Demodex Mites: Your Eyelash Nightmare Explained

[09:32-09:47]
Now if you tried any or all of these options and it's not getting rid of your blepharitis there's a possibility the culprit could be something called a demodex mite and it should be your very best friend but it could also be your worst nightmare.
[09:47-10:25]
hey so in this video i'm going to explain to you the good the bad and the ugly of those pesky demodex eyelash mites so you can know what to do in case you need to get rid of them so demodex is a mite that lives on the skin of mammals means that it survives by eating dead skin bacteria and oils that are on our skin now demodex is a normal part of our microbiome and it's supposed to be there and it does a great job for us in getting rid of some of those excess oils and cells and bacteria that's not supposed to be there, as long as it doesn't get out of hand.
[10:25-10:48]
And if the numbers of Demodex stay low, they're perfectly harmless and don't cause any symptoms at all. So I want you to think of Demodex as having kind of teenagers in your house. So if you have a couple of your own teenagers in your house, they're great, They're good to have around, They're fun. You love them and you like them being part of your family And there's not a problem.
[10:48-11:23]
But if the environment is just right, Let's say there's the right type and right amount of food, there's good beverages, there's a good environment, like maybe some music, maybe the environment- the parents are away, maybe it's late at night. Some other teenagers might find out your environment in your house is really great for teenagers and they start showing up in more numbers than you need, And if you have more teenagers in your house than you're supposed to have because the environment's so good, they can throw a party and things can get out of hand really bad and cause lots and lots of problems.
[11:23-11:57]
And that's just what it's like with Demodex. If the environment's right on our lids and our lashes, you can get more of them that you need, and they cause a lot of problems. Now there are about 65 different types of Demodex mites that live in our world, but there are only 2 that live on our lids and lashes, And in fact there's actually only 2 that live on humans, And these 2 I'm referring to as the Demodex Duo, And basically one of them is called Demodex Follicularum and the other one's called Demodex Brevis And Demodex Follicularum.
[11:57-12:32]
they live around hair follicles, which include the eyelashes, And Demodex Brevis. They love to live in sebaceous glands, like the meibomian glands in our upper and lower eyelids. Now, like I said, there's lots of different types of demodex mites, and pets will carry them as well, And in fact you may have heard of a condition called mange in dogs, and that's actually caused by a particular demodex mite that only lives on dogs. but don't worry: those demodex mites can't transfer to humans and likewise the demodex duo that lives on humans can't transfer to your pets.
[12:32-12:48]
so this demodex duo that lives on our body can live anywhere on our skin, and so that's why these will be referred to as either eyelash mites, maybe skin mites, or maybe even face mites, but i'm going to be specifically talking about how they affect our eyelashes and our eyelids.