Getting rid of your unwanted guest
All of us have this mite on our faces right now. Demodex a microscopic, eight-legged creature spends its entire life on our faces, where they eat, mate, and die.
Before you start scrubbing your face with extra-strong face wash, you should know they are almost harmless. They only cause an issue when they die and explode. Demodex live inside the pours and ducts of our skin, when they die they can inflame these areas. When this happens patients can suffer from Blepharitis and have issues with Rosacea. Patients who have dogs or Rosacea tend to have more Demodex per square centimeter of skin than patients without.
Why are Demodex on our bodies in the first place? No one really knows. Doctors have differing opinions on the matter. Some say they are eating bacteria and dead skin cells, while some think they are eating the oils on our skin. Demodex also only comes out at night to feed and mate and then will hide out through out the day in your pours. Below is a video of Demodex laying their eggs.
How do we get rid of Demodex? You cant, Demodex is here for good but you can control them. Washing your sheets, pillows, and towels can help limit the transfer of these mites. Using a lid wipe like Cliradex has been shown to kill Demodex, though not get rid of it for good.
There is a simple lesson to be learned. We are not alone, our bodies hold an entire ecosystem of bacteria, mites, lice, and microorganisms. We just need to get along with them and control them, if needed.