Most disgusting thing we know now that we didn't know a year ago:
38. Most of us have microscopic, wormlike mites named Demodex that live in our eyelashes and have claws and a mouth.
From 50 Things We Know Now (That We Didn't Know This Time Last Year) 2006 Edition
by Jeff Houck of The Tampa Tribune.
UPDATE: Oh God, you gotta read the Wikipedia entry.
The demodex mites form a genus of tiny parasitic mites which live in or near hair follicles of mammals. Some species live on humans, for instance Demodex folliculorum which is primarily found in the hair follicles of the eyelashes and eyebrows, and Demodex brevis which lives in sebaceous glands connected to hair follicles.
The adult mites have a semi-transparent elongated body that consists of two segments and is between 0.1 mm and 0.4 mm long. Eight short segmented legs are attached to the first body segment. The body is covered with scales for anchoring itself in the hair follicle, and the mite has pin-like mouth-parts for eating skin-cells, hormones and oils (sebum) which accumulate in the hair follicles. The mite's digestive system is so efficient and results in so little waste that there is no excretory orifice. [Thank God for very small favors.] The mites can leave the hair follicles and slowly walk around on the skin, especially at night.
The total lifespan of a Demodex mite is several weeks. Mating takes place on the skin, and eggs are laid inside the hair follicles or sebaceous glands. The six-legged larvae hatch after 3-4 days, and it takes about seven days for the larvae to develop into adults. The dead mites decompose inside the hair follicles or sebaceous glands.
An estimated 96-98% of all people carry such mites—with up to 25 in each follicle, each person can have a potentially huge population of mites. It is quite easy to look for your own demodex mites, by carefully removing an eyelash or eyebrow hair and placing it under a microscope. [ ... ]
The mites are transferred between hosts through contact of hair, eyebrows and of the sebaceous glands on the nose. Demodex is typically initially contracted within the first few hours after birth from the birth mother.
So, when you nuzzle your newborn, you think you're just bonding.
Just think of these things coming out and strolling around on your face while you sleep, like night-working street sweepers. Although they're occasionally implicated in acne -- probably because of a bacterium that they, in turn, host in their gut -- probably we'd suffer much more from clogged pores without them. Here's an article, with microphotographs, about "a mite which we live with in harmony."
Ain't life grand?
Hi Amba,
All I can say is "Ick"
GN ;)
Posted by: GN | January 04, 2007 at 10:12 AM
I'm charging them rent.
Posted by: m. takhallus | January 04, 2007 at 10:36 AM
Yuck. This makes me want to pull my eyelashes out and douse myself with boiling water.
Posted by: Danny | January 04, 2007 at 12:14 PM
I'm just thinking of the parasites that live w/in us. They've gotta be there.
Living on a farm, i see lots of ~Icky~ things. Thank God we can't see the things, eh???
Posted by: karen | January 04, 2007 at 01:02 PM
Had to follow the link, b/c my innter journalist loved its title. Reading the list, I'm thinking, this would have been so much better as a blog post, with each point linking to the original source or research. I've been spoiled and corrupted by hypertext.
Posted by: Alison | January 04, 2007 at 01:40 PM
Do they eat fat? I'll send them to my hips.
Posted by: Melinda | January 04, 2007 at 01:44 PM
They eat dead skin cells. Think of them as bio vacuum cleaners.
Still, moderation in all things, right?
Posted by: meade | January 04, 2007 at 02:45 PM
Part of the trouble is, if you could see them under a microscope they'd look like hideous monsters. Hey, why don't I try to find a picture . . .
Posted by: amba | January 04, 2007 at 02:49 PM
Alison: "corrupted" is an interesting way to put it, as if the single-mindedness of print were somehow pure, instead of just obtuse and opaque, which is how it seems to me now. In "regular writing," I'm constantly frustrated by not being able to link, even in my own personal journal.
Posted by: amba | January 04, 2007 at 03:19 PM
Hey, not only this, but the bacteria in your digestive tract probably outnumber all the cells in your body by a margin of 10 to 1.
Remember, you're not just part of an ecosystem, you ARE an ecosystem.
Posted by: Icepick | January 04, 2007 at 03:29 PM
I took meade up on his link (oh crap) and now both my daughter and i have the heebie-geebies.
My scalp itches. Has anyone ever had ringworm?? :0).
Posted by: karen | January 04, 2007 at 05:42 PM
Nnyyyaaaaggggh!!!
Posted by: david | January 04, 2007 at 06:43 PM
TMI, but thank you for sharing ;-)
Posted by: Randy (Internet Ronin) | January 04, 2007 at 08:24 PM
Wait- my scalp doesn't itch BECAUSE of ringworm (thank God)- i just linked two thoughts together. To be funny. Looks like the joke's on me- not literally.
Shucks- i'm going to bed. I feel like a dummy {:0?!!
Posted by: karen | January 04, 2007 at 11:05 PM
Sleep tight, Karen. Don't let the bedbugs bite.
Posted by: meade | January 04, 2007 at 11:09 PM