"Face mites that stay on my nose and eyelashes..

[momsalive1]

I just had an excuse to post these elsewhere, and I didn't want my dear f'list to be deprived of the parasite love.  These are Demodex, face mites. 

So here they are.  Peacefull, really.  Just eating that stuff that is in the hair follicle (D. folliculorum) or the juicy greasy stuff in oil glands (D. brevis). 

No matter what I am teaching, I always work these in somewhere.  The look on people's faces when you describe them is priceless.  So is watching people pat and scratch their face, neck and scalp for the rest of the class period.  I got mine recently when a dermatologist told me there are thousands of these in the typical face and she laughed at me when I cringed - I had always pictured one or two scattered about.. 

Three of the dears, face down in a hair follicle.

One crawling about. See the four legs on a side? They are related to spiders - same Class, different Order. My excuse to post about them was someone brought up the urban legend about spiders that lay eggs on your face, which I had never heard, and I felt compelled to point out that it wasn't really a legend.

Kinda cute? Nah, I didn't think so either.

I warned you.

Comments

[whitewizzy.livejournal.com]

I'm reading this while eating breakfast..... just saying.

There are upsides to this, though. The pics will make excellent textures ;)
And just imagine what we would look like if they weren't there...

*scratches*

[momsalive1]

Sorry. My family has a perfectly synchronized thing they do whenever I vere towards the subject of parasites at the dinner table, sort of a group warning flash of the eyes and a horrified "noooooo.....".

Textures? What are those?

"And just imagine what we would look like if they weren't there..." Yes! I never thought of that!

**pets face**

[ffiondove.livejournal.com]

*I'm typing this from the shower - where I am staying for the rest of my life*

NB: I'll bet Sean has lovely little sexy ones.

[momsalive1]

Do you want to know what is in your water?

Just kidding. Mainly.

"...has lovely little sexy ones."

OMG!! The images that conjures up! Maybe Cowboy ones, and ones from Middle Earth, and a rifle company - can you see them in their little green uniforms?

[ffiondove.livejournal.com]

Please don't tell me what is in my water!!!
Trust you to make a whole fantasy about Seans face mites.........mmmmmmmm you're right though....I can see them in one of those little zip-up numbers he wears..........

[gnomentum.livejournal.com]

How did you just manage to make those things sound CUTE?

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Why did I click the cut? Why? And don't they cause mange in dogs? I'd swear I've heard it called demodetic mange.

[momsalive1]

Yup. Same genus different species, D. canis. Ours are specific to us, as are those in dogs to theirs. Ours aren't clearly linked to any disease (there is some evidence they can be involved in rosacea) but the ones in dogs can get out of hand. Scabies is worse...


**warning! warning! do not do an image search on scabies!!!**

**gags**

You clicked on it because you love the natural world!

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I have rosacea, though not a terrible case, so maybe I'm right to react to them with a mite (groan) of trepidation.

::makes note never to search on scabies::