Which specialist treats demodex? Dermatologists typically diagnose and treat problems of the skin, but if the demodex affects your eyes, an ophthalmologist, optometrist, or orthoptist may be consulted.
As dermatologists, we have several therapies we can rely on to treat rosacea and Demodex mites, including some newer therapies that appear promising.
How is demodectic mange diagnosed? Your veterinarian will take deep skin scrapings and examine them under the microscope to diagnose this disease. The finding of larger than normal numbers of Demodex mites in skin scrapings confirms the diagnosis.
The most common treatment of Demodex infestations is metronidazole. Topical metronidazole administered in combination with azelaic acid and oral doxycycline is effective for treating moderate to severe rosacea, which is another cutaneous disease associated with Demodex infestation.
Demodex mites are microscopic eight-legged organisms found primarily in the sebaceous and hair follicle glands of your face. You can scrub your face as much as you want, but it's pretty much impossible to get rid of them.
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%.
"Demodex mites live on our skin and are especially prominent in areas where we have a lot of oil like the face or the middle of the chest." Even worse, said mites thrive in unsanitary environments, like Xu's dirty pillowcase.
Oily skin can lead to D. brevis because the mites feed off the oils under hair follicles. Age also increases the prevalence of both kinds of demodex mites.
While folliculorum tend to stay on the face, D. brevis can distribute all over the body. The chest and neck are common areas of D. brevis infestation, so you might notice more symptoms there if you have it.
Treatment with a single dose of oral ivermectin achieved resolution of her symptoms. Conclusions and Relevance The causative role of Demodex folliculorum should be considered in immunocompetent children with rosacea or rosacea-like refractory eruptions. In such cases, treatment with ivermectin can be beneficial.
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.
Demodex is contracted and spread by either direct contact or dust containing eggs.
Tea tree oil is typically applied topically to the eyelid in the form of a scrub via eyelid wipes or foam when attempting to fight ocular Demodex infestations (Cheng 2015), but it should never be taken orally because it is highly toxic if ingested (Hammer 2006).
You can't wash or scrub all Demodex mites away. But you may be able to help prevent infestation by keeping your skin clean. This removes the extra oil and dead skin cells the mites eat.
Patients with Demodex are typically prescribed an eyelid cleanser that contains tea tree oil twice daily in order to eradicate the Demodex mites. They are instructed to cleanse the lids and lashes, as well as smear the lid cleanser onto the eyelash roots of both the upper and lower eyelid margin.
OVANTE Demodex Control Shampoo for Humans | Extra Strength - 6.0 oz.
These mites aren't crazy about light, so during the day they burrow deep in the eyelash follicles and snooze. They come out at night, while we're sleeping, and have a party — mating and munching on dead skin cells.
Among them, only Demodex mites are permanent ectoparasites of human and other mammalian pilosebaceous unit. A total of 140 species or subspecies have been identified worldwide in 11 orders of mammals including humans (1).
Tea tree oil treatment
We know that the best treatment for demodex is tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is merciless against the mite. It comes in pads, ointments, soaps, shampoos, etc. We have noticed it is also effective against rosacea.
One of the best ways to get rid of dust mites is to wash all of your bedding—including sheets, blankets, pillowcases, and duvet covers—on a hot cycle of at least 130 degrees. If your bedding does not permit a hot wash, you can also place them in the dryer for 15 minutes at 130 degrees.
The mite, Demodex follicularum, spends its entire lifetime living in our skin follicles. In the daytime they feed on our oily skin secretions, at night they leave the pore to find mates, and find new follicles in which to have sex and lay their eggs.
The actual name for these bugs are “Eyelash Mites” or Demodex Folliculitis. The mites are a parasite that lives in the hair follicles of the face. They feed off of the oil, build up and bacteria in the follicle. They can overpopulate if you don't properly clean your makeup brushes and change your mascara wands.
Treatment options
Of all the treatments investigated, tea tree oil is the most promising option for killing Demodex mites (Liu 2010). Tea tree oil therapies may be more effective as they are known to have antibacterial, antifungal, and anti‐inflammatory properties (Liu 2010).
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.
Life cycle
The six-legged larvae hatch after 3-4 days, and the larvae develop into adults in about 7 days. It has a 14-day life cycle[6] [Figure 2]. The total lifespan of a Demodex mite is several weeks. The dead mites decompose inside the hair follicles or sebaceous glands.