This channel convinced me to major in microbiology in mid-2019. Now that I've finished that major, I can say that I've never seen microscopy even one tenth as good as this channel's, let alone done it myself. Your master of microscopes is a living legend!
Yeah they are world class. I mean I've seen some spectacular stuff over the years, but it's always just photographs. I honestly think it's just a function of time invested really, it's impossible to control for all factors all the time, you just have to get lucky and instead of increasing the chance you increase the number of opportunities.
When I was little, someone once told me about eyelash mites. I figured since everybody has eyelashes gall out sometimes everyone has them. If everyone has them, there has to be a reason, and they don't hurt me, so I don't mind giving them a home. Demodex are just funky little face lobsters, and I encourage them to have a wild time while I'm sleeping. Makes me feel productive, I'm hosting a whole subset of life!
Generosity doesn't stop at the macro-scale. Of course being responsible macro creatures ourselves, it behooves us to be selective about the microbiota we host.
This is brilliant! I knew about the eyebrow mites and seen the ones peeled off with glue, but this has surely got to be some novel footage , I've never seen a eyebrow 'mite' in so much detail, and also alive! I've got a feeling this footage is more important than it looks!
I learned about these when I was a kid, but the books I read didn't have pictures so I always imagined them as hanging on my eyelashes like microscopic bats. Honestly,as long as they don't cause me any harm, I don't mind them doing their weird microbe stuff on me.
Ancient green clay mask, here I come. That sucks nasty stuff out really well. Then I'll try to forget I have this know!edge in my head. And critters gettin' down on my face.
You play it off as ridiculous, but I for one, AM one of those people who found out about demodex years ago and had accepted the whole poop explosion death hypothesis. So when you said “Demodex has a butthole” I was genuinely taken aback for a bit lol
At least you can rest easily knowing that: they are not exploding their poopy corpses on you, but simply pooping on your face in a more reasonable manner.
Eyelid dermatitis likely caused by Demodex is no fun at all. Tried moisturizers and of course that didn't help as it just encourages them. But it's fascinating to see my nemesis crawling around a slide.
Try holding a hot(as hot as you can tolerate) clean face cloth against your closed eyelides once a day. Then, afterwards, massage the margins of your eyelids,working from the inner corner of the eye outwards. You can also try cleaning your eyelids with a very weak solution of 'no tears' baby shampoo and warm water,then rinsing well. I had a similar problem (though strangely it seems to have 'cured' itself ?!) and this is what my Dr recommended. I kept getting blocked hair follicles on the margins of my eyelids, blebietis (not sure l spelt that right lol). I expect you already know about changing your pillow covers regularly (daily if possible) and washing them at over 60 c, useing a biological powder, to kill any mites on them and fully remove the oils from your skin. Hope things get better for you, these things are annoying !
I've watched videos showing how to remove demodex from eyelash follicles. An effective treatment is gently scrubbing the lask line and applying tea tree oil with a fine paint brush carefully afterwards.
So my old man had a bout of that, doc told him to smear some manuca honey over his eye lids for 15-20mins and it will wipe out the excess mites. He's never had an issue since.
There is also a demodex mite that lives on dogs (D. canis) that can become a severe and chronic problem known as demodectic mange, almost impossible to completely eradicate. There's also a sarcoptic mange mite that dogs can acquire, aka scabies, which is highly contagious and can be transmitted to humans, but is more treatable.
It's only a problem when the dogs immune system is weakend, generally. Spay/neuter usually makes the dog able to suppress their activities & resolves the problem. Bacterial infection from itching complicates the presentation. Skin scrapes must be down to capillary level to see them. Vet tech for 40 years, back when dips were used, it took months to clear them up. The presentation tends to occur more often in certain breeds & ongoing infections should prevent use of those animals in breeding programs. Certain oral or injectable medications are highly effective.
I knew in 2022 that demodex actually do have butt holes. And I made sure to inform as many people as possible. I however received the same reaction as the time when I told everyone about the reproductive cycle of bed bugs.
@Journey to the Microcosmos, Hank, I adore you. I am not afraid of the beautiful creatures who need me. I adore that they need me. They make me part of Nature. They connect me to my living friends, family, and pets, and to my dead of those. They connect me to the bird who landed on my finger, after seeing me watching it hatch. I wish all humans could feel what I do when they witness life, as you show it to us here, or as I experience it "in the wild." I wish you could feel what I feel when I pet farm animals, like pets. Thanks for expressing parts of that here. You will be remembered among the best of us.
Thank you so much for making this video! I've always had a weirdly soft spot for these little guys and I loved being able to see their beauty portrayed like this. I like the thought of always having some company, and espescially in my darkest moments the thought of demodex chilling between my eyebrows has given me comfort. Imagine being grossed out by facial arachnids! I did, in fact, not miss the big news about their buttholes existing, and I didn't know how to feel about it. I wonder, if that big booty isn't for storing poop, why does it need to be so long?
Well, if you like the idea of having a bunch of tiny organisms living on and in you, you should be delighted to know that your body is a host to trillions of different microbes both on and in you. You are basically a planet and those microbes are the inhabitants.
@@SynthwaveDuck The fact that most of those microbes inhabiting you are either benign or actually beneficial, as long as they stay where they're supposed to be, should be even more reassuring then.
@@peggedyourdad9560 All the more reason to take care of your body! Wash your skin gently and use moisturizer (yes, even in your face), take care of your oral hygiene and have a healthy diet that includes probiotics.
I tend to think of demodex mites as the reason you don't have to worry about exfoliating your eyelids. I don't know how true that is, but I don't mind them.
Low skin pH reduces exfoliation need. And acne, and a lot of other issues. Which really sucks when your skin has chronic issues including way too high pH. It's better to have sweat that chews through metal jewellery with acid and salt than too little sweat of too shitty quality.
I have alopecia so my entire body's hair follicles are permanently dormant. Im wondering if my dormant hair follicles have any impact on such an ecosystem on my skin.
Poor sad lonely demodex 😢 Seriously though that is an interesting question. Is your body to mites like the moon is to us? Sorry to compare you to the moon, I hope that didn't come across as mean.
Use a soap whit tee tree oil and if you feel better probably will be some kind of weird thing. Mine is on my eye lashes - they are not producing the white stuff but give me so much allergy - if I treat it with tea tree oil the symptoms subside - it happens in my scalp as well - itchy and I loose a lot of hair - when I feel better I forget about the tea tree oil but after a while they always remind me that they are there. It is so annoying ! 😢 PS: be careful when you use the oil around your eyes - buy cleaning towels in the pharmacy for the eye lashes that contain tea tree oil in it.
I've always wondered about this subject because around 1994 while working at MGM Studios in Culver City, California I stuck my upper body into a many decades-old ventilation shaft that measured roughly 4 feet by 2 feet and went from the floor of the stage up the wall and opened up high on the roof. It was insulated with some dampish, fibrous material held in place with rusty chicken-wire so the sound of the fans on the roof wouldn't come into the stage when they were on. When I stuck my upper body inside that shaft every pore on my head and my face felt like something was stirring in response to the musty smell and cool, damp atmosphere. Now I know, after watching this video, that the little bugs on me thought they'd found heaven and were getting ready to move on out.
@@SynthwaveDuck Wild but true. It was hard not to start scratching but I felt that the crew with me would think I had mites so I didn't scratch. The movements stopped almost as soon as I backed out of that vent. Turns out that we all got mites of one kind or another.
@@choimdachoim9491 They were probably hanging on for dear life! Or you got some new ones! I would have liked to have seen the studio lots back in their heyday. I understand there's been a lot of downsizing and it really seems like it would have been an interesting scene, mites and all LOL
I had constant problems with blepharitis and also the red 'monkey mask' face inflammation, and random bumps and scaling/rashes on my scalp, being of celtic heritage...I got rid of all 3 conditions permanently 4 years ago with the following procedure - wash all bedclothes in hot water, at bedtime coat your whole scalp, face, and -carefully- your eyelids with a Lice treatment cream of 1% permethrin and go to bed. On rising wash thouroughly and change your pillowcase....done! No ill effects, my symptoms were gone within days and I haven't had a puffy painful eyelid in years
YAAAAY thank you!! I’ve been wanting more videos about microbes that live on/inside us humans. I just wanna learn more about the little friends that call my body home!
So I'm okay with the knowledge of things living on my skin. But the thought of these things emerging from my pores at night to have sloppy love all over my face, and then do the slither of shame back to their holes when they are satisfied really creeps me out. Is a mite o*gy why my face is oilier in the morning?
If you're not itching and scratching all over your skin while watching this video you're not normal. At least I can find solace at the fact that they're transmitted and shared mostly through contact with family members, so us, and our mites, are one big family.
Thank you so much for bringing up that too many of these critters can cause skin problems. I looked it up, and a lot of people with the condition look suspiciously similar to how I look with a bad chronic acne breakout. I’ve had chronic acne for like 16 years, and there’s been several times where I’ve had breakouts that look like the images I saw.
I have been requesting this video for a long time. Im not sure if this video is because of that or just a coincidence but thank you so much for taking this footage of demodex!
I've begged several opthalmologists to look at my distorted lashes under a microscope, they've never obliged 😢 All my lashes are so wonky, I keep them all pulled to avoid another corneal scratch.
I find it very interesting yet very appropriate that Hank switched his usual whisper-ey tone (on this channel) for his more usual teaching voice here :-) in this channel's context it really conveys excitement haha, I just love how context gives meaning to things like that!
(._. ) So now every tiny itch or twitch of my skin is automatically sensed as being one of these little poopers. Great, thanks.... This is something I'll save for rainy day when I'm out of horror content to shock my friends with. Almost reaching the tier of actual medical horror stories like the Tylenol cases, but these critters are at least benign.
Just giving a different perspective, Demodex canis which lives on dogs cause a serious condition called demodecosis, which can become a serious condition. I have seen many cases of that. But those too only develops if the immune system of a dog is compromised. Thank you microcosmos for this wonderful episode.
Demodex inspired me... Deep in dermis dwell Demodex, dainty and divine, Minute mites magnified many tens of times. Invisible inhabitants, imperceptibly alive, Delightful denizens dining in delicate design. Consuming countless cells, these captivating wee creatures, Equipped with eight elegant legs, exhibit anal features. Amidst a forest of follicles, they flourish and they feed, Demodex, our dermal dwellers, ceaselessly breed. At night, they navigate with nimble, noiseless grace, Their microscopic march on your moonlit face. Furtive and fantastical, their frolics are unseen, Concealed in cutaneous crevices they convene.
I'm wondering if the bacteria that comes out when the little face tardigrades die might be our skin flora making an important contribution to skin health?
Diet is important avoid sugar milk bread macaroni...wheat and yeast stuff in general..eat gluten free food Vitamins also important, acidophilus probiotic, magnesium, black seed, Use coconut oil, mix it with tea tree oil or lemongrass, or peppermint, or oregano oil...any of these oils of your choice will help with the kiliing
They can cause rosacea, pimples and hair loss too when our immune system is low because of stress or anxiety or for other reasons and there are too many of them. So they’re not that cute and good after all. But i think they can be killed off easily with a lot of natural remedies so not to worry. Now I’m trying out castor oil as it’s anti microbial, but I think probiotics in fermented milk kill them off too.
I love demodex and have always found them adorable. I’m just sad that I’ve never been able to get one on a microscope slide and see it close up :( any tips for sampling them in a way that won’t hurt or injure them?
I can’t get all warm and fuzzy over demodex mites. Demodex mites are the cause of the severe, often incurable type of mange that left dogs disfigured, chronically ill, and even killed many dogs throughout the years. Modern insecticide treatments aren’t much better than past treatments. Dogs still die of demodex mange. Do I want that on my face? No way!
That last sentence felt especially potent now. Our bodies are strange, fascinating things that is both a pleasure and terror to learn more about. Also, this was posted on my birthday!
@@csn583Am I going crazy or did you guys miss the fricking sentence displayed (and narrated!) right _there_ on the screen that them _not_ having anus, and thus not defecating, _might_ be wrong. 😅
They poop. Everybody poops. We always knew they pooped; the issue was that we used to think they had no anuses ("ani"?) and so saved up all their poop all their lives until they died and burst. Now we know their digestive life is much more normal. Perhaps someday we will discover a skin condition caused by constipated demodex, and the cure will be to run your face with laxative. Perhaps we won't...
@@lazylonewolf Yeah one single sentence, that goes into absolutely no detail, it basically says "no, you are wrong and i am right"... i just wanted more info than a simple statement.
It's important to remember that we humans are part of nature. We actually require a healthy amount of bacteria and parasites on and inside our bodies in order for us to stay healthy. It's all about proper balance. Out immune systems need to be exposed to a certain amount of these in order to be calibrated correctly. If not, our immune systems tend to overreact which presents itself as allergies.
Just a paused Biology major here, so maybe my musings are already addressed by science, but the fact that they hatch with only six legs makes wonder 1. Did Arachnids evolved from Insects/a six-legged common ancestor? (As opposed to the converse.) And, assuming my first inference is accurate, 2. Do Demodex belong to a more basal branch of the arachnid evolutionary tree?
You came so close to touching on the idea that maybe what is “us” and “our body” is not a single set of DNA. Considering the ratio of “our” cells to hitchhikers maybe the human experience is so hard to define because it’s not just human.
Well, as many acne pockmarks I've gotten over the 4 decades I've fought it (yes, I was even on Accutane for 2+ years, and it wrecked my cholesterol, because of it), these little critters have GIANT party spots. So, you're welcome, little beasties, I guess. 😕
I have rosacea and dermatologist took swipe of skin on my face which showed that I have several times more Demodex than it's normal. I had 3 really nasty brake ups over the years when my face was so infested with Demodex that I left with scars on my skin where those beasties ate my skin several layers deep. So I really can't find them cute. I really don't like them at all.
@@dinahlavati7249 I believe there's a connection with sugar, your liver and acne. Maybe dairy too. These things may multiply when your blood chemistry changes due to high carb intake.
@@dinahlavati7249same here. I have no eyelashes and am practical bald. Find little enjoyment on the cute comments. Tea tree for years eye wipes. Nothing
i love learning about these sorts of things, it's honestly really amazing to feel like a host to creatures like that. like a living biome. it's very cool. unfortunately no matter how fascinating and cool i find it, it still makes me itchy
I'm HIV positive and back in the 90s my T-Cell count bottomed out. As I got closer to full blown AIDS I developed Demodicosis, it was not pretty & far from pleasant. When I was hospitalized they had to disinfect my face with chemicals & UV exposure.
This is a type of symbiosis called commensalism, where one benefits and the other is neither harmed or benefited. They help keep your skin clean in a minor way, but probably wouldn't matter if they were gone. It's possible they might help prevent skin infections by clearing up waste.
i find it less grouse and more amazing...as much as we struggle and live in our universe we our selves are meny universes doing the same so we can be the amazing beings we are
I just read a study in which 7 of 9 patients receiving a 50% tea tree oil scrub to their eyelids daily caused total eradication of demodex within 4 weeks.
I read that 50% tea tree oil solution kills adult male mites, and that doing this for 10 minutes a day can break the reproduction cycle. It is supposed to have its effect after about a month. I use a sonic brush to apply the solution in the shower every day for 10 minutes. (BTW, I use oil anyways, so this does not add any extra time. I use olive and castor oil with the tea tree.)
If you want to address the number of mites living in your hair follicles, be aware that you need to change your pillow covers regularly(preferably daily) and that they need to be washed at, (at least) 60c , in biological washing powder (to remove the skin oils). Otherwise all you're going to be doing is reintroducing them to your skin . Though, unless you have certain symptoms that your Dr says are related to demodex, it's really not worth the hassle!
@@tjnicholas I'd rather have less than more, as the number of mites people have grows with age because of their natural population growth. I'm trying to go against that trend. I'd rather not develop the more extreme condition. I don't have a true test, but I feel less face itching. I also have large pores and do what I can to combat what clogs them. The bodies and feces of mites would seem to contribute bacteria and mass.
What about for cats and dogs? Every time I see an animal suffering from mange, it’s usually demodex. Why is demodex fine for us, but not for our furry friends?
It is actually, at least Demodex canis anyway. Dogs normally live in harmony with them their entire lives just like we do, it is just when they become immunocompromised (especially often happens to puppies) that they overwhelm the dog and cause symptoms. Scabies/sarcoptic mange is completely different from Demodex though which is why it can infect both humans and dogs at the same time.
Now I know why people wash their faces in the morning. And now I know why I have random itchy crawling feeling on my body persistently even though I am recently bathed. I always suspected some sort of tiny mites.
I'm curious how these little buggers would do against some hypochlorous acid? Would it even penetrate our pores, much less have any effect on them? Are they as robust as tardigrades?
Hey JTTM! I just ordered your microscope and I’m be try excited for when it arrives! Can you tell me where I can find Microscopic animals (such as Hydras, Rotifors, Tardigrades/moss piglets)?
Go to www.squarespace.com/microcosmos to get a free trial and 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
Bag king
@@weakw1ll hey can you make a video of paramecium
This channel convinced me to major in microbiology in mid-2019. Now that I've finished that major, I can say that I've never seen microscopy even one tenth as good as this channel's, let alone done it myself. Your master of microscopes is a living legend!
Yeah they are world class. I mean I've seen some spectacular stuff over the years, but it's always just photographs. I honestly think it's just a function of time invested really, it's impossible to control for all factors all the time, you just have to get lucky and instead of increasing the chance you increase the number of opportunities.
@@alfonsstekebrugge8049😅
What are you doing with your major?
When I was little, someone once told me about eyelash mites. I figured since everybody has eyelashes gall out sometimes everyone has them. If everyone has them, there has to be a reason, and they don't hurt me, so I don't mind giving them a home. Demodex are just funky little face lobsters, and I encourage them to have a wild time while I'm sleeping. Makes me feel productive, I'm hosting a whole subset of life!
never thought about the productive feeling, that's good :D
Favorite comment tab??
Generosity doesn't stop at the macro-scale. Of course being responsible macro creatures ourselves, it behooves us to be selective about the microbiota we host.
I feel that way about the bacteria in my gut. I love the feeling that I am an entire ecosystem!
Funky face lobsters is an awesome moniker. Or band name.
See, it’s because we call them mites that creeps us out. If we called them something like cheek pugs or face puppies, I’d be fine with them.
@Albert Rivera - Face Puppies, that's so much better.
Face Puppies!!! Yes! I love the sound of that. I can have my own multiple packs of face pups!
Face puppies sounds nice lol
Follicle Dogs! 😂
That is how Sea Monkeys became popular. Call them what they are and they would have never sold.
This is brilliant! I knew about the eyebrow mites and seen the ones peeled off with glue, but this has surely got to be some novel footage , I've never seen a eyebrow 'mite' in so much detail, and also alive! I've got a feeling this footage is more important than it looks!
I recognize that one. That's Doug Demodex. Owner of the Demsdale Demmadome.
😂😂😂😂
I learned about these when I was a kid, but the books I read didn't have pictures so I always imagined them as hanging on my eyelashes like microscopic bats. Honestly,as long as they don't cause me any harm, I don't mind them doing their weird microbe stuff on me.
"microbe stuff" being ejaculating and pooping. That's mainly how the microbe do.
@@CookingWithCows That's fine, pollen is 10000000000% worse. Plants putting their stuff up my nose and in me? Ew.
@@caligulard because you, now I see pollen with different kind of view
Microscopic bats hanging on eyelashes. I love that image. It's so creative.
Every time I'm reminded these exist, my face starts itching. Lol
i rush for the nose strips every time. lolz like that woks hahahahaha
Same feeling here 😅
I went to a doctor and told him I think there are animals living in my skin. I am now institutionalised.
That's them, they like being mentioned every once in a while 😊
It's all in your head. Well, technically your face, but that's part of your head. 😄
this is just the perfect thing to watch before going to bed.
thank you hank !!
I don't theoretically mind them there, but I do definitely feel the need to wash my face after watching this 😂
Water makes them multiply, like gremlins
Its a real world on your face lol
Ancient green clay mask, here I come. That sucks nasty stuff out really well. Then I'll try to forget I have this know!edge in my head. And critters gettin' down on my face.
I never realized how kind dermatologists are-not revealing to me what you so generously describe.
You play it off as ridiculous, but I for one, AM one of those people who found out about demodex years ago and had accepted the whole poop explosion death hypothesis. So when you said “Demodex has a butthole” I was genuinely taken aback for a bit lol
Ditto... its not earth shattering news... but still, has a sting of disappointment to it.
At least you can rest easily knowing that: they are not exploding their poopy corpses on you, but simply pooping on your face in a more reasonable manner.
@@peasantkyr as reasonable as something pooping on your face can be of course...
😂😂😂
Eyelid dermatitis likely caused by Demodex is no fun at all. Tried moisturizers and of course that didn't help as it just encourages them. But it's fascinating to see my nemesis crawling around a slide.
Try holding a hot(as hot as you can tolerate) clean face cloth against your closed eyelides once a day.
Then, afterwards, massage the margins of your eyelids,working from the inner corner of the eye outwards.
You can also try cleaning your eyelids with a very weak solution of 'no tears' baby shampoo and warm water,then rinsing well.
I had a similar problem (though strangely it seems to have 'cured' itself ?!) and this is what my Dr recommended.
I kept getting blocked hair follicles on the margins of my eyelids, blebietis (not sure l spelt that right lol).
I expect you already know about changing your pillow covers regularly (daily if possible) and washing them at over 60 c, useing a biological powder, to kill any mites on them and fully remove the oils from your skin.
Hope things get better for you, these things are annoying !
I've watched videos showing how to remove demodex from eyelash follicles. An effective treatment is gently scrubbing the lask line and applying tea tree oil with a fine paint brush carefully afterwards.
@@2degucitas Apply tea tree oil to your eyes?!
@@FriedEgg101lol, right?! Had to be diluted for sure. Never apply full strength tea tree oil to the skin. 😮
So my old man had a bout of that, doc told him to smear some manuca honey over his eye lids for 15-20mins and it will wipe out the excess mites. He's never had an issue since.
I wonder if they could be engineered to maintain our skin instead of just sort of sitting there. That might be nice
They kind of maintain things by eating excess oil.
Oh my .. 😂
Engineer EVERY THING to serve a Human purpose haha.
That's funny.. but so typical of us hu mans 😝
such is our nature
It mite
@@oshunbleu6511 yh... That's what any organism that values their existence does
They’re like little microscopic pets on my face. How cute. 😅
More like little cockroaches
I want to be on your level of optimism
That's exactly what I thought! No need to feel lonely anymore, you got friends on your face! 🎉😂
I've always had invisible friends!
I think I'll name mine🤔
There is also a demodex mite that lives on dogs (D. canis) that can become a severe and chronic problem known as demodectic mange, almost impossible to completely eradicate. There's also a sarcoptic mange mite that dogs can acquire, aka scabies, which is highly contagious and can be transmitted to humans, but is more treatable.
It's only a problem when the dogs immune system is weakend, generally. Spay/neuter usually makes the dog able to suppress their activities & resolves the problem. Bacterial infection from itching complicates the presentation. Skin scrapes must be down to capillary level to see them. Vet tech for 40 years, back when dips were used, it took months to clear them up. The presentation tends to occur more often in certain breeds & ongoing infections should prevent use of those animals in breeding programs. Certain oral or injectable medications are highly effective.
I knew in 2022 that demodex actually do have butt holes. And I made sure to inform as many people as possible. I however received the same reaction as the time when I told everyone about the reproductive cycle of bed bugs.
Hmmm.... Why with that reproductive cycle of bed bugs???
You're hanging out with the wrong crowd. I'd enjoy that conversation.
@Journey to the Microcosmos, Hank, I adore you. I am not afraid of the beautiful creatures who need me. I adore that they need me. They make me part of Nature. They connect me to my living friends, family, and pets, and to my dead of those. They connect me to the bird who landed on my finger, after seeing me watching it hatch. I wish all humans could feel what I do when they witness life, as you show it to us here, or as I experience it "in the wild." I wish you could feel what I feel when I pet farm animals, like pets. Thanks for expressing parts of that here. You will be remembered among the best of us.
Thank you so much for making this video! I've always had a weirdly soft spot for these little guys and I loved being able to see their beauty portrayed like this. I like the thought of always having some company, and espescially in my darkest moments the thought of demodex chilling between my eyebrows has given me comfort. Imagine being grossed out by facial arachnids! I did, in fact, not miss the big news about their buttholes existing, and I didn't know how to feel about it. I wonder, if that big booty isn't for storing poop, why does it need to be so long?
Maybe it’s room for the 1-2 dozen eggs they lay?
Well, if you like the idea of having a bunch of tiny organisms living on and in you, you should be delighted to know that your body is a host to trillions of different microbes both on and in you. You are basically a planet and those microbes are the inhabitants.
@@peggedyourdad9560 That's strangely reassuring.
@@SynthwaveDuck The fact that most of those microbes inhabiting you are either benign or actually beneficial, as long as they stay where they're supposed to be, should be even more reassuring then.
@@peggedyourdad9560 All the more reason to take care of your body! Wash your skin gently and use moisturizer (yes, even in your face), take care of your oral hygiene and have a healthy diet that includes probiotics.
I tend to think of demodex mites as the reason you don't have to worry about exfoliating your eyelids. I don't know how true that is, but I don't mind them.
Low skin pH reduces exfoliation need. And acne, and a lot of other issues. Which really sucks when your skin has chronic issues including way too high pH. It's better to have sweat that chews through metal jewellery with acid and salt than too little sweat of too shitty quality.
I have alopecia so my entire body's hair follicles are permanently dormant. Im wondering if my dormant hair follicles have any impact on such an ecosystem on my skin.
Poor sad lonely demodex 😢
Seriously though that is an interesting question. Is your body to mites like the moon is to us? Sorry to compare you to the moon, I hope that didn't come across as mean.
I hope someone investigates your skin to find out. Please report back.
Use a soap whit tee tree oil and if you feel better probably will be some kind of weird thing.
Mine is on my eye lashes - they are not producing the white stuff but give me so much allergy - if I treat it with tea tree oil the symptoms subside - it happens in my scalp as well - itchy and I loose a lot of hair - when I feel better I forget about the tea tree oil but after a while they always remind me that they are there. It is so annoying ! 😢
PS: be careful when you use the oil around your eyes - buy cleaning towels in the pharmacy for the eye lashes that contain tea tree oil in it.
I've always wondered about this subject because around 1994 while working at MGM Studios in Culver City, California I stuck my upper body into a many decades-old ventilation shaft that measured roughly 4 feet by 2 feet and went from the floor of the stage up the wall and opened up high on the roof. It was insulated with some dampish, fibrous material held in place with rusty chicken-wire so the sound of the fans on the roof wouldn't come into the stage when they were on. When I stuck my upper body inside that shaft every pore on my head and my face felt like something was stirring in response to the musty smell and cool, damp atmosphere. Now I know, after watching this video, that the little bugs on me thought they'd found heaven and were getting ready to move on out.
Wild story!
@@SynthwaveDuck Wild but true. It was hard not to start scratching but I felt that the crew with me would think I had mites so I didn't scratch. The movements stopped almost as soon as I backed out of that vent. Turns out that we all got mites of one kind or another.
@@choimdachoim9491 They were probably hanging on for dear life! Or you got some new ones! I would have liked to have seen the studio lots back in their heyday. I understand there's been a lot of downsizing and it really seems like it would have been an interesting scene, mites and all LOL
I had constant problems with blepharitis and also the red 'monkey mask' face inflammation, and random bumps and scaling/rashes on my scalp, being of celtic heritage...I got rid of all 3 conditions permanently 4 years ago with the following procedure - wash all bedclothes in hot water, at bedtime coat your whole scalp, face, and -carefully- your eyelids with a Lice treatment cream of 1% permethrin and go to bed. On rising wash thouroughly and change your pillowcase....done! No ill effects, my symptoms were gone within days and I haven't had a puffy painful eyelid in years
YAAAAY thank you!! I’ve been wanting more videos about microbes that live on/inside us humans. I just wanna learn more about the little friends that call my body home!
Isn't it a cozy feeling knowing we have all these little friends?
I'm not scared by their presence, i'm scared because what if some of them start spying on me and send the intel to China?
@@veramae4098 you will never be alone anymore😄
Same!
I am merely inhabiting this host, I welcome others if they are friendly lmao
So I'm okay with the knowledge of things living on my skin. But the thought of these things emerging from my pores at night to have sloppy love all over my face, and then do the slither of shame back to their holes when they are satisfied really creeps me out.
Is a mite o*gy why my face is oilier in the morning?
Im just glad they dont play loud music while theyre at it. 😅
F yeah! 🤟💦🤟💦🤟💦🤟💦🤟💦
If you're not itching and scratching all over your skin while watching this video you're not normal.
At least I can find solace at the fact that they're transmitted and shared mostly through contact with family members, so us, and our mites, are one big family.
So remember, when someone asks you if you have pets, it doesn't matter if you don't have a cat, or dog, or fish, or lizard.... YOU GOT MITES!
Thank you so much for bringing up that too many of these critters can cause skin problems. I looked it up, and a lot of people with the condition look suspiciously similar to how I look with a bad chronic acne breakout. I’ve had chronic acne for like 16 years, and there’s been several times where I’ve had breakouts that look like the images I saw.
I'd rather have Tardigrades on my face! Love those little cuties❤
me : can i have pet tardigrades
mom : we have tardigrades at home
tardigrades at home :
I have been requesting this video for a long time. Im not sure if this video is because of that or just a coincidence but thank you so much for taking this footage of demodex!
I need to keep them in control because i have blepharitis. I add tea tree oil to all my soaps. I haven't had flair ups in years due to tea tree oil.
I've begged several opthalmologists to look at my distorted lashes under a microscope, they've never obliged 😢
All my lashes are so wonky, I keep them all pulled to avoid another corneal scratch.
After the week Ive had I couldnt care less if I have mites chilling out on my face. If a smile cant be there mites will do just as well.
I find it very interesting yet very appropriate that Hank switched his usual whisper-ey tone (on this channel) for his more usual teaching voice here :-) in this channel's context it really conveys excitement haha, I just love how context gives meaning to things like that!
(._. ) So now every tiny itch or twitch of my skin is automatically sensed as being one of these little poopers. Great, thanks....
This is something I'll save for rainy day when I'm out of horror content to shock my friends with. Almost reaching the tier of actual medical horror stories like the Tylenol cases, but these critters are at least benign.
i consider this channel a secret treasure. sitting in my microcosmos crewneck feeling calm and curious
Just giving a different perspective, Demodex canis which lives on dogs cause a serious condition called demodecosis, which can become a serious condition. I have seen many cases of that. But those too only develops if the immune system of a dog is compromised. Thank you microcosmos for this wonderful episode.
Demodex inspired me...
Deep in dermis dwell Demodex, dainty and divine,
Minute mites magnified many tens of times.
Invisible inhabitants, imperceptibly alive,
Delightful denizens dining in delicate design.
Consuming countless cells, these captivating wee creatures,
Equipped with eight elegant legs, exhibit anal features.
Amidst a forest of follicles, they flourish and they feed,
Demodex, our dermal dwellers, ceaselessly breed.
At night, they navigate with nimble, noiseless grace,
Their microscopic march on your moonlit face.
Furtive and fantastical, their frolics are unseen,
Concealed in cutaneous crevices they convene.
I'm wondering if the bacteria that comes out when the little face tardigrades die might be our skin flora making an important contribution to skin health?
Diet is important avoid sugar milk bread macaroni...wheat and yeast stuff in general..eat gluten free food
Vitamins also important, acidophilus probiotic, magnesium, black seed,
Use coconut oil, mix it with tea tree oil or lemongrass, or peppermint, or oregano oil...any of these oils of your choice will help with the kiliing
They can cause rosacea, pimples and hair loss too when our immune system is low because of stress or anxiety or for other reasons and there are too many of them. So they’re not that cute and good after all.
But i think they can be killed off easily with a lot of natural remedies so not to worry. Now I’m trying out castor oil as it’s anti microbial, but I think probiotics in fermented milk kill them off too.
1:12 Best use of a musical transition in the history of this channel.
I love demodex and have always found them adorable. I’m just sad that I’ve never been able to get one on a microscope slide and see it close up :( any tips for sampling them in a way that won’t hurt or injure them?
Get a string of your hair and check it under microscope it's quite simple actually.
Can we please campaign to keep this channel alive? It brings so much joy to my kids and I.
I saw them live at Coachella but this will be so AWESOMMMMMMEEEEEE
loved their set
I can’t get all warm and fuzzy over demodex mites. Demodex mites are the cause of the severe, often incurable type of mange that left dogs disfigured, chronically ill, and even killed many dogs throughout the years. Modern insecticide treatments aren’t much better than past treatments. Dogs still die of demodex mange. Do I want that on my face? No way!
Demodex is the name of my next Dungeons & Dragons character.
Sounds like a good name for a major evil NPC. 😂
@@cycoholic or have Brevis Demodex as the name, ooooh.
That last sentence felt especially potent now. Our bodies are strange, fascinating things that is both a pleasure and terror to learn more about.
Also, this was posted on my birthday!
Bon anniversaire !🎉
6:34 So do they poop or don't they? would have been interesting to see some evidence of this or are they too shy to poop on camera?
Every living thing generates waste that they need to get rid of
@@lazylonewolf I don't think you watched the video.
@@csn583Am I going crazy or did you guys miss the fricking sentence displayed (and narrated!) right _there_ on the screen that them _not_ having anus, and thus not defecating, _might_ be wrong. 😅
They poop. Everybody poops. We always knew they pooped; the issue was that we used to think they had no anuses ("ani"?) and so saved up all their poop all their lives until they died and burst. Now we know their digestive life is much more normal. Perhaps someday we will discover a skin condition caused by constipated demodex, and the cure will be to run your face with laxative. Perhaps we won't...
@@lazylonewolf Yeah one single sentence, that goes into absolutely no detail, it basically says "no, you are wrong and i am right"... i just wanted more info than a simple statement.
Face instantly starts itching after reading title.
How do you a get rid of them?
? Let me know
My pores are LITTLE MITE GRAVEYARDS!!! I love it. Keep it up.
It's important to remember that we humans are part of nature. We actually require a healthy amount of bacteria and parasites on and inside our bodies in order for us to stay healthy. It's all about proper balance. Out immune systems need to be exposed to a certain amount of these in order to be calibrated correctly. If not, our immune systems tend to overreact which presents itself as allergies.
great vid, would like to see more organisms of the skin
Just a paused Biology major here, so maybe my musings are already addressed by science, but the fact that they hatch with only six legs makes wonder 1. Did Arachnids evolved from Insects/a six-legged common ancestor? (As opposed to the converse.) And, assuming my first inference is accurate, 2. Do Demodex belong to a more basal branch of the arachnid evolutionary tree?
You came so close to touching on the idea that maybe what is “us” and “our body” is not a single set of DNA. Considering the ratio of “our” cells to hitchhikers maybe the human experience is so hard to define because it’s not just human.
your brain is made from your cells' DNA and the mitochondrial DNA inside of your cells. not bacteria or anything else.
Well, as many acne pockmarks I've gotten over the 4 decades I've fought it (yes, I was even on Accutane for 2+ years, and it wrecked my cholesterol, because of it), these little critters have GIANT party spots. So, you're welcome, little beasties, I guess. 😕
I have rosacea and dermatologist took swipe of skin on my face which showed that I have several times more Demodex than it's normal. I had 3 really nasty brake ups over the years when my face was so infested with Demodex that I left with scars on my skin where those beasties ate my skin several layers deep. So I really can't find them cute. I really don't like them at all.
@@dinahlavati7249 I believe there's a connection with sugar, your liver and acne. Maybe dairy too. These things may multiply when your blood chemistry changes due to high carb intake.
@@The_Savage_Wombat I even try keto for several months, but I didn't see much improvement, unfortunately 😕 but thank you for advice
@@dinahlavati7249same here. I have no eyelashes and am practical bald. Find little enjoyment on the cute comments. Tea tree for years eye wipes. Nothing
@@dinahlavati7249Same 😢 Send help. I am so tired of washing my sheets daily
They're just little guys! So cute
i love learning about these sorts of things, it's honestly really amazing to feel like a host to creatures like that. like a living biome. it's very cool. unfortunately no matter how fascinating and cool i find it, it still makes me itchy
I'm HIV positive and back in the 90s my T-Cell count bottomed out. As I got closer to full blown AIDS I developed Demodicosis, it was not pretty & far from pleasant. When I was hospitalized they had to disinfect my face with chemicals & UV exposure.
I love being reminded I can be covered in tiny arachnids I can't see
Thank you so much for everything you do for us.
If demodex could become a symbiont what sort of benefit would we be getting from their presence?
a friend for life
This is a type of symbiosis called commensalism, where one benefits and the other is neither harmed or benefited.
They help keep your skin clean in a minor way, but probably wouldn't matter if they were gone. It's possible they might help prevent skin infections by clearing up waste.
@@bluegum6438 Another default benefit of such neutral guests is that they take up a niche that might otherwise be occupied by something worse.
Nice to learn that something lives on my face and also poops! Thanks Guys! :)
The divide between ourselves and the world separate from ourselves is very thin and porous
This video made my eyes itch
I have particularly oily skin on my face so I guess these guys love me
That's so cool. Hello little demodex the only friend that always sticks with me.
I'm charmed by the fact that my face is a hotel/apartment complex/cafeteria/graveyard for such cute little stubby guys. Makes me feel important.
I knew about this, but I didn't know they stayed in my pores
Does this play a role in acne?
i find it less grouse and more amazing...as much as we struggle and live in our universe we our selves are meny universes doing the same so we can be the amazing beings we are
Now this really makes me want to start a skin care routine
I never knew about the little nasty critters living on my face. Now I know. Thank you so much for bringing me peace of mind.
I actually did catch this bit of news. Given how under studied our microbiome is, I'm not terribly surprised.
I'm sold on my little micro perma pet demodexes! So chubby! Eat that sebum friendos, I'm not using all of it and you're not causing any problems :)
I just read a study in which 7 of 9 patients receiving a 50% tea tree oil scrub to their eyelids daily caused total eradication of demodex within 4 weeks.
You can scrub your face REALLY REALLY hard, but they’re still going to always be there. I guess you could say……they’re stuck for life! 😅 Haha! 🤣
The History of Butthole Science is a book I'd totally read
I'll be honest, I wish the animals living on my face *didn't* have buttholes.
What class of microscope do I need to see (detect, recognize) these mites on the sample of my skin?
4:27
Actually I do think it's cute. I hope my little friends are having fun.
I read that 50% tea tree oil solution kills adult male mites, and that doing this for 10 minutes a day can break the reproduction cycle. It is supposed to have its effect after about a month. I use a sonic brush to apply the solution in the shower every day for 10 minutes.
(BTW, I use oil anyways, so this does not add any extra time. I use olive and castor oil with the tea tree.)
But why? What do you hope to achieve by killing then off? And how will you know if you’ve succeeded?
If you want to address the number of mites living in your hair follicles, be aware that you need to change your pillow covers regularly(preferably daily) and that they need to be washed at, (at least) 60c , in biological washing powder (to remove the skin oils).
Otherwise all you're going to be doing is reintroducing them to your skin .
Though, unless you have certain symptoms that your Dr says are related to demodex, it's really not worth the hassle!
@@tjnicholas I'd rather have less than more, as the number of mites people have grows with age because of their natural population growth. I'm trying to go against that trend. I'd rather not develop the more extreme condition.
I don't have a true test, but I feel less face itching.
I also have large pores and do what I can to combat what clogs them. The bodies and feces of mites would seem to contribute bacteria and mass.
Thanks, I'll go to buy some bulk of green tea leaves
Does tea tree oil sting or burn?
I think this is the only video fom this channel that i didn't got a totally positive feeling after watching
I appreciate so much.. Thank you for the information
Wonderful and interesting Text, gave me chills. Nice job!
to be a Symbiont both parties need some benefit
what do the mites do that helps us?
What about for cats and dogs? Every time I see an animal suffering from mange, it’s usually demodex. Why is demodex fine for us, but not for our furry friends?
It is actually, at least Demodex canis anyway. Dogs normally live in harmony with them their entire lives just like we do, it is just when they become immunocompromised (especially often happens to puppies) that they overwhelm the dog and cause symptoms. Scabies/sarcoptic mange is completely different from Demodex though which is why it can infect both humans and dogs at the same time.
@@pokegal-ew8dh Oh thanks for letting me know!
Now I know why people wash their faces in the morning. And now I know why I have random itchy crawling feeling on my body persistently even though I am recently bathed. I always suspected some sort of tiny mites.
Awesome monologue. Considering bacteria as part of us is interesting and makes a lot of sense. This creatures evolution has happened in our bodies 🤯
they should be bigger so i can pet them and give them treats
I'm curious how these little buggers would do against some hypochlorous acid? Would it even penetrate our pores, much less have any effect on them? Are they as robust as tardigrades?
See you're never alone, when you're feeling lonely at least you got Demodex to party with😂
I named mine Janelle, Cassandra, Lennox, Jane, Bowen, Belen, Jeremias, Tinsley, Ayla, Valeria, Uriel, Fox, Bonnie, Catherine, Charles, Damon, Vivian, Carter, Alma, Cory, Scott, Lexi, Reuben, Elliot, Simone, Clara, Devon, Flor, Jaden, Gloria, William, Ariana, Helena, Lance, Celia, Morgan, Katy, Azalea, George, Jackie, Nolan, Beatrice, Roman, Anton, Price, Grant, Rudy, Matilda, Talia, Haley, Miriam, Paul, Valentina, Liam, Brandon, Zeke, Aaron, Amber, John, Nora, Maurice, Eva, Cassidy, Alina, Sergio, Timothy, Jeffrey, Ruth, Elaine, Zoey, Sebastian, Paige, Fatima, nancy, Sierra, Ray, Anne, Sonny, Luke, Andrea, Roger, Hannah, Frank, Arthur, Lindsay, Garrett, Magdalena, Mick, Eric, Ophelia, Kaitlyn, Joelen, Jason, Amanda, Kimberly...
Are mites the reason you get random itches on your body?
Just what my OCD needed
WE should make them vicious and faster so they can attack Mosquitos as they land on us.
Your freakin me out dude
Narration on point as always!
I can't...Continue. Eggs in pores? I'm out.
I have no room in my heart for these creatures, only in my pores.
Hey JTTM! I just ordered your microscope and I’m be try excited for when it arrives! Can you tell me where I can find Microscopic animals (such as Hydras, Rotifors, Tardigrades/moss piglets)?
Should be mentioned in the related videos
You'll find a good number of the critters shown here in pond sediment, forest moss and soils, and beach sand near the water.
@@cryptbeast3222 Thanks!