Demodex Mites. Lots of Questions About Them

[davem81]

I will keep on fighting with every ounce of my body, until victory is at hand.
These critters will get what they deserve, mark you my words.

That's the spirit!

[Gabranth]

No changes so far, still decent…

About the microscope, I will post photos (if possible) and info when the time is right.

[Gabranth]

How do I do the test (Information for the Dermatologist or yourself)
In this section we will explain how to determine if you are infected with demodex mites and how to find and count them. In this way you will be able to follow the progress of the treatment. It is important to do the treatment until the test result is negative and all of the mites are gone. Otherwise they will continue to multiply and the treatment must be repeated. It takes about 5 minutes for an experienced person to perform the test.
We also have a video available to help clarify the testing procedure.

What you will need:
1. A microscope with a good lighting system and light condenser, a multiplication of 40 to 60 times is enough to detect them. In order to see more details you will need a magnification up to 400X.
2. A tool to scrape the sebum from the face and mix the obtained sample with the oil on the glass slide. There are some special tools sold for this purpose but anything will do, like for a example a little pointed knife, doesn’t need to be sharp, be careful not to cut your skin.
3. Household vegetable oil such as bean oil, grape seed oil, sesame oil, etc. to dissolve the sebum. Do not use liquid paraffin, glycerin, shampoo oil etc.
4. Latex gloves to protect your hands from further infection from the mites, or latex fingers for the fingers you use to press the sebum out.
5. A small bottle for holding the oil and a pipette to put drops of the oil on the glass slide.
6. A disinfectant to disinfect the scrape tool.
7. Cotton balls to clean the tool.

What to do:
Taking samples in the different drops of oil and from different parts of the face will enable you to locate the originating areas of the mites.

1. First put three separate drops of vegetable oil onto a glass slide.

2. The doctor should sit face to face with the person and press the thumb and second finger on one side of the nose hard enough to squeeze some sebum out and scrape it off with the mite tool or something similar.

3. Put the obtained sebum in the first drop of oil and mix it so the sebum will dissolve in
the oil and free the present mites, their larvae and eggs. Label the drop of oil with the specimen, according to the part of the face from which the mites were taken.

4.Do the same with the other side of the nose and put in the same drop of oil and mix.

5. Now press the top of the nose, scrape it and put the scraping in the same drop of oil
and mix.

6. Clean and disinfect the mite tool.

7. Now scrape the forehead between the eye brows, stretch the forehead skin with your
left hand up and starting in the middle of the fore head, scrape downwards to the
beginning of the nose. Apply enough pressure so that you have a good sample. Do this a couple of times to ensure that you have collected enough to produce good results.

8. Put the obtained sample in the second drop of oil on the glass slide and mix with the oil and once again, disinfect the mite tool.

9. Now we have to obtain some sebum from the chin. Clench the jaw and facial muscles to create some tension on the skin of the chin. Scrape the skin starting from the lip down and apply enough pressure to obtain some sebum. Do this a couple of times in different directions.

10. Mix the obtained sample with oil in the third drop of oil.

11. Disinfect the mite tool for future use.
12. Place the glass slide under the microscope and examine the different drops one by
one. Look very carefully and don’t use too much magnification in the beginning; 40 to 60X is enough. Increase the magnification after you find them and want to see more details. Adjust the light and focus as necessary to see the living and dead mites, eggs, nymphs and remaining bodies. Once you know what to look for, they become very easy to identify and the testing time will take only 5 minutes or so.
Counting them will allow you to follow the progress of the disease by comparing the amount of mites with the future tests. Record the number that you find according to type: long (folliculorum) and short (brevis) from the different areas of the face (different drops of oil).

If you want to see them move the most dynamic temperature is between 28- 36 degrees Celsius, the minimum is 25 degrees Celsius. If necessary, warm up the glass slide in your hands. They can live away from the host approximately 36-58 hours in a drop of oil.

Larvae and nymphs never move but if you increase magnification you can sometimes
see the mouth of the nymph moving. If you don’t find any then it is almost sure you are looking for the wrong things or you did the test incorrectly and need to do it over.
Only discontinue the treatment when the test results are negative.

[Gabranth]

Condition: Same old.

Still trying to figure out the microscope... they forgot to send me the 20x eyepiece, so for now I'll only be able to do 600x and not 800x.

[Gabranth]

I took a swift photo with my eye phone 4s through the lens of my microscope, at 600x.

Try locating the demodex mite...

PS: Click on the photo to extend it's size!


What do you think? This hair was pulled out from my upper right cheek.

Maybe most of them already are exterminated, hence only one...


IMG_0022.jpg

[star26]

WOW! It looks like last nights 'supermoon!' lol

But seriously, is that one in the bottom half in the middle facing downwards?? I might have to get a microscope too, so interesting!

I've been following this thread for a while but never comment, so just want to say thanks for taking the time to post and 'good luck' with your progress!!

[Gabranth]

star26 - At least I think it is... sure looks like it. It's position fits it's description.

More pictures and videos will be coming up soon.

[Brady Barrows]

Gabranth,
Your thread just gets more interesting. Who would have thought you could purchase your own microscope and use your iPhone 4 to take photos and post on this thread. Just imagine if hundreds or thousands of rosacea sufferers started doing this? That would be more anecdotal research than you can imagine! The possibilities are staggering. I think you have done something profound. Yes, it is quite obvious you have photographed demodex. Anyone can see the results with your findings.

[Gabranth]

Brady Barrows - I'll try to carry out a weekly test from now on. You know the "FAQ" on "DemodexSolutions"? They've gone and provided a step through step guide on how to check oneself for demodex, and that's exactly what I'm planning on doing. The posting and procedure behind this image was rather unprofessional compared to if I'd followed their guidelines... and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.

FOLLOWING REGIONS OF TESTING (skin scraping and hair follicle):

- TEMPELS

- NOSE

- CHEEKS

- CHIN

- NECKLINE


Also will I be doing this: skin scraping and hair follicle test from WHERE MY SKIN IS FLAWLESS IN BOTH COMPLEXION AND TEXTURE (between my ear and sideburn - isn't it peculiar how that just remains untouched and unaffected) AND THE MOST TROUBLED AREAS (list above).

I do have a scalpel blade, although this skin scraping test is going to be sorta challenging for a beginner like me.

[Gabranth]

Eh, nothing to say really... skin scraping results coming up soon.