71–76 of 76 posts
Note that these mites (Demodex folliculorum) are associated with seborrhoeic dermatitis and rosacea.
The article mentions they have been "unfairly blamed for many skin conditions".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is the kind of perspective that actually works for me. Thanks!
Even parasites that are definitely detrimental are generally not especially bad for hosts that have coevolved with them. Hookworm in the American South was completely debilitating for the impoverished whites it infected, but basically a nuisance for the blacks. This is generally how parasites work. So there would be much more cause for alarm if you believed that your face mites were a variety you weren't already adap…
That is fascinating (is hookworm from Africa and not present in Europe?). Where did you read/learn about this?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Ivermectin cream. For a moment I thought it was a joke. Such are the times.
Ivermectin is an amazing drug all around. Very safe and useful in so many circumstances. It’s a great shame that it got politicized, first by people who took it unnecessarily because they didn’t trust the establishment, and then by the media and politicians, who badmouthed Ivermectin in order to dunk on the first group. Very sad.
How do you kill them?
Since you can’t know if they’re there or not, you won’t know if anything kills them or not. So, no matter what you do you’ll imagine them having sex on your face all night and engorging themselves on your skin oils then pooping on you. These are things that can’t be unthought. Sorry man.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even parasites that are definitely detrimental are generally not especially bad for hosts that have coevolved with them. Hookworm in the American South was completely debilitating for the impoverished whites it infected, but basically a nuisance for the blacks. This is generally how parasites work. So there would be much more cause for alarm if you believed that your face mites were a variety you weren't already adap…
> Hookworm in the American South was completely debilitating for the impoverished whites it infected, but basically a nuisance for the blacks. That is fascinating (is hookworm from Africa and not present in Europe?). Where did you read/learn about this?
Correct. (Well, the other hookworm, A. duodenale, is present around the Mediterranean. Necator Americanus, "the American killer", is from Africa.)
I read about it on a blog, but it looks like there's some good discussion of the history in https://www.amazon.com/Parasites-Tales-Humanitys-Unwelcome-G...
One of the things I find most interesting about the whole N. Americanus affair is that hookworm was a public health disaster of colossal proportions, and the medical research that recognized it was a big, important advance... but medical treatment for the problem is mostly irrelevant. The (very successful) "medical" intervention that solved this problem was just convincing people to wear shoes.
>They become active at night and move between follicles looking to mate. Clearly, as good a reason as any to shower in the morning instead of the evening.
As the article explains, the mites can no longer produce melanin to support a day-night cycle and instead rely on the melanin the human produces at dusk , which means by the time morning comes they have probably already returned to the pores. So if, for some odd reason, you wanted to reduce the populations of this symbiotic organism then you would want to climb in bed, relax for a few minutes, then hop out and shower…