Gary Middleton, with partner Belinda Herranz, is appealing for help
A man says his life has been
made hellish by a two-year
itch which has puzzled doctors.
Gary Middleton believes his
body has been infested with
avian mites, which he contracted
while clearing up pigeon
excrement from his balcony two years ago.
The writer, from Springfield
Road, in Brighton, has thrown
away his three-piece suite, mattress
and rugs because he fears
they are hosting the tiny pests.
He is now at his wits' end
because the condition, which
has defeated doctors, does not seem to have a cure.
Mr Middleton said: "The last
20 months have been complete
hell. The way I see it either I kill
myself, which I can't do, or dose
myself up forever and keep
them sedated. But that doesn't
stop them from breeding. Hopefully,
there's another answer out there."
When the scratching began
Mr Middleton went to his doctor,
who diagnosed his itchy problem as eczema.
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He was prescribed soothing
creams but the itching persisted
and a year later he returned to
his GP to be told he had a bacterial infection.
Further treatments had no
effect and the itching continued.
He returned again and this
time his GP suggested he could
be suffering from scabies.
Mr Middleton was not convinced
and took a skin scraping
to an entomologist at Brighton's
Booth Museum, who suggested
he could have avian mites. He
said: "I can feel them walking
over my body and drinking my
blood. I'm at the end of my tether."
"Altogether, I'm taking about
six different treatments. I
shower every day using tea tree
oil and bathe every night in
eucalyptus oil.
"I had to throw all my furniture
away because they can lie
dormant for up to six months.
"The treatments keep them
sedated but don't get rid of
them. I'm convinced it's mites
but no one can diagnose it.
"I think it's beyond the comprehension
of some doctors - it's so unusual.
"Now I'm playing a waiting
game with doctors as every
night I'm awoken as new mites
hatch and spread throughout
my body before they drop below
the surface of my skin to live and feed.
"All I want to do is get them
out of my system. If there's a
professional out there who
knows about avian mites, I
would love to hear from them."
Mr Middleton has undergone
tests with a dermatologist and
is awaiting the results.
My friend had the same problem, it was traced to her sofa from World of Leather (featured on Watchdog.) As Chuck suggests, try the website bbc.co.uk/watchdog.
My friend had the same problem, it was traced to her sofa from World of Leather (featured on Watchdog.) As Chuck suggests, try the website bbc.co.uk/watchdog.
Posted by: treeperson, brighton on 7:49pm Tue 13 May 08
Sounds awful,hope you get the right help soon,your bound to get the interest of an expert or two by going public ..so dont top yourself just yet mate ! hang on in there for a while.
If it was me,I'd take a shower before bed on a warm evening,then try to sleep without covers etc naked on a huge sheet of white paper(A4 joined together with tape if necessary)and itch and scratch as normal throughout the night,then early in the morning,wake up,brush yourself down with hands over the huge paper sheet,then go grab a powerfull magnifying glass and lamp,lift up the sides of paper and gently shake any bits into the center,then inspect EVERY single little bit of body debris,insects or any other small bits left on the paper,with any luck you'll of knocked a few culprits onto the paper while scratching at night,or maybe have a few fully grown dead adult mites or whatever to examine.Got to be worth a try?
Good luck ! (if your reading this)
Sounds awful,hope you get the right help soon,your bound to get the interest of an expert or two by going public ..so dont top yourself just yet mate ! hang on in there for a while.
If it was me,I'd take a shower before bed on a warm evening,then try to sleep without covers etc naked on a huge sheet of white paper(A4 joined together with tape if necessary)and itch and scratch as normal throughout the night,then early in the morning,wake up,brush yourself down with hands over the huge paper sheet,then go grab a powerfull magnifying glass and lamp,lift up the sides of paper and gently shake any bits into the center,then inspect EVERY single little bit of body debris,insects or any other small bits left on the paper,with any luck you'll of knocked a few culprits onto the paper while scratching at night,or maybe have a few fully grown dead adult mites or whatever to examine.Got to be worth a try?
There was a recent article in New Scientist (12 September 2007) that covered a similar situation ie patients were convinced they had some kind of skin parasite/infection and was called Morgellons disease. This featured black/blue fibres, rather than mites but there are similarities between this case and those in the article. I also doubt its a parasite infection otherwise other famility members would be showing some symptoms.
There was a recent article in New Scientist (12 September 2007) that covered a similar situation ie patients were convinced they had some kind of skin parasite/infection and was called Morgellons disease. This featured black/blue fibres, rather than mites but there are similarities between this case and those in the article. I also doubt its a parasite infection otherwise other famility members would be showing some symptoms.
[quote][bold]Richard Lockwood[/bold] wrote:
Has he ever heard of delusional parasitosis? http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Delusional_ parasitosis[/quote] Hmm..Morgellons and DP often go hand-in-hand. Hope the poor chap gets it sorted in end.
Richard Lockwood wrote:
Has he ever heard of delusional parasitosis? http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Delusional_ parasitosis
Hmm..Morgellons and DP often go hand-in-hand. Hope the poor chap gets it sorted in end.
Posted by: c,rushon, Liverpool on 11:56am Thu 5 Jun 08
Sorry but I'm afraid you have a classic case of Morgellons Disease.The stranger symptoms come later.Hundreds of people have identical stories to tell including myself.
Sorry but I'm afraid you have a classic case of Morgellons Disease.The stranger symptoms come later.Hundreds of people have identical stories to tell including myself.
Posted by: white rose, Yorkshire on 11:50pm Thu 5 Jun 08
I would say morgellons is a definite.There are other symptoms-constant cough,running nose are just 2 of many.I am an ex nurse and realised I had this last year.I have an excellent pic of a ?worm exiting above my lip after taking some treatment.It is partly fungal/partly tiny worms that enter body.The fungus is is ALL the veg in UK.Soak veg in salt water-the black specks float to the bottom,buy a cheap microscope from ebay and look at them-especially the sceptics.Be prepared for a shock when you see them glowing!!Only 2 private docs treat this in UK-there are quite a few sufferers here now and they are spread over all of England.Try bathing in Hydrogen Peroxide-they don't like oxygen and salt baths.See if any of the black specks are in the water.It will affect toenails making them thickened and yellow.I sympathise with you it is a living hell.Try the Morgellons support sites which give lots of info on treatments.This will be recognised in UK when many people realise what they have.My cardiologist-a Professor doubts me not,he has seen first hand what this has done to me the signs are clearly visible certainly not delusions.I only wish they were..........
You very well caught it from the pigeon droppings as birds are picking the fungus up constantly.It was reported recently that sparrow numbers had dropped dramatically due to a 'fungus' killing them...so there you have it.
I would say morgellons is a definite.There are other symptoms-constant cough,running nose are just 2 of many.I am an ex nurse and realised I had this last year.I have an excellent pic of a ?worm exiting above my lip after taking some treatment.It is partly fungal/partly tiny worms that enter body.The fungus is is ALL the veg in UK.Soak veg in salt water-the black specks float to the bottom,buy a cheap microscope from ebay and look at them-especially the sceptics.Be prepared for a shock when you see them glowing!!Only 2 private docs treat this in UK-there are quite a few sufferers here now and they are spread over all of England.Try bathing in Hydrogen Peroxide-they don't like oxygen and salt baths.See if any of the black specks are in the water.It will affect toenails making them thickened and yellow.I sympathise with you it is a living hell.Try the Morgellons support sites which give lots of info on treatments.This will be recognised in UK when many people realise what they have.My cardiologist-a Professor doubts me not,he has seen first hand what this has done to me the signs are clearly visible certainly not delusions.I only wish they were..........
You very well caught it from the pigeon droppings as birds are picking the fungus up constantly.It was reported recently that sparrow numbers had dropped dramatically due to a 'fungus' killing them...so there you have it.
It is unfortunate that people will dismiss bird mite parasitosis as delusional. There is plenty of documented research on the subject, and it is horrific, and not easily described to those who haven't a cluel The lack of sleep can take its toll on the individual and family. And it gets expensive getting rid of furniture, etc. I wish this gentleman the best. I have been there too.
Tim
It is unfortunate that people will dismiss bird mite parasitosis as delusional. There is plenty of documented research on the subject, and it is horrific, and not easily described to those who haven't a cluel The lack of sleep can take its toll on the individual and family. And it gets expensive getting rid of furniture, etc. I wish this gentleman the best. I have been there too.
Tim
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