How would you know if you have demodex?

[nikkitn]

I'm VERY afraid of bugs - ALL bugs. So I'm scared I have them all over my face. How do you know if you have them or not?

[arcticlobo]

everybody has them. regardless of if you have rosacea or not.

[nikkitn]

WHAT!? Says who?

[fanta]

Dr. Hulda Clark I presume :?

[arcticlobo]

http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~parasite/demodex.html

We have all kinds of parasites, bacteria, and other things on our body, in our body, around our body...

[Bradley]

Arctic please let Nikki in on this secret slowly..or else she will be in for a big shock!

Not only does everybody have these mites on their skin but we also have living bacteria inside our body as well. Moreover, greater than 75% of the world's population carry parasites within their bodies that can range from extremely small to 10-20 inches (tapeworms). They go unnoticed to the host so you will not know they are there most of the time.

However, there are times when you will exert some symptoms that could be caused by parasites and in the case of rosacea, this school of thought considers demodex mites to be the causal factor in bringing about rosacea. I, myself, am not entirely convinced especially because the treatment, The Z & X cream consists of completely wiping them out from your skin.

This is not a good move because they in fact do a job on your skin to protect the epidermal layers and act in a way to keep the skin somewhat sterile.

PS Nikki I hope you don't have carpets in your home or else you will be making some new friends soon :)

[nikkitn]

LOL. I'm cracking up right now but terrified at the same time. Well I had heard that we all have bugs on our skin but demodex sound like such nasty little creatures...so most people with rosacea just choose not to do anything about this b/c most don't believe that demodex are the cause? And we all have them anyway. I guess I've misunderstood this whole time. I thought only SOME people had demodex and those that did can kill them - although this doesn't necessarily relieve the rosacea issues, at least it kills the bugs and may help improve the R a little bit. So basically you are saying I should just not worry about it at all...?

And yes, I know about the bugs that are in my mattress, pillows, carpet etc. I've seen one too many "Dateline" or "60 Minutes" about that topic. I really try NOT to think about it or I get freaked out. I even hate butterflies and ladybugs. NASTY NASTY NASTY.

ALL BUGS MUST DIE!

[Bradley]

^LMAO Nikki :lol: !

Well I'm sure you won't like the fact that apparently we swallow between 5-10 insects (spiders, flies etc.) every year when we sleep.

Hmmm yum yum.

[fanta]

do you flush from swallowing flies when we sleep? :|

[Brady Barrows]

I'm VERY afraid of bugs - ALL bugs. So I'm scared I have them all over my face. How do you know if you have them or not?

nikkitn,

as the posts above have told you already, the demodex mite has been on your face and the rest of your body for years and years. Normally they pose no problem. There have been several research studies suggesting that the demodex mite may be implicated as a factor in rosacea sometimes. However, Dr. Nase says the demodex mite is not a significant player in this disease. I have written an editorial on the demodex mite and rosacea which you can read about at this url >

http://www.rosaceans.com/html/demodex.html