Morgellons - Fact or Fiction

[Alex Cortes]

Morgellons.....  When did it become an acknowledged disease.  I have been reading on the topic throughout the morning and I still can't find one credible medical journal stating it is a disease.  There have been zero clinical studies, yet somehow Chemtrails are the cause.  Taking one bit of faulty proof to justify another piece of faulty information as fact does not support either.  I find it strange that every single person that claims to have it is diagnosed with delusions of parasites, which is a clinically proven  condition.....  Just amazing how leaps of faith happen all the time but when rational thinking is presented, I get labeled a debunker.....  What am I missing here.....?

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=morgellons-disease-parasites-skin-psychiatric

 

[Byron wilkins]

Steve this is good info keep us informed please.

[Kim B]

Cool.  Now if someone could get this info to Teresa C.  The herxheimer reaction, yes i am familiar with that one!

[steve frey]

To those suffering from morgellons I wanted to pass this on. In a conversation with my mother a couple of months ago she told me about a drug that her doctor put her on that has completely eliminated all of her joint pain, I asked her for the name of the drug and she told me it was Hydroxychloroquine, generic for the drug Plaquenil, a synthetic form of quinine which was designed to treat malaria, by accident they discovered that it also treated rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. So I spoke to my GP about it and he would not give me a prescription for it unless I was diagnosed with one of the illnesses it is used to treat so I bought it from an online pharmacy, since many of these sites are scams I trusted a recommendation from someone at the morgellons site that I frequent and this site turned out to be legitimate, I got the drug from magicpharma.com. 

I have been on the drug for 10 days now and I must say I believe it is working well. At day five I began to experience more joint pain than usual, which was to be expected, they call this the Herxheimer reaction. Now after ten days the joint pain has subsided significantly but more importantly the skin on my hands is greatly improved, better than it's been in years. With the name in hand I googled Plaquenil with morgellons and turns out there was a woman in 2007 with morgellons that began using this drug with amazing results, here is a link to here thread where she speaks about it's effects. One Word: Plaquenil

[Rosemary S]

Steve There was an incident where I installed a rain gauge to see how much rainwater i could collect after a rain fall. Within a week and being outside to read the rain gauge, I notice this pinkish substance in the water.  I took a picture of it. Not to long after that, I read from NL's web site that  a man and his son had left a bowl outside on the garden table. They notice this pinkish substance in the bottom of the bowl. Do you think it might be Chlamydomonas nivalis. If you want me to send you my picture, just tell me.

[steve frey]

I wanted to take the time to provide an alternative explanation as to why morgellons type fibers are found in environmental samples. This explanation is tied in with my theory that cites the sponge as possessing the ability to copy, store, and translate the DNA of other organisms which allows it to produce replicas of those organisms.

 

As I stated earlier in this thread, I do believe that the morgellons life form (aka the sponge) is indeed falling from the sky. Exactly how these cells get into the atmosphere I cannot say but I suspect they do it in the same manner as bacteria, likely through evaporation.

 

Evidence in support of this idea comes in the form of watermelon snow which is explained in the article below. Pay close attention to the paragraphs highlighted in red, first it is important to understand that Science has only theories as to why and how watermelon snow exists,  I contend that their theory may not be accurate and I will go into detail after the article.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watermelon Snow

 

A Strange Phenomenon
Caused by Algal Cells
of The Chlorophyta

 

Have you ever hiked across an alpine meadow or traversed a steep talus slope in high mountain ranges and noticed pinkish patches, or streaks of red, on the snowbanks? This phenomenon is especially common during the summer months in the Sierra Nevada of California where snow has lingered from winter storms, mainly at altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet. Compressing the snow with your boot leaves a distinct footprint the color of watermelon pulp. The snow even has a fresh watermelon scent and is sometimes called "watermelon snow." Walking in pink snow often results in a temporary discoloration of your clothing, such as bright red soles and pinkish pant cuffs. There are unconfirmed reports that consuming "generous quantities" of pink snow may cause diarrhea, a rather distressing situation above timberline.

 

For thousands of years the mysterious pink snow puzzled mountain climbers, explorers and naturalists alike. Some people thought it was caused by mineral deposits or oxidation products leached from rocks. Colored snow was mentioned in the writings of Aristotle, several centuries before the Christian Era.

 

In May 1818 four ships sailed from England to search for the Northwest Passage and chart the unknown Arctic coastline, with stalwart plans to rendezvous on the other side of the globe. Although fate and severe weather conditions eventually turned the ships back, the expedition made some valuable scientific contributions. Rounding Kap York (Cape York), off the northwest coast of Greenland, Captain John Ross noticed crimson snow that streaked the white cliffs like streams of blood. A landing party stopped to examine the spectacular display and brought samples back to England. This unusual discovery appeared in the London Times, Dec. 4, 1818:

 

"Captain Sir John Ross has brought from Baffin's Bay a quantity of red snow, or rather snow-water, which has been submitted to chymical analysis in this country, in order to the discovery of the nature of its colouring matter. Our credulity is put to an extreme test upon this occasion, but we cannot learn that there is any reason to doubt the fact as stated. Sir John Ross did not see any red snow fall; but he saw large tracts overspread with it. The colour of the fields of snow was not uniform; but, on the contrary, there were patches or streaks more or less red, and of various depths of tint. The liquor, or dissolved snow, is of so dark a red as to resemble red port wine. It is stated, that the liquor deposits a sediment; and that the question is not answered, whether that sediment is of an animal or vegetable nature. It is suggested that the colour is derived from the soil on which the snow falls: in this case, no red snow can have been seen on the ice."

 

Three days later a follow-up article concluded that the coloration was caused by meteoric iron deposits: "...iron being found to be the colourist of all metallic as well as vegetable matter." It was not until the end of the nineteenth century that the unusual phenomenon was finally attributed to high concentrations or "blooms" of microscopic algae.

 

In the high mountain ranges of the western United States at least 60 different species of snow algae have been identified, but only a few kinds have been reported from the Sierra Nevada. One of the most common species of snow algae in California, and the one responsible for pink snow, is Chlamydomonas nivalis. This unicellular organism is a member of the diverse green algae Division Chlorophyta (Order Volvocales), and contains a bright red carotenoid pigment in addition to chlorophyll. Unlike most species of fresh-water algae, it is cryophilic (cold-loving) and thrives in freezing water. Its scientific surname, nivalis, is from Latin and refers to snow

 

During late spring and summer, alpine snowbanks are often colored beautiful shades of red by a myriad of algal cells. The concentrations or "blooms" may extend to a depth of 25 centimeters (10 inches). Each spherical cell is approximately 30 micrometers in diameter, about four times the diameter of a human red blood cell. It has been estimated that one teaspoon of melted snow may contain more than a million cells of snow algae. Compacting the snow increases the density of the red cells and heightens the color. Sometimes the algae accumulate in shallow depressions in the snow called sun cups. Because the dark red pigment absorbs heat, the cells melt their way into the snow, thus deepening the sun cups and accelerating the melting rate of snowbanks and glaciers. Snow algae are not always confined to regions of perpetual snow, particularly in the high mountains of southern California where there is a complete melting of snow every summer.

 

To really appreciate these organisms you must view them under high magnification, preferably 400 power. Through a microscope a drop of melted snow contains literally thousands of brilliant red cells of Chlamydomonas nivalis that resemble globular hard candies. Critical focusing reveals a thickened wall with a warty or minutely bumpy ornamentation. Sometimes the cells are mixed with the distinctive winged pollen grains of timberline pines, such as whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). In the Sierra Nevada I can usually find a few cells of another kind of snow algae in drops of pink snow. The other species, Chloromonas, has oval cells with a greenish center and a distinctive orange-yellow lipid droplet at each end.

 

The bright red carotenoid pigment inside the cells of snow algae is similar to that found in tomatoes, red peppers and in many colorful flowers and autumn leaves. Carotenoids may also be orange, yellow or yellow-green as in carrots and the fleshy meat of avocados. They are also found in a variety of animals, including the exoskeletons of shrimp, crab and lobsters, brightly colored corals, skins of fish and amphibians, egg yolks, and pink plumage of flamingos. Since flamingos cannot synthesize carotenoids, they are often fed shrimp in captivity to intensify the color.

 

Carotenoid pigments presumably help to protect the delicate cells of snow algae from intense solar radiation at the surface of the snow. Because of the thin layer of atmosphere for filtration, alpine snowbanks are subjected to more damaging ultraviolet radiation than at lower elevations. Cells of snow algae (and other particulate matter in snow fields) may also concentrate airborne radiation. This phenomenon was apparently discovered by a uranium prospector who inadvertently let his coffee pot go dry after melting snow in it and heard his Geiger counter nearby begin to click.

 

There are several explanations for what happens to snow algae when they are covered by deep layers of snow during winter. Experiments by several researchers indicate that algae lie dormant during the winter months under drifts of snow. The following spring, meltwater and nutrients reach the dormant cells and stimulate germination. Upon germination, the resting cells release smaller, green swimming cells with two whiplike flagella that propel them through the snow pack to the surface and daylight. Exactly what triggers this remarkable migration of biflagellate cells to the surface has been the subject of extensive research. It may be related to a combination of factors, such as melting snow and dissolved nutrients, light intensity, and possibly the length of daylight. 

 

Once at the surface, the swimming cells loose their flagella and form thick-walled resting cells (aplanospores) containing the protective red pigment and reserve food. Some of the swimming cells may function as gametes (sex cells) and fuse in pairs to form zygotes. The nutrient source for snow algae comes from minerals leached from boulders and underlying soil, and from detrital material (especially pollen) that blows onto the snow from nearby timberline trees and shrubs. The plant debris, along with dead snow algae and small insect life, is broken down by decay bacteria and fungi, thus making the essential nutrients available to the algae. The powerful mountain winds that bring nutrients to the snowbank may also serve to disperse the dormant cells to distant snow-capped mountains. Since microorganisms of snow and ice fields are dependent on air-transported nutrients, scholars of arctic-alpine ecosystems refer to these habitats as "aeolian regions." 

 

As photosynthetic plants (protists), snow algae represent the "primary producers" of aeolian regions and form the beginning of a unique food chain. During the summer months, blooms of snow algae are often associated with a variety of animal life, including many species of protozoans, ciliates, rotifers, nematodes, snow worms (Phylum Annelida) and springtails. The minute snow fauna represents herbivore "grazers" in a snow ecosystem. There are reports of snow worm populations literally covering snow fields and glaciers of Alaska and British Columbia. Springtails or "snowfleas" (Achorutes nivicolus) are minute wingless insects (order Collembola) less than a millimeter long, often swarming in enormous numbers on debris-laden snow. Their tiny dark gray or black bodies absorb solar radiation and heat. By means of a unique springing device (furcula), extending from the tip of the abdomen and folded forward along the underside, they hop around on the snow, browsing on pollen, snow algae and other microscopic debris. The minute herbivore fauna provides food for diminutive carnivores, such as mites, spiders and insects, culminating in birds (including the Rock Wren and Rosy Finch) who hunt the snow surface with tweezerlike bills. 

 

There are many other striking examples of colorful microscopic algae in our environment. Algal cells color the trunks of trees velvety green, and the trunks of Monterey cypress on the Monterey Peninsula of California a brilliant orange. The colorful crusted growth on rocks and boulders is caused by an intimate association between algae and fungi called lichen. In the Sierra Nevada and high desert ranges to the east there are many colors of lichen, including black, orange, green, yellow and chartreuse. The unicellular alga Dunaliella, related to snow algae, and salt-loving bacteria grow in salt lakes and brine pools throughout arid regions of the world and often color the water vermilion red. 

 

Cells of microscopic algae are able to survive in a variety of unusual places, from the dry salt crust and brine pools of blistering desert playas to boiling hot springs and windswept lichen-covered peaks of high mountains. Algal cells even live inside the hollow cores of polar bear hairs, producing peculiar green coats. But one of the most remarkable habitats of all is the freezing water of alpine snowbanks. Here they live and multiply through countless centuries in a sea of fallen snowflakes, efficiently utilizing the sun's energy in a world that never gets above freezing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Now to the explanation. The following statements are key,

 

• This phenomenon is especially common during the summer months in the Sierra Nevada of California where snow has lingered from winter storms, mainly at altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet.

•  bright red carotenoid pigment

• During the summer months, blooms of snow algae are often associated with a variety of animal life, including many species of protozoans, ciliates, rotifers, nematodes, snow worms (Phylum Annelida) and springtails.

• The minute herbivore fauna provides food for diminutive carnivores, such as mites, spiders and insects, 

 

1. There has to be a logical explanation as to why watermelon snow only occurs at elevations between 10,000 and 12,000 feet, it is my contention that when a storm comes in from the pacific ocean it hits the mountain range and "stalls" which allows whatever is caught up in the storm to fall to the ground, in this case sponge cells containing a library of DNA that it has copied from various organisms during it's 600 million year reign on this planet. Upon landing atop the deep snow it searches it's library for an organism that is best suited to survive in these conditions and selects the snow algae. The algae cannot survive without food so a mini eco-system is created in order for it to survive.
2. The algae Chlamydomonas nivalis is commonly associated with the sponge as one of it's many so called symbionts.
3. Protozoans, ciliates, rotifers, nematodes, and annelidans are also commonly associated with the sponge as so called symbionts
4. Springtails, mites, spiders, and insects have all been reported as being associated with morgellons.

 

 

[Rosemary S]

It is interesting to learn that Morgellons was somewhat know in the 17th century. It could be the basis for an interesting study. What was in the environment then and now. Sad that the article does not give the location where the people affected then lived. Taking air soil and water samples is a good idea, but I would look at their diet. Today, what ever we eat, wear, drink may have a bearing on our health. All our bodies are highly polluted and it is a combination of all these that has to be consider. Cause and effect must be included. If a newborn baby has already in his body 200 different chemicals, imaging what is the body burden when the baby is 20 years old.

[steve frey]

That's the basic idea of it Cheryl, here's a pretty good article on it

Herxheimer reactions

[Cheryl Nelson]

Herxheimer Reaction is also related to sudden die-off of yeast overgrowth.  I've had CFIDS/FM for 26 years.  I know the drill.  For those that don't know, like maybe Pat, it's a reaction to the toxins released by dying yeast (or dying whatever).  Is there any more to it than that, Steve?

[steve frey]

Pat my personal theory on the morgellons issue places this illness in a group that includes psoriasis as well as many other auto-immune disorders so IMO whatever helps with the morgellons symptoms would also help with psoriasis, keep in mind though that one may experience a significant Herxheimer reaction when treating psoriasis with something other than those drugs that are designed to suppress the immune system as most are.

[pat staley]

I wonder if it would help my husbands Psoriasis? How do you take it or use it?