The Demodex Folliculorum Mite

• Demodex Folliculorum is a mite which is normally located on the face in hair follicles (around cheeks, nose, eyebrows, eyelashes, and forehead). (They can also be found in other parts of the body).
• They live in harmony on normal human skin (symbiosis). A 2014 study found that 100% of people over age 18 in the study had mite DNA on their faces, suggesting that the mites are universal inhabitants of adult humans.
• Although no causal relationship exists, they are however present in higher numbers in Rosacea and this is the basis for treating rosacea with metronidazole and ivermectin. The presence of demodex mites when causally linked to the skin lesions of rosacea is called demodicosis. To read more about its treatment, click HERE.
• All in all the presence of the mite and the symptoms of rosacea is an association only, and this is why giving a cause-to-effect explanation is so confusing. To read more on rosacea, click HERE.

Reference: Thoemmes, Megan (27 August 2014). “Ubiquity and Diversity of Human-Associated Demodex Mites”. PLOS ONE 9 (8): e106265.