I'm waiting for more details to come out about this case - I'm sure the local news will have a field day with it - but I'm rather skeptical.
For one thing, the family appears to have given up on doctors after not getting the diagnosis they were looking for, so who sent the sample in to the LSU lab? If it came back as a flatworm, did these people seek treatment for that problem? Also, if the disease spread in the aftermath of the hurricane, why aren't the other people from the area who lived in the same conditions experiencing the same problems?
I wouldn't be surprised if this brings on a sudden "outbreak" of Morgellons here.
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Please see the previous thread on "morgellons" or, what most doctors identify as delusions of parisitosis: here
From my previous research, I think Wikipedia's description is a good starting place:
quote:Morgellons or Morgellons disease is a controversial name for an alleged polysymptomatic syndrome characterized by the patient finding fibers on their skin, which they believe are related to other symptoms, including intense itching, skin lesions, as well as a wide range of other chronic symptoms. These symptoms are occasionally accompanied by the belief in infestation by some unknown arthropod or parasite. The term Morgellons is not in accepted use by the medical community and the syndrome is widely held by the medical community to be a presentation of delusional parasitosis.
It is disturbing and sad that people who have been through such a tragedy are being pulled into this. I think some cases are true delusions of parisitosis, and some are sort of pseudo-DoP, because they have some symptoms that are medically unexplained (not unexplainable) and come to believe that they have "morgellons."
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I'm well aware of what this "disease" supposedly is and the controversy over whether it is anything other than a psychological condition. However, this is the first time I have seen it attributed to the hurricane, and scenario presented in this article really reeks of a scam to me.
There are a lot of people who are having medical issues since the storm, presumably due to the nasty stuff in the air and water and mold, but there are also some people who are trying to take advantage of the "poor hurricane victim" idea. It's sad, but unfortunately it's not all that uncommon.
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There is also the issue that the disease news stories is in fact a part of viral marketing for the film "A Scannner Darkly". In the story the movie the book is taking from a disease with the same symptoms and name is occuring throughout the United States.
Posts: 320 | From: Birmingham, Alabama | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote:Morgellons or Morgellons disease is a controversial name for an alleged polysymptomatic syndrome characterized by the patient finding fibers on their skin
Wow! I have this every morning. After petting my dog. The Boutros is clearly carrying parasites. In fact he is covered with them. The fibers are just like the ones that cover his body! Help!
-------------------- There are people who drive really nice cars who feel that [those] cars won't be as special if other people drive them too. Where I come from, we call those people "selfish self-satisfied gits." -Chloe Posts: 6995 | From: New Mexico | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Originally posted by tootiredtocare: There is also the issue that the disease news stories is in fact a part of viral marketing for the film "A Scannner Darkly". In the story the movie the book is taking from a disease with the same symptoms and name is occuring throughout the United States.
Which would make sense, but some of the websites and reports date back to years before the movie was even in production. It seems unlikely that a viral marketing campaign would have started so long before a film is even made.
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Well a Scanner Darkly actually has been confirmed to be a movie for quite some time. Pretty close to a decade if I recall correctly. Also you do have a devoted fanbase that could have started the websites as well.
You do have to admit news stories about a disease that just so happens to resemble a fictional epidemic in a book writting decades ago popping up just as the movie is being advertised does seem suscpicious.
It's highly possible that the viral marketing has caused a number of people to think they have this made up disease when they have a mental condition that should be treated.
Posts: 320 | From: Birmingham, Alabama | Registered: Jul 2006
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I did make a mistake in saying the name was the same as in the Philip K. Dick story but the symptoms are nearly identical.
Posts: 320 | From: Birmingham, Alabama | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Astra: I'm well aware of what this "disease" supposedly is and the controversy over whether it is anything other than a psychological condition.
Astra -- My post was not meant to be directed at you in particular. Sorry if it seemed so.
Something about the whole Morgellons thing just distresses me. I think it's the fact that people are being led to believe that they have a truly horrifying disease that no one will take seriously, rather than believing the doctors who are perfectly willing to treat the conditions that these sufferers DO have.
Anyway, my post was meant to be a general one with info on the "disease" and in particular in response to the one directly above mine, which directed people to the morgellons dot org website.
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