1700’s, the British Royal Navy started carrying limes aboard ships in order to prevent scurvy among the sailors (which was a terrible problem at the time). Someone figured out that people that ate fresh fruits and vegetables regularly didn’t get scurvy and they recommended that the sailors be provided with limes to prevent them from coming down with scurvy (the limes could be kept and consumed for several months aboard ship). German sailors were called “krauts’ for the same reason – cabbage is a good source of vitamin C and sauerkraut could be “canned” and kept for several months without spoiling. The sauerkraut provided enough vitamin C to prevent scurvy as well (the sailors got enough sulfur and zinc (and other nutrients needed to produce collagens) from the meats they consumed).

With some cases of Morgellons, there may be some amount of these vitamins and nutrients present, but it simply may not be enough for the body to build all the collagens and keratins it needs to maintain itself properly over time (or the nutrients may not be balanced properly to build these proteins correctly). Gradually, the body being unable to produce enough collagens and keratins (or produce them properly) not only affects the skin, but also the immune system and everything else in the body because the body itself is largely constructed from these 2 proteins (thus, the body requires these 2 proteins to heal and maintain itself properly). It seems that science and medicine would have already realized how important collagens and keratins are to the human body since it is these 2 proteins that are literally the physical “building blocks” that actually construct the body cell by cell. However, medical science is truly only beginning to understand how important the production of collagens and keratins in the body are to overall health including the immune system.

There is some medical research that indicates that it is easier for parasites to infect people with vitamin or other nutritional deficiencies (including scurvy) – it is also well established that nutritional deficiencies result in weakened immune systems (which also can make it easier for parasites to infect people). Knowing that Morgellons is truly a systemic condition, I think it is quite possible that many Morgellons sufferers may have a combination of causes that are responsible for their condition. One of the known problems with having parasites is that they can rob the body of nutrients needed to produce the proteins our lives and health depend on (parasites require vitamins and minerals too). I think it may be possible that in cases where parasites may be involved with Morgellons, the parasites themselves may not necessarily cause all the symptoms of Morgellons. The actions of parasitic infections could be enough to produce vitamin deficiencies (or other nutritional deficiencies) that bring on the Morgellons symptoms in some cases – especially if people are “on the edge” of having a nutritional deficiency already. It’s far easier to have nutritional deficiencies than you might expect – a growing body of research indicates that heart disease actually stems from a lack of collagens in most cases and many people with heart disease believed their diets were well balanced and provided all the nutrients they needed. Several recent studies show that sufficient doses of vitamin C can prevent heart disease and vitamin C is quite difficult to get in generous amounts from diet alone. Supplementation is required to produce similar "blood levels" of vitamin C found in animals that naturally produce their own vitamin C (humans are one of only a few animals that can't produce their own vitamin C - we can only get it from food or supplements). Obviously, I can’t make any judgment on other people’s actual conditions or circumstances because I don’t know anyone’s specific medical conditions other than my own. However, I do think this information is worth considering as having some relationship with many cases of Morgellons. Thus, I’ll let you be the judge of whether this information on scurvy may have any relevance to your specific situation.

[carla]

Wow Johnny B, For a humble redneck you write well. You explain things perfectly.
I will be taking a lot more vit c and A from now on.
carla Xxxxxxxxxxxx

[ladycolorado]

arg me matey no wonder i eat me lemons and limes quartered with salt on them so i will be less of a scurvy dog, lol.