Dr. Scott Walter, a dermatologist, shared a surprising and creepy residence within our pores. He even shared a view of it in a microscope.
Mites Living in Our Faces
On TikTok, Walter, who goes by the handle @denverskindoc, exposed the invisible spiders on his and many of our faces. He even provided a microscopic glimpse of a mite from his face.
In a TikTok video that received over 880,000 likes, he said that an eight-legged creature was currently residing inside the pores of your face. Due to its eight legs, the Demodex mite is distantly linked to ticks and spiders.
According to him, these eight-legged tiny mites like to live in our face pores and feed off the sebum or oil we produce. He added that some people have more than others, which plays a role in the pathophysiology of rosacea, which can occasionally impact the eyelashes.
In another post on TikTok, Walter uses sticking tape to remove one of these mites from his face and demonstrates how it appears under a microscope.
Walter cautions in the video, which also received several hundred thousand likes, that he is unprepared for what he will encounter. Then he shared a glimpse of the Demodex mites and even zoomed it in. Walter said the mite was extending its legs toward him as he looked at it from the tape under the microscope.
He also noticed that it was still alive and even found it adorable. He also found a pair of mites intertwined, which he dubbed "Jim and Pam."
Many netizens reacted with several saying they need not learn about it. One netizen said he could live all his life without knowing about the mites living on his face. Another said she could feel it on her face since learning about it.
What Is Demodex Mite?
Two Demodex mites live on humans: Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis.D. Brevis consumes the sebum on our faces, and D. Typically, folliculorum feeds on skin cells in tiny hair follicles, such as eyelashes. Most of the 60 or so more Demodex species are mammalian parasites, including Demodex canis, which inhabit dogs.
Walter told Newsweek the mites are roughly 0.3 to 0.4 mm in size. Thus, five of them would need to fit on the head of a pin.
There is a good probability that you also have them, even though they could appear terrifying. According to Stephen Martin, an insect researcher at the University of Salford in the United Kingdom, they are disseminated through direct touch and most likely through dust-containing eggs, although they can also be carried from mother to child and are widely distributed. Demodex infestation is widespread; prevalence in healthy persons ranges from 23 to 100%.
Walter claims these mites prefer oily areas, typically the T-zone between the forehead and nose, and the hair-bearing regions like the eyelashes and eyebrows.
Although less frequent than on the face, he noted that they can also be found in other locations with hair.
Fortunately, these mites aren't harmful and can even be somewhat useful. According to Walter, they are never actually dangerous to the typical person.
They are advantageous since they aid in removing extra oil and dead skin cells. They occasionally multiply out of control, creating severe folliculitis known as demodicosis (acne-like eruption) in patients with compromised immune systems.
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