Rosacea cause and treatment. Tiny mites in the skin?

Posted on September 5, 2012

Quick blog, as this is not something I treat directly- skin care for rosacea usually falls under dermatology.  But I do see a lot of women who suffer from rosacea, which causes a redness and sometimes irregularity of the skin.  So what is the cause?

We had always heard to blame the usual suspects like sun damage and genetics.  And it was thought there is some kind of bacterial component, as antibiotics can help.  But how/when/why /where? 

A new study came out which thinks they found the culprit: (sorry it is icky to say, but…) tiny mites.

Researchers from the University of Ireland think these tiny mites, Demodex, which live harmlessly on the skin can harbor bacteria.  They think these bacteria ” bacillus oleronias” cause an immune reaction, which triggers inflammation in the skin causing redness.  They have found higher numbers of the mites on rosacea suffers.  More mites= more bacteria= more inflammation.

Interesting tidbit.  Wanted to share.  The photo of beautiful pebbles on the beach was to try to soften the image of tiny mites living on your skin.