Connect
← Return to Anyone else dealing with Demodex Mites? What helps?
Discussion
Anyone else dealing with Demodex Mites? What helps?
Skin Health | Last Active: 17 hours ago | Replies (198)Comment receiving replies
I 100% feel you. It’s so f*d actually. And a constant and isolating effort. I struggle heaps with insomnia, since I was a kid actually, so I understand what you mean. It’s frustrating and I feel like by now I’ve binge watched just about everything and anything trying to turn my brain off from it all. I’m neurodivergent so my insomnia has been almost inescapable unless I use medication, which is helpful but comes with its own side effects, especially if used habitually. I tried melatonin and found it didn’t really help. Some things that are maybe weird but hey desperation is real over here, I use tape on my skin occasionally and I also go through lint rollers quick bc I use em on my pillowcases and sheets on days that I don’t wash just in case any of those little jerks are there. I totally miss the days of using a towel more than one time or not feeling like I need to change my sheets every other day (I finally got myself to not do it daily by trying to calm my nerves about it all). It really takes over your days. Especially when you already have a phobia of bugs! Ha. It’s actually not funny. I’m neurodivergent and it’s easy for me to get hyper fixated on things hence this is such a tenfold struggle. The inside of my hands are affected and it makes me feel afraid to pat my dog who is literally my whole life. She is 10 now and tho they can’t live out their lifecycle on a dog, they can still get on them and irritate their skin which has happened to her and so I feel so guilty for it and also for not patting her as much as I used to. Especially because she is a very cuddly baby. We have been to the vet and she takes her monthly meds for parasites etc and I have to bathe her weekly with anti parasite shampoo, plus I have her on heaps of immunity supplements etc (as am I actually) but even still, she’s gotten a skin spot about every 6 months or so. I have this spray for the spots and they don’t seem to really bother her but it’s a slippery slope to infection and the like… all in all, despite all the vets and all the doctors, there’s just nothing more I can do about all this. It swallows your life and then your just like constantly fighting to get out of its very costly (in more ways than one) clenches. Day in and day out.
Replies to "I 100% feel you. It’s so f*d actually. And a constant and isolating effort. I struggle..."
Connect
(I should probably mention tho that my doggo is pink skinned with short white hair so she’s got extra sensitive skin, and her vet gives me the instructions of what to do bc she is who confirmed that what I thought was happening was actually what was happening… I don’t imagine most dogs have the same susceptibility, she just has some stuff that unfortunately makes her more susceptible). And, something I do suggest also is having your bloods done and checking for any vitamin deficiency and taking supplements. Shampoo and body soaps with sulfur/selenium sulfide/tea tree. Body lotion with salicylic acid/urea. Exfoliation and non greasy lotions so that way you’re ridding yourself of dead skin as best as possible. And, though it may seem weird, a strip of tape does help. And, the lint rollers help ease my mind so maybe they can offer the same assistance to others. My hands clear up pretty fast with daily application of lotion that I drop a couple drops of 100% tea tree oil over the blob of lotion and mix it together over my hands as I rub it in… they cause me eczema like spots that aren’t so itchy, but can be a bit irritated at times, mostly they’re just unsightly and affect my self confidence, as does the whole demodex issue, in general. I know that some people are sensitive to TTO if it’s not better diluted but if that’s not you then I do recommend it. For me, the places that are most bothersome (bc of the demodex) are those that I can feel the issue which is like places from the chin/neck up, the inside of my hands and the soles of my feet. And, I do feel like the higher my anxiety, the more aware of the sensation I am… that’s not to say anxiety/stress is the cause of it, but it definitely does make it worse. And, I also have noticed this because when I’ve taken anti-anxiety meds to help me sleep and/or calm, the sensation is significantly less.