Delusional parasitosis

I read lately in my newsfeed about this rare disease, usually called Morgellons disease, or what in medical community called delusional parasitosis.

Morgellons disease is a rare illness (characterized by some as a delusion) that has struck South Texas -- it causes incredibly painful lesions that sprout little "wires" of fiber, and never heal. It's painful and has no cure, and some victims commit suicide to escape the pain:

Patients get lesions that never heal. "Sometimes little black specks that come out of the lesions and sometimes little fibers," said Stephanie Bailey, Morgellons patient.
Patients say that's the worst symptom — strange fibers that pop out of your skin in different colors. "He'd have attacks and fibers would come out of his hands and fingers, white, black and sometimes red. Very, very painful," said Lisa Wilson, whose son Travis had Morgellon's disease.
While all of this is going on, it feels like bugs are crawling under your skin. So far more than 100 cases of Morgellons disease have been reported in South Texas.

In Wikipedia, Morgellons disease is a controversial name for an alleged polysymptomatic syndrome characterized by the patient's presentation of intense itching, skin lesions and the patient's claim of finding unusual structures, fibers or objects in or on the skin 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. Delusional parasitosis is a form of psychosis in which sufferers hold a delusional belief they are infested with parasites. It is usually diagnosed as a subtype of delusional disorder. (Psychostimulants) Drug abusers may also have delusional parasitosis.

In fact, there are diseases with similar symptoms and signs of itching, skin lesion and a feeling like bugs crawling under the skin, such as creeping eruption caused by larvae from dog's or cat's hookworm Ancylostoma braziliense and Ancylostoma caninum; scabies caused by arthropod Sarcoptes scabiei; and lice, caused by, well, lice (Pediculus humanus). But in these diseases, the parasites can actually be found.

The most striking symptom is delusions of things in variable colours sprout or fly out of the skin, which can not be observed except by the patient. The patients, and sometimes the family, insist that they saw them go out of the skin with their own eyes. If you watch Oldboy, starred by Choi Min-shik, you would see Oh Dae-su having this disease while still in "prison".

All states in America and Canada had reported the cases of delusional parasitosis, with California and Texas had the highest number of cases. Dogs, cats, and horses were also reported to have this disease, but the fiber were actually found in their skin lesions. Creepy. Pathological examination of skin lesion in human only showed inflammation, no parasites, and sometimes fibrous material.

Right now, there are no cure to it. Antibiotics, antifungal, antiparasites, antipsychotics, psychotherapy, did not work. Some patients lose their jobs, some commit suicides. A few patients who were lucky enough to be in recovery, attributed their recovery to antibiotics, vitamins, healthy diet, exercise, and a positive attitude.

Photos taken from: http://www.bibleprobe.com/morgellons.htm