Mites That Live On Your Eyelashes
Demodex folliculorum, or the demodicid is a small species of the demodex mite that usually lives in human hair follicles, particularly at the root of eyelashes as well as on the nose, cheeks, chin and on the external ear channel.
These wormlike mites have claws and a mouth and are no longer than 0.4mm. They are invisible to the naked eye so don’t go look for them.
They are considered harmless unless too many gather in a single follicle which may cause skin irritation referred to as Demodicosis. Demodex blepharitis results from excessive irritation and inflammation causing eyelashes to fall out.
They live head-down in a follicle as they are only interested in feasting on oily secretions and dead skin debris. This is how they look like.
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