Are Mites Causing Your Rosacea?
A tiny mite may be the cause of the skin condition rosacea.
Rosacea causes flushing, redness, and bumps across the nose, cheeks, chin, and forehead. It usually strikes after age 30 and affects more women than men. It tends to flare in response to certain triggers, like sun exposure or emotional stress.
“Previously, people had no real idea what caused the condition,” says researcher Kevin Kavanagh, PhD, a biologist at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth in Kildare, Ireland.
Antibiotics can help clear a rosacea flare-up. And doctors once thought that was because of the drugs’ calming effect on underlying inflammation. But puzzlingly, other drugs that target inflammation, like corticosteroids, don’t seem to help.
According to National Rosacea Society Demodex folliculorum are found on the skin of all humans, they frequently occur in greater numbers in those with rosacea.
Could Bacteria in Skin Mites Help Cause Rosacea?
Bacteria carried by tiny mites on the skin might be responsible for the common dermatological condition known as rosacea, researchers say.
The evidence appears to be mounting that an overabundance of Demodex may possibly trigger an immune response in people with rosacea, or that the inflammation may be caused by certain bacteria associated with the mites.