Man Films Gnarly Mites Living on His Eyelashes: 'I Will Gouge My Eyes Out'

A Reddit user has shared a video and pictures of the horrifying mites living on his eyelashes.

The viral video shows two worm-like creatures entwined at the base of a long thin eyelash, with their miniscule parts moving slightly under the microscope.

"After learning about eyelash mites (Demodex) on Reddit, I decided to check my own eyes. Meet Demo and Dex," the user, @gud_morning_dave, wrote in the caption of the post which received over 28,000 upvotes.

"I learned about eyelash mites from a Reddit post a few days ago. Then while using a microscope at work, I wondered if I could see them on my own eyelashes, so I plucked a few out and looked at the roots. One of the roots had these two mites on it," @gud_morning_dave told Newsweek.

Demodex mites are tiny parasitic arachnids that live on the body. There are two species that live on humans, Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis.

D. folliculorum usually lives in smaller hair follicles, like the eyelashes and survives by eating skin cells, while D. brevis usually lives near the oil glands in larger hair follicles and eats the oil that is secreted. Over 60 other species of Demodex exist, but usually live on other mammals, including Demodex canis which lives on dogs.

"Demodex species are intradermal obligatory parasites (i.e. needs humans to survive on), which thrive in follicles and sebaceous glands of humans and animals. So [they] live not only in eyelashes but also cheeks, nose, chin, forehead, temples, brows, and also on the balding scalp, neck, ears," Stephen Martin, an insect researcher at the University of Salford in the U.K., told Newsweek. "They are spread by direct contact and probably by dust containing eggs but can also be passed from mother to baby and are cosmopolitan in terms of their distribution. Infestation with Demodex is common; prevalence in healthy adults varies between 23-100 percent."

Other Reddit users were vocally distressed by the revelation that nearly all humans have these mites living in our eyelashes.

"My mites know if they make their existence known I will gouge my mf eyes out," one user commented.

"Brb gonna go boil my face," said another.

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Adult D. folliculorum mites are between 0.3 and 0.4 mm in length, while D. brevis are slightly shorter, measuring 0.15-0.2 mm, Martin said.

"The eight legs of this mite move at a rate of 8-16 [mm per hour] and this is mainly done during the night as bright light causes the mite to recede into its follicle. 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) accumulating in the hair follicles," Martin said.

These mites are usually harmless, but in some cases, a buildup of their waste products can cause eye irritation issues.

"For most of us, the mites, akin to the bacteria on our skin and in and around the eye, the mites don't cause much trouble," Katherine M. Mastrota, an optometry specialist and director of optometry at the New York Hotel Trades Council, told Newsweek.

"Some conditions allow for overgrowth of the mite that may cause characteristic inflammation (Roscaea of the skin is linked to Demodex, in part). Blepharitis, that is inflammation of the eyelid, can be due to Demodex overgrowth. Blepharitis can precipitate a host of patient symptoms including eyelash loss."

These conditions can be treated by regular cleaning of the affected skin with warm water.

"There is a pharmaceutical product in the pipeline to eradicate Demodex mites on/in the eyelash follicles and associated glands," Mastrota said.

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