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Week 5 (My Rosacea Story)

08
mei

The Fifth Week

Tanja expects me on Thursday for a treatment but, before that,
I’m allowed to clean my skin on Monday. 

As a little child I’m looking forward to it. Finally I can clean my skin again, just ones.
This way, Tanja will know whether my skin reacts on the cleansing or not. Well, all goes well!
What a wonderful feeling!

Unfortunately, I discover a red bump, a tiny one. Or is it a scar from the treatments?
Normally I would scratch over the bump but I don’t and cover it with granules.
During the day I have to use foundation and in the evening also granules.

Thursday

The only treatment of this week!
The red bump isn’t a bump anymore and Tanja can’t discover any demodex in it. Well done, Wilma! ☺
She checks my whole face and, just like last week, she’s very satisfied.
My next treatment will be in two weeks. Very exciting, no treatments for 14 days!
In the meantime, I should clean my skin once a week, still have to use the cover stick (foundation) every day and the granules every other day in the evening.

And I went to sports again; jiu- jitsu.
My body and mind felt so good afterwards and my skin too!  No reactions.

As I said in my previous blog I would like to give you some more background information about rosacea and demodex.
This time: demodex!

Demodex Folliculorum

The Demodex folliculorum mite is a type of parasite that lives on humans. Most of the time, these mites are harmless and will go unnoticed.
However, larger numbers of D. Folliculorum can cause unwanted symptoms and skin problems.

D. folliculorum live in or around hair follicles, feeding on the dead skin cells, oils, and hormones that build up there.
These mites usually live on the face, including the eyelids and eyelashes.
D. folliculorum can increase the number of skin cells in hair follicles. This can give people the appearance of scaly skin.
D. folliculorum are more common in males than in females, with people aged 20–30 years old the most likely to be affected.
D. folliculorum are usually harmless but can cause problems for people with weakened immune systems.
Also, D. folliculorum are sometimes present in greater numbers in people with certain skin conditions.

Studies have found that a person with rosacea can sometimes have four times more Demodex mites on their face than someone without rosacea!
D. folliculorum have also been found in the tear ducts of people with ocular rosacea, which is a type of rosacea that affects the eyes.

The mites are too small to be seen with the naked eye, so the doctor or therapist will usually do a skin biopsy.
This involves taking a sample of the skin and examening it under a microscope.

The mites are slightly shy and move during the night.
The females live separately. They wait for the more travel-loving male mites that come to visit them during the night.

It is important to determine the quantity of mites living in the skin. A small number of mites is unlikely to be the cause of an individual’s skin problem.

Demodex mites are more likely to occur on the face. This can make a treatment more challenging because the skin on the face is very sensitive.

Ok.. to make it more interesting, there is also another type of Demodex mite that can cause problems.
The name is:

Demodex Brevis

Demodex brevis is a type of mite that lives in the oil glands of human hair follicles.
It is closely related to Demodex folliculorum.
Collectively, D. brevis and D. Folliculorum are referred to as Demodex.

The mites are microscopic, meaning they are not visible to the naked eye.
While most people with D. brevis are not even aware that they are carrying these mites, those housing large infestations may experience symptoms.

D. brevis feeds on oil called sebum in the oil gland cells.

The average D. folliculorum mite measures 0.3 to 0.4 millimeters (mm) in length, while the D. Brevis is half that size, at 0.15 to 0.2 mm.

Symptoms

Most people with Demodex brevis are only carriers of the mites — they do not develop symptoms.

However, large infestations of the mites may lead to symptoms such as:

red skin
a rough texture to the skin, like sandpaper
a burning sensation in the skin

Typical areas of infestation include the neck and chest.
Symptoms can be experienced in any area because D. brevis will inhabit any of the body’s oil glands.

Demodicosis is caused by Demodex brevis mites. Symptoms may include an itchy rash.

Complications

D. brevis does not usually lead to complications, but large numbers of mites (over 5 per square centimeter of skin) may cause demodicosis.

Demodicosis is an inflammatory disease, with symptoms including:

color changes in the skin
scaly skin
red skin
sensitive or irritated skin
itching

rash
eye irritation
thickening of the eyelid
loss of eyelashes

D. Brevis has also been known to make skin conditions such as eczema and rosacea worse.

What Causes Skin Irritation and Inflammation?

Mites don’t have a rectum and therefore they can’t lose their waste.
When they die and their bodies perish, the waste and bacteria that have accumulated in their bodies are released.
This can lead to serious skin irritation and inflamed rashes.
Here they are: the bumps, pustels and pastules!

A lot of information, right? But what can You do?

Home Care

There are several ways to minimize the number of Demodex mites in the skin:

using a non-soap cleanser on the face once a day, in the evening
exfoliating the skin regularly to remove dead skin cells and trapped sebum by the use of salicylic acid
avoid oily cleansers, lotions, sunscreens and “greasy” make-up which can provide further “food” for the mites

It is also important to manage any underlying conditions, such as infections, that may be contributing to high levels of mites.

Resume

There are 2 types of Demodex mites and, I’m sorry, we all have them. In our skin and specificly on our face!

When your condition is good, you use the right skincare, no stress, no nasty hormones etc., they don’t cause you any problem.

You will live happily together with your mites! (and other tiny creatures…. ☺)

But… if they have the oppurtunity to reproduce themselves faster than normal because they’ve plenty of food, they also have the oppurtunity to cause you some problems….

The food of the demodex mites is: sebum and dead skincells.