What Is Morgellons Disease?

Written by Kelli Miller, Marijke Vroomen Durning, RN
Medically Reviewed by Stephanie S. Gardner, MD and Zilpah Sheikh, MD on May 16, 2025
6 min read

Morgellons disease is a controversial and poorly understood condition in which people believe they have unusual thread-like fibers under the skin. Someone with Morgellons disease may feel like something is crawling, biting, or stinging all over.

Some medical experts say Morgellons is a physical illness. But most suggest it is a type of psychosis called “delusional parasitosis,” but it does affect people physically because a person thinks parasites have infected their skin.

“The condition is both a physical illness and a type of psychosis. It’s a physical manifestation of a psychiatric disease,” says Brian Toy, MD, an attending dermatologist at Providence Mission Hospital and a clinical professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. “The skin lesions seen in this condition are self-inflicted due to a symptom called formication — the tactile sensation of bugs crawling under the skin.”

Your doctor may call it an “unexplained dermopathy,” which means a skin condition that occurs without a known reason.

People with Morgellons disease describe unpleasant skin sensations. These can include:

  • Feeling like bugs are crawling all over the skin (formication)
  • Burning or stinging sensations under the skin
  • Intense itching
  • Skin sores that appear suddenly and heal slowly
  • Sores that leave very red (hyperpigmented) scars

“Patients will scratch and pick at the skin to find the culprit, resulting in erosions, ulcers, and other superficial wounds to the skin. The skin appears red and raw with scabs and scars in various stages of healing,” Toy explains. “Some patients also pull their hair out, including eyelashes, eyebrows, and scalp or body hair.”

People with Morgellons disease sometimes describe other symptoms, which may include:

Morgellons disease fibers

One common symptom people with Morgellons disease describe is that they’ve found thread-like fibers stuck in their skin. Researchers haven’t been able to identify for sure what the fibers are, but one study from the CDC found that most of the fibers were likely from clothing. People with Morgellons disease scratch their skin so hard that the fibers from their clothing can become embedded in their skin.

Morgellons disease isn’t well known, and there hasn’t been a lot of research into it. The CDC did a study in 2012, and the researchers reported that Morgellons affected more middle-aged White women than other groups. They also found that more than half of the patients showed signs of being obsessively concerned about health problems in general. These are called somatic concerns. Finally, several people in the study had other health problems as well, including depression and substance abuse.

It’s important to keep in mind that the study was limited, and this could have skewed the results. The researchers only looked at patients who were enrolled in a specific insurance program in northern California, and they might not be a good example of the average person who has Morgellons disease.

 “My theory is that the condition is triggered by a distressing life event and is a cry for help or attention,” Toy says. Unfortunately, because there’s no known cause, it’s hard to find any specific risk factors.

Morgellons and drug use

There may be a connection between drug use and Morgellons disease in some people. “Some drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, can also cause formication — the tactile sensation of bugs crawling under the skin,” Toy explains. “However, in my experience, drug use is not the primary cause of this condition.”

The question of whether Morgellons is a disease or a delusion has led to debate and new research in recent years.

The CDC study states that the condition is not caused by an infection or a neoplastic disorder (abnormal cells). The report goes on to say: “We were not able to conclude, based on this study, whether this unexplained dermopathy represents a new condition, as has been proposed by those who use the term Morgellons, or wider recognition of an existing condition such as delusional parasitosis.”

Some research teams have looked at Morgellons disease, but nothing definite has been found yet. Many people who have symptoms of Morgellons also tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria associated with Lyme disease. Other researchers found that many patients had other infections, and others also had signs of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). These findings are interesting, but they don’t prove anything yet.

“The condition is frustrating to treat for both the patient and the physician,” Toy says. 

“The primary reason for this is that the condition is a fixed delusion — despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the patient maintains an unshakable belief that their skin is infested with bugs or other fibers. What makes it even more challenging is that these patients are “normal” in every other way — intelligent, successful, resourceful, established, and otherwise healthy. These patients are fixated on finding the cause; in search of validation, they will go “doctor shopping” for multiple opinions, tests, biopsies, and laboratory evaluations.”

According to Toy, Morgellons disease is best treated with oral antipsychotic medications, such as olanzapine, pimozide, or risperidone. 

“However, most patients will refuse to take such medications once they see it is used for psychosis,” he says. “In their mind, they really need an antiparasitic drug to treat their condition. But even if they are given an antiparasitic, they still don’t get better. Nonetheless, these patients refuse to consider the psychological component of the disease and flatly refuse to see a mental health expert.”

Over time, Morgellons disease can affect your quality of life. You may have problems keeping up with friends and family the way you used to. You may start to feel isolated or have trouble focusing on work.

If you continue to scratch and pick at your skin, you could also develop wounds that don’t heal and could become infected. You may also end up with scars on your skin.

The condition is more common than we might think, Toy says. “The most famous celebrity with the condition is Joni Mitchell. Patients need a strong social support network to overcome this problem. Families and friends can help by redirecting the patient to focus on recovery rather than fixating on the cause. Like many diseases, we may never figure out the cause, but regardless, there is effective treatment available. Patients must simply take a leap of faith and trust that they will get better.”

To manage the condition well, it’s best to adopt an action plan:

Build a team. Find doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals you trust who take your well-being seriously.

Be patient. Ruling out other conditions and deciding a way forward after a diagnosis can take time.

Stay open. Be honest with your doctor and keep an open mind about therapies and options for treatment.

Treat your mental health. Seek out treatment for any anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues you may be dealing with alongside Morgellons.

Morgellons disease is a complicated condition that has physical issues but is related to psychiatric ones. Someone with Morgellons disease feels as if they have bugs crawling on or under their skin. Because they scratch at their skin to ease the itching, they can get sores that can go quite deep. Getting treatment for the disease can be hard because most people with Morgellons disease won’t accept that they might need to take medications labeled as “antipsychotics.” They believe that all they need is an antiparasitic — a drug that will kill the parasites they believe they have.

What do Morgellons fibers look like?

If fibers are found, they’re microscopic, which means you can’t see them with the naked eye. They seem to be very thin and of varying colors.

What triggers Morgellons disease?

Researchers haven’t found any specific triggers for Morgellons disease.

What can be mistaken for Morgellons disease?

There are some conditions where parasites (bugs) burrow into the skin, such as scabies. Also, other psychiatric illnesses may make you feel like your skin is crawling with bugs.

How to test for Morgellons disease

There are no tests to diagnose Morgellons disease.

What bacteria cause Morgellons disease?

As of now, no research has proven that any particular bacteria causes Morgellons disease.