# I've got parasites on my eyelashes - and so have you! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2000, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519 "2000-11-03T04:28:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/1 "2000-11-03T04:28:05Z")
Did you know that we’ve all got [tiny mites living on our eyelashes"](http://www.onjoph.com/english/demodex-body.html)? Is this the grossest thing ever? How come they never told us this at school? Cecil, if you read this, please inform the rest of the world as soon as you’ve plucked yourself clean of these horrors! ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/2 "2000-11-03T04:44:19Z")
These particular parasites even have a physical form factor that allows them to avoid stimulating our nerve endings. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/3 "2000-11-03T04:58:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Colin Wilkinson \* > Did you know that we’ve all got [tiny mites living on our eyelashes"](http://www.onjoph.com/english/demodex-body.html)? Is this the grossest thing ever? How come they never told us this at school? No. Yes. Probably because they didn’t know it, either. I assume this General Question has now been adequately answered. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/4 "2000-11-03T05:01:56Z")
What, exactly, is the question here? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/5 "2000-11-03T05:21:01Z")
a) do people know about it? b) are they worried about it? c) is it a good idea for a column? ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/6 "2000-11-03T05:35:57Z")
On MST3K once at the beginning of the show, Mike had the Nannites wage war on his eyebrows (at the bots insistence) to wipe out the pests. The nannites were horribly slaughtered. ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/7 "2000-11-03T06:41:33Z")
I knew about them. I also know about cheese mites and those things that live in even the cleanest bed sheets. I don’t care. If they are so small I wouldn’t even know they were there without a microscope, why worry about them just because someone can see them with a microscope? What column would be done on this? This is not a General Question, IMHO. Actually, it’s probably MPSIMS - maybe the definition of it, actually… * * * Yer pal, [Satan](http://www.members.tripod.com/jmspoofe/sdmb/satan.jpg) \*TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING: Six months, three weeks, four days, 4 hours, 42 minutes and 48 seconds. 8327 cigarettes not smoked, saving $1,040.98. Extra time with Drain Bead: 4 weeks, 21 hours, 55 minutes. **David B used me as a cite!** \* ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/8 "2000-11-03T06:58:00Z")
Sorry for the hijack, but an excellent book which talks about all sorts of stuff like this is “The Secret House” by David Bodanis. Fun reading about the unsuspected grossness of day to day living. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/9 "2000-11-03T07:31:15Z")
faintly praised by Satan himself 🆒 cheese mites CHEESE MITES **CHEESE MITES** :runs from room, avoiding fridge: ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/10 "2000-11-03T13:59:53Z")
I’ve plucked out a couple of my eyelashes and put them in an electron microscope to look for these bugs, but I could never see them. I wonder what I’m doing wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/11 "2000-11-03T14:03:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Colin Wilkinson \* > \*\*a) do people know about it? > b) are they worried about it? > c) is it a good idea for a column? \*\* a) I seem to recall a documentary (Discovey Channel?) about the microscopic world. They discussed these little dudes as well as the mites living on our skin…and in our bedsheets…and in our clothes…etc. b) Some people are creeped out. Some don’t care. c) Sure (IMHO) ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/12 "2000-11-03T15:08:04Z")
Well, it is ten o’clock and this is still in GQ, here goes: What did **Zenster** mean when he said that they “even have a physical form factor that allows them to avoid stimulating our nerve endings.”? Are these little AT or ATX bugs running about on our eyes? What does form factor mean in terms of biology? Is it a fancy-schmancy way of saying _shape_? Was it a more intelligent way of saying, “These critters (_criterious eylasheous_) are too small too be felt by your eyes.”? Or is there some deeper meaning that goes beyond simply being small? ---
**Author:** ![RainbowDragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@RainbowDragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainbowDragon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/13 "2000-11-03T15:29:35Z")
Once a vacuum cleaner salesperson came to our house (with the idea that after a demonstration we would get free kitchen knives). The salesperson made a point of telling us the ins and outs of the dust mite world. His aim was clear, freak us out that we had bugs in our house. Of course he stated that his wondrous machine would pick the little critters up and out of our way. The fact was even with his machine, we would still have dust mites. We will always have dust mites. Still I take my vacuum cleaner over the bed. I know they’ll be back. A comedian named Heywood Banks makes a cute little song about dust mites and the fact they munch skin like nacho chips under your bed. What I would like to know is if the mites could serve any beneficial purpose? Is it a good thing that these little critters take away our dead skin? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/14 "2000-11-03T15:31:53Z")
Do they make mite food? Id like to feed them, they are probably pretty hungry. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/15 "2000-11-03T16:44:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Do they make mite food? Id like to feed them, … Don’t worry, you are. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/16 "2000-11-03T17:42:43Z")
National Geographic Magazine had an article about these critters. You can search at [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/publications/explore.html](http://www.nationalgeographic.com/publications/explore.html) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/17 "2000-11-03T17:56:29Z")
Dunno about the eyelash mites, but Cecil did write a column on [dust mites](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000407.html). ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/18 "2000-11-03T17:59:46Z")
And if the conversation’s moved to dust mites, it’s clear Cecil has heard about them : [Does a mattress double its weight due to dust mites, etc.?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000407.html) I’ll second that _The Secret House_ is a great book on this. I believe David Bodanis has also written a book called _The Secret Garden_, in which a young girl’s eyelashes bring a parasite back to health, but I haven’t read it. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-parasites-on-my-eyelashes-and-so-have-you/39519/19 "2000-11-03T18:01:24Z")
Yeah, what spoke said.