Does everyone have mites on their face?

Mites are everywhere, but they are not visible to the naked eye. So does everyone have mites on their face? Although this is not an exaggeration, it does show that mites are everywhere, especially for people with acne on their faces, who may have more mites because mites love the oil in the skin the most. Severe mites can cause inflammation of the human skin, so it is important to develop good skin cleaning habits.

There are two types of mites that live on the human face. Both mites resemble sockets with legs, but the one called Demodex folliculorum is longer and has a rounder base than the other, Demodex brevis. Demodex means "fat burrowing bugs," so you can probably imagine how they survive. The mites stick their heads into our hair follicles to feed on the oils we secrete.

We know that mites become more common as we age, and nearly every adult has them on their face — yours, mine, and even Scarlett Johansson is not immune.

These mites have accompanied James Cameron deep into the ocean and Neil Armstrong to the moon. They have gone through most of the evolutionary history together with humans, but they did not enter people's vision until 1841; they are probably the closest creatures to us, but they are often as distant as a legend.

"It's amazing that these organisms are on everyone's face, and yet we know so little about them," said Michelle Trautwein of the California Academy of Sciences.

Michel's team also includes researchers from other universities, such as Michael Palopoli of Bowdoin College. Their team shows people what real friends are and how they relate to us. The researchers collected mite samples from the faces of 70 American volunteers, scraping the creatures off with a clip or extracting DNA directly from swabbed foreheads.

The research team's sampling subjects included colleagues, friends, some local students and people who volunteered to participate in the "Look at Your Mites" facial sampling campaign.

“All kinds of people come to our events,” Michelle said.

This diversity of samples is crucial. This was the first time that Michelle and Michael discovered that there were four different genetic lineages of Demodex folliculorum, named ABCD. Different people have different proportions of these four types of Demodex follicle mites on their faces, which can reflect the history of mankind to a certain extent.

For example, people of African origin and African descent still have the most types of facial mites, and the four lineages of Demodex folliculorum mites mentioned above can be found on their faces. The types of facial mites in people from other regions are relatively simple - the faces of Asians are mainly infested with group B and group D Demodex mites; people originating from Europe almost all have group D Demodex mites; if their ancestors are Latin American, then the situation is a bit special - although this group also has four types of Demodex mites on their faces, this may reflect their colonial history, including the influx of a large number of African slaves in history.

These findings make sense, but they also seem counterintuitive. You know, the volunteers actually come from all over the world, and so do their ancestors.

"Common sense would suggest that African Americans, who have lived in the United States for generations, might have acquired different mites from people of European descent," Michael said.

This is not the case. In fact, "some people still have facial mites that are consistent with those of their ancestors from generations ago," Michel said. Among the volunteers sampled by the research team, there was one who was born in Asia and immigrated to the United States at the age of 8, but his face was mostly covered with group B mites, which are common in Asia.

This may be because the mites generally do not move around much. In fact, one researcher claims that based on his own sampling over three years, the total mite population is remarkably stable. In addition, since everyone's hair and oil secretion are different, it is also possible that different skin types determine the type of facial mites. Environmental factors also have a great influence. George Perry from the University of Pennsylvania wondered whether the fact that Europeans have only one type of face mite had something to do with the fact that other mites are extremely sensitive to cold outdoor temperatures.

It seems that mites do not run from one house to another on their own, but they can be passed from parents to children: the research team analyzed samples from three families and found that the children also had their parents' mites on their faces. "We don't get mites on the subway, we only spread them among our closest family members," Michel said. "That's why mites have become a marker for recording human evolution."

David Reed of the Florida Museum of Natural History, who has done similar research on head lice, agrees with Mitchell's team.

"This particular parasite has some unique advantages that make it an excellent subject for studying human evolutionary history," David said. "These parasites are ubiquitous, they exist between individuals and families, and they have coexisted with humans for a long time."

Or maybe, it has always coexisted with humans. Mitchell and Michael estimate that four lineages of mites diverged at least 200,000 years ago, coinciding with the rise of humans (and possibly earlier).

"Mites have probably been with us throughout human history," Michel said. However, it is difficult to determine the exact time when humans and mites began to live together. Some mites are found exclusively on cats, dogs, cattle and sheep, but no one has yet tested what kind of mites live on chimpanzees' faces.

"It seems that we have an endless supply of various parasite samples to study, but there are really too few people willing to make such an effort to collect samples around the world," David told reporters. Now, Michelle has joined in. She and Rob Dunn of North Carolina State University collected mites from the faces of people in seven states across the United States. She also hopes to be able to compare facial mites in mixed-race people and their children.

“It was incredible that no one had done anything in this area before us,” Michelle said. “So the only thing we could think of was, let’s do it.”

To be honest, after reading these materials, I still find it hard to believe that my face is actually their bed! I even have to clean it for them every day!!!

Mites are the most rampant pests in human homes after fleas and flies. They feed on sucking the oils secreted by human skin tissue cells and skin glands. There are many types of mites, almost 500,000. Among them, the main ones hidden in the home and closely related to human health are dust mites, scabies mites, Demodex mites, flour mites, caterpillar mites, fruit mites, and sweet mites. The dark corners of the room, carpets, mattresses, pillows, sofas, air conditioners, etc. are all places where mites breed. Experts say that mites can cause human allergies, intestinal mite diseases and lung mite diseases, so regular removal of mites should be a very important part of home cleaning.

Mites bring three major hazards

Cause allergies When people come into contact with objects contaminated by mites, it can cause dermatitis. These mites can parasitize or bite almost every part of the human body, especially in children, especially in the thin and tender skin and wrinkles. People with allergies may develop allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis or allergic dermatitis when they come into contact with dust mites. All parts of the mite, its secretions, excretions and shed skin are all allergens. These substances fly into the air as you make the beds, fold the quilts, and sweep the floor. When people inhale it through breathing, they will experience discomfort, which will seriously affect their lives and work.

Mites that cause mite diseases can also enter the human digestive tract or respiratory system through daily diet or breathing, causing intestinal mite diseases and pulmonary mite diseases.

The main symptoms of intestinal mite disease are diarrhea, vomiting, sometimes blood in the stool, and even intestinal ulcers. The mites that cause intestinal mite disease are mainly sweet fruit mites, putrescent tyrophagus mites and some flour mites. They are mainly found in various foods, especially sweet foods, dried foods, sausages, medicinal materials, grains and other items that have been stored for a long time. The symptoms of pulmonary mite disease are similar to those of diseases such as tuberculosis and bronchitis, including coughing, sputum, coughing up blood, wheezing and chest tightness. In addition, mites can cause urinary mite disease after entering the urethra, and can cause spinal mite disease after entering the spinal cord.

In addition to causing disease directly, mites that act as vectors can also transmit various diseases such as mitosis, hemorrhagic fever, murine malarial disease, typhoid fever, toxoplasmosis, rickettsial disease and rabies.

60% of people have facial mites

Our understanding of mites often starts from the face, because almost 60% of people have mites on their faces. The pathophysiological process of acne is mainly manifested as abnormal keratinization of keratinocytes in the hair follicles and high levels of sebum secretion in patients with severe acne. Due to excessive keratinization of the sebaceous gland duct epithelium, sebum discharge is not smooth, resulting in clinical acne. The sebum retained in the hair follicles can burst the follicle wall, enter the surrounding tissue, trigger an inflammatory response, and produce the initial inflammatory damage of acne. After acne is formed, bacteria such as Propionibacterium acnes over-multiply, further aggravating the inflammatory damage of acne. Therefore, the formation of pilosebaceous duct angular plug and the combined infection on this basis are the key to the onset of acne. That is to say, almost 60% of people have facial mites infection, and 20% of them suffer from acne, but this does not mean that acne is caused by mites.

Allergies may be caused by indoor mites

Mites don't just nest on your face; you're likely to be among them the moment you walk into the room. If your skin is often allergic, then the culprit is likely to be mites, because indoor mites are also a major cause of allergy sufferers.

These tiny insects, which are invisible to the naked eye, are everywhere where we live. They mainly live on mattresses, carpets, pillows, cushions and other objects in the room, and feed on the shed epidermis of human skin. Its power lies not only in its harmfulness, but also in its excrement which should not be underestimated. The mite excrement will eventually become airborne as dust and enter the human respiratory tract through breathing. Many people have allergic reactions to mite excrement, which can especially cause discomfort to people with allergies, such as severe sneezing and difficulty breathing.

Three aspects to prevent mite allergies

House Cleaning

First of all, we must clean regularly and keep it clean. The ventilation of the room is extremely important for preventing the growth of mites, because air humidity below 60% makes it difficult for mites and mold to survive. It would be more effective if you could remove the thick carpet in the bedroom. Since the main hiding place for mites in the bedroom is the mattress, it is important to keep it clean at all times. At the same time, try to reduce the number of items in the bedroom that are prone to dust accumulation, such as heavy curtains, fabric tablecloths, open bookshelves, potted plants, etc.

Indoor dust problem

The second is to eliminate dust and prevent allergies. For rooms that have already been infested with mites, some remedial measures must be taken immediately. For example, reduce indoor dust as much as possible so that dust infected with mites and other molds cannot float into the air. Specifically, reducing ventilation between houses of different temperatures will improve dust generation. Clear dust from windows, high-temperature areas indoors, and around ventilation facilities, and take care to eliminate hidden dangers in places where dust is most likely to be raised. If conditions permit, choosing an effective air cleaner will help filter out allergens from the air.