Demodex: mites that live on our skin (8 photos + 1 video)

While we sleep, our face can calmly roam and to mate these tiny eight-legged ticks less than a millimeter long - they are called Demodex, or railways. They love to indulge dead skin cells on our face, nipples or eyelashes. Recent the study showed that they could soon become "one" with people.





Demodex is one of the smallest arthropods that are parasitic mites. Most commonly found on the human body Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis species. These eight-legged ticks are long less than a millimeter active at night - they love to feast on dead skin cells on our face, nipples or eyelashes. They lay their eggs in hair follicles or sebaceous glands. Despite its intimidating appearance, these mites are mostly harmless. Only sometimes they call the development of certain skin diseases in humans.



James Weiss, microscopy specialist at Bournemouth University, England, recently showed an interesting video involving ticks Demodex folliculorum, which he saw with a microscope on his own face. In the video you can see round droplets on the paws Demodex is the digested remains of sebum from human skin.

"The fact that little mites are crawling on your face is not very pleasant. But the truth is that almost all of us have them. They even look pretty under UV light." said the specialist.



Females and males of these ticks mate in the entrance holes. hair follicles. Although they have lost the ability to produce melatonin - a substance responsible for nocturnal activity - their nightly marriage sessions, they "feed" melatonin, secreted by the human skin. During mating, the mites cling to a person's hair.



Demodex larvae hatch within three to four days and reach maturity in a week. Their lifespan is usually is only about two weeks. The length of these pliers is about 0.3 mm, so they cannot be seen with the naked eye. They are transmitted at contact of hair, sebaceous glands in the nose or eyebrows. Known about 65 species of demodex, but only two live on humans - Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis. According to scientists, these mites live on skin of 23 to 100 percent of healthy adults.



Their existence is more often found out when there are problems with skin. In case of weak immunity, stress or illness in a person can develop demodicosis - a disease characterized by itching and skin inflammation. A recent study from the University of Reading showed that demodexes could soon become "one" with people. Due to problems with the genes, they can become symbionts - that is, become part of the human body.








Demodex under a microscope on video: