Demodex Folliculorum - Who IT Affects

Who It Affects

Demodex mites are acquired shortly after birth and are considered to be normal skin fauna that increase in number as people age. Almost everyone has a certain degree of the Demodex mite on his or her skin. Heavy infestations of Demodex can arrive in adolescence, and could last up to middle age. The increase of their food supply, sebaceous glands, proliferate during puberty, which explains the increase of infestations of mites during adolescence. Twenty-five percent of the people who are up to 20 years old have mites, and 30% of people up to the age of 50 have mites. Of people that are between 80 and 100 years old, between 50%-100% have mites. Hair follicles in all adults are infested, but the distribution of mites varies, which has a different impact on each person. Men are often more likely to be infested by mites than women because they have more sebaceous glands, thus producing more food for the mites.