CREEPY-CRAWLY DISEASE

From Wikipedia: Morgellons (also called Morgellons disease or Morgellons syndrome), is a name given in 2002 to a proposed condition referred to by the Centers for Disease Control as unexplained dermopathy and characterized by a range of cutaneous (skin) symptoms including crawling, biting, and stinging sensations; finding fibers on or under the skin; and persistent skin lesions (e.g., rashes or sores).

WEIRD SCIENCE: MEDICAL CONFERENCE LOOKS INTO MORGELLONS DISEASE
By Craig Malisow

Houston Press Hair Balls
March 22, 2011

If you're one of the thousands of people, mostly from Texas, who believe weird, freaky fibers are wiggling out from under their skin, then you may want to check out the fourth annual medical conference on Morgellons Disease in Austin April 2.

Our sister paper in Dallas wrote about the mysterious Morgellons, in which people complain of subdermal stinging and crawling sensations, coupled by the protrusion of tiny thread-like thingies. Picture that dude from the movie Bug, and you get the idea. Many physicians chalk it up to a psychiatric phenomenon, a la delusional parasitosis. Alas, sufferers say the condition takes a huge toll, and advocacy groups -- like the Charles E. Holman Foundation, sponsor of the annual Austin conference -- are demanding that Morgellons be taken seriously.

Conference speaks include Rhonda Casey, assistant professor of pediatrics at Oklahoma State University; Ginger Savely, a nurse who "has medically managed over 300 Morgellons patients in her medical practice"; and others.

Music will be provided by Morgellons sufferer Cliff Mickelson, who's very vocal on Morgellons forums, where he's written about the disease attacking dogs, horses, pigs, and even the common fly, a la: "I have personally observed infected house flies that have been totally consumed by the creature leaving nothing but the exoskeleton and a Frankenstein-like collection of Macro-fibers extruding from them in every direction."

We dare you to read the forum for fifteen minutes without feeling little creepy-crawlies all over your skin. We just hope that, one day soon, someone like Bono will champion the Morgellons sufferers' cause, and the folks at the CDC will work double-time to find a cure. Or at least a decent placebo.