The NRS Blog has an article today which is an easy to read summary of some recent research into ocular symptoms and demodex mite bacteria.
A new study has found there may be a link between ocular rosacea and bacteria associated with Demodex mites, microscopic inhabitants of normal skin that tend to occur in much greater numbers in those with rosacea.
In the recently published study of 59 rosacea patients, Dr. Jianjing Li and colleagues at the Ocular Surface Center in Miami found a significant correlation between facial rosacea, infestation of the eyes with Demodex mites and reaction to certain mite-related organisms previously shown to stimulate an immune response in rosacea sufferers.
Rosacea News covered this paper in April and resulted in a similar summary;
Ocular symptoms match Demodex Bacteria reaction too
This paper is one more small achievement using statistics to try to build a picture of how demodex mites might be involved with rosacea symptoms. We have learnt from recent research that rosacea sufferers are sensitive to 2 particular types of bacteria that have been isolated in demodex mites.
This study further establishes that a reaction to the bacteria correlates to ocular symptoms as well as facial symptoms.
So the small step forward is that for those with rosacea linked to demodex bacteria, ocular symptoms may also be exacerbated by a reaction to the bacteria.
As the NRS Blog notes, more research may help draw out exactly how strongly demodex bacteria and facial and ocular rosacea symptoms are related to each other.
Does it say how to treat the mites? And did they try treating the mites or address the bacteria caused by these mites? If so, outcomes?
Interesting though…
Hi Doug,
I don’t have the full paper, but I doubt that they got to answering your questions about how to eradicate the mites, and if and how eradicating them leads to symptom relief. Questions for future research for sure.
davidp.
As for Demodex mites, Everyone is wondering? how do you kill them? humm?…Simple really, with what your body naturally produces to keep them at bay in the first place. OIL!….that is the answer my friend. Imagine it this way, Imagine your a demodex mite and your sucking away at sebum and meibum the oil that is coming out of the skin. Your doing all right your healthy. This could be compared to a human being sitting down at their dinner table drinking a glass of water. Now my friends what is not toxic to the eye nor the skin? OIL DUH! its what your body already produces. So say your a mite and your eating away at that oil, now what were to happen if you were given more food than you could handle? Now to compare this to the human being sitting at the table drinking a glass of water, How healthy would you be if you tried to drink a glass of water UNDER WATER! You would drown, hince it is the same way you kill Demodex mites by suffocating them in oil…that plus washing your bed sheets in hot bleach water and taking a shower daily. Cool huh, never thought it could be so simple. I bet if you found the right oil, instead of tea tree it wouldn’t be harmful to the eye and the whole eye, skin and face could be covered…suffocating the demodex, curing a lot of problems.
Hi Grant,
Have you tried this yourself or witnessed it working in others?
Thanks.