The parasitic mite, Demodex folliculorum, lives in the hair follicles in humans and certain other mammals, especially around the nose and eyelashes.
Treatment for a mite infestation usually involves a cream, gel, lotion or wash containing an acaricide. An acaricide is a pesticide that kills ticks and mites. Your healthcare provider may recommend: Benzyl benzoate.
Demodex can only live in the human hair follicle and, when kept under control, causes no problems.
Adult mites are non-burrowing and live on the mucosa of nasal cavities and sinuses. They feed on the keratin layer of the epidermis. Mites are highly mobile and easily transmitted by direct contact. Mites have been found on fleas, lice, and flies thus an indirect mode of transmission remains possible.
Too many Demodex mites can cause uncomfortable symptoms that may include: Itchy or burning eyes, especially in the morning. Swollen eyelids. Crusty eyes.
Symptoms include red or dry eyes, swollen eyelids, sticky lashes, itching, burning or stinging, grittiness in the eyes and crustiness around the outer edge of the eyelid. An infestation of mites can also cause dry and itchy skin, and it can even damage the oil glands at the edges of the eyelids and the lashes.
This is the most common type of demodex mite. They tend to stay in the facial area, including your nose, cheeks, chin, eyelashes, eyebrows, and scalp. They might also be found on your neck and ears. They like to get inside the upper part of a hair follicle and survive on skin cells and oil.
Treatment has been reported to be effective in >85% of cases, and the prognosis is excellent. However, treatment may not completely eliminate clinical signs, particularly if infection is suspected rather than demonstrated.
Nasal mites can affect all breeds, ages, and sexes of dogs worldwide, with a possible predilection for large breed dogs and dogs over 3 years old. Nasal mites are only 1-1.5 mm in length and can live in the environment for up to 19 days.
Acaroid mite can survive in many environments including the storehouse, human and animal bodies. Its infestion in human can cause acariasis in several organs including the lung, intestine and urinary tract[17-26].
Risk Factors. Some people are at greater risk for face-mite overgrowth than others. This includes people with conditions affecting the immune system, such as HIV or AIDS. Medications like chemotherapy or topical steroids can also impair the immune response and put you at higher risk of overgrowth.
Common interventions used for Demodex infestation include metronidazole-based therapies, permethrin, benzoyl benzoate, crotamiton, lindane, and sulfur. Short courses of metronidazole taken orally have shown efficacy in reducing Demodex density.
At high concentrations, tea tree oil is a potent killer of Demodex mites. The problem is that solutions of 100% tea oil, or other high concentrations, are very irritating to the eye. So one approach is to thoroughly wipe the eyelashes and eyebrows with a diluted solution of tea tree oil, from 5% to 50%.
In addition, the severity of the patient's symptoms was related to the number of Demodex mites, and all clinical symptoms disappeared after the eradication of Demodex mites. Ivermectin is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug that reaches peak plasma levels 5 hours after oral administration.
Possible Impact of Demodex Diagnosis
Formication, a sensation resembling that of insects crawling on or under the skin, is a specific form of the general set of abnormal skin sensations known as paresthesias (prickling, tingling sensation of “pins and needles”) and tactile hallucinations.
Nasal mites (Mesostigmata: Rhinonyssidae) are obligatory endoparasites of birds, and the resulting parasitism can be harmful to the host's respiratory system. The nasal mite Sternostoma tracheacolum Lawrence has caused significant respiratory issues, including serious injuries that possibly cause death of the host.
Nasal mites are not dangerous, but can be very irritating to the dog. Unfortunately it is unknown exactly how nasal mites spread, but it is suspected that direct contact, especially nose to nose contact, allows transmission between dogs.
This causes severe itching and, if left untreated, can cause bacterial infections, swelling of the ear canal and eventually partial or total deafness. The mites can also travel all over your cat's body, causing itching and swelling. Again, left untreated they can lead to systemic infections.
Symptoms of canine nasal mite infection in dogs may include nasal discharge, itchiness of the face, sneezing, reverse sneezing, and nose bleeds. The only way to be certain a dog has nasal mites is to perform a nasal scoping or a deep nasal flushing.
Temperatures below 0 degrees C and above 37 degrees C are harmful to the mites. The lethal temperature is 54 degrees C, and the effective temperature that kills Demodex mites is 58 degrees C.
Common dust mite allergy symptoms include: Sneezing. Runny nose. Itchy, red, or watery eyes.
However, when something – such as stress, illness, or old age – weakens your dog's immune system, the mites can multiply out of control and cause demodectic mange. Puppies are also most commonly affected while their immune system matures.
But demodex are actually quite harmless. They don't bite. You don't feel them crawling or laying eggs (though they do both, which, again, is unpleasant to think about). Face mites can, however, become a problem when they overpopulate and begin to accumulate in high density, causing red, itchy, bumpy skin.
Demodex Mites. The Demodex life cycle has 4 stages: (1) egg (fusiform or lemon shaped), (2) larva (3 pairs of legs), (3) nymph (4 pairs of legs), and (4) adult (4 pairs of legs and breastplates)2 (FIGURES 1 and 2).