eeek! there's a bug living in my eye!
 

this is something i have known forever... but my daughter just found out today and about freaked out! *laugh*

the "bug" in question is actually a microscopic mite that is a relative of the spider. it eats dead skin cells and the like, and burrows into the follicles of our eyelashes and resides there. we all share our bodies with other microscopic organisms that feed off of our dead skin cells, bacterias, enzymes in our mucus membrames and the like... it's symbiosis in one of it's truest forms...

you gotta know my daughter... she freaks out over the tiniest ant... a spider in another room in the house... ANYTHING creepy, crawly, and unseen... *laughing* ... poor thing was was freaking out and not sure whether or not to believe me... :lol:

just figured it would be a fun topic to share.... :D

i remember when i was a kid and i first found this out. i was freaked too. it took me a while to believe it until i got old enough and did some research on it. go little bugs! clean my eye lashes you bastards!

I never knew about these...

You learn something new every day I suppose. I guess Ill have to take a closer look in the mirror next time...

You won't see them that easily. Shouldn't be hard to find info on this using Google.

We've got beneficial (read: symbiotic) critters in our digestive tracts, too. That includes our mouths. Not everything living in/on us is bad.

i got floaters in my eye that i can see on occasion, gets quite annoying at times

Those aren't critters, as I understand it.

thats a yucky disturbing thought...

but I suppose its no worse than the fact that we breathe in thousands of tiny dust mites every time we take a breath, so meh...*shrugs*

I guess none of you ever saw the botfly in action.

NWS or NSFW or whatever your designation for not work-safe images are, http://www.snopes.com/horrors/insects/wormeye.htm

Be horrified.

Damn Bivens, that is some nasty shit there.

Fuck. I thought my contacts where bothering me.

Good reason to see an eye doctor occasionally, eh?

When I was a young lad, one of my favorite snacks was cottage cheese. And then one night I watched a David Suzuki program that explained how many of our foods contain living bacteria and organisms - and they focused on cottage cheese. I was horrified! I was eating living creatures?!? And what were they doing in my stomach? Laying eggs, and eating me from the inside out? :lol:

It took me years to ever muster up the courage to eat cottage cheese again! :D

yikers! it has started!!!..first the eye bugs, then bed bugs, germs, and thoughts that without all those bugs living on us, we would die..See a young person's life isn't just fun and games, but filled with curiosities and the need for reassurance and knowledge. And when you tell her that dust comprises in part from her shedding and flaking skin, then all heck will break loose..

Just teasing, subby's oldest had a big germ thing going on when her was a younger lad.. Its kinda a cute, but only because were older and probably freaked out the same way when we were younger.

Kids are fun-ny! (LSP) *laugh*

i'm horrified *shudder*... DEFINATELY not showing my daughter THAT one! it was hard enough to get her over the microscopic organisms that are supposed to be there! :lol:

My 10-year-old would be screaming for hours -- probably crying and telling me to get rid of them. She doesn't know that I can't solve all "problems" yet!

Great story -- thanks for sharing.

Re: eeek! there's a bug living in my eye!
 

Spring- you have a cruel sense of humor!!! :D :p
I like that!!:lol:

I was thinking the same thing.

Anyway, don't tell either one about the dustmites in the bedding then...

Thought y'all would like some more info and pics :)

LINK

Eyelash Creatures

http://www.geocities.com/thesciencef...elash/pic1.JPG
Demodex folliculorum, or the demodicid, is a tiny mite, less than 0.4 mm long, that lives in your pores and hair follicles, usually on the nose, forehead, cheek, and chin, and often in the roots of your eyelashes.
(A follicle is the pore from which a hair grows). Demodicids have a wormlike appearance, with legs that are mere stumps. People with oily skin, or those who use cosmetics heavily and don't wash thoroughly, have the heaviest infestations ... but most adults carry a few demodicids. Inflammation and infection often result when large numbers of these mites congregate in a single follicle.

http://www.geocities.com/thesciencef...elash/pic2.JPG
The mites live head-down in a follicle, feeding on secretions and dead skin debris. At the left, you can see three demodicids buried in the follicle of a hair, and you can also see the hair's shaft. If too many mites have buried into the same follicle, it may cause the eyelash to fall out easily.
An individual female may lay up to 25 eggs in a single follicle, and as the mites grow, they become tightly packed. When mature, the mites leave the follicle, mate, and find a new follicle in which to lay their eggs. The whole cycle takes between 14 to 18 days.
Sometimes demodex is called the 'face mite', since it is often associated with blackheads, acne and other skin disorders (although it is not the cause of these). Demodex are harmless and don't transmit diseases, but large numbers of demodex mites may cause itching and skin disorders, referred to as Demodicosis.

http://www.geocities.com/thesciencef...elash/pic3.JPG
The mites have tiny claws, and needlelike mouthparts for eating skin cells. Their bodies are layered with scales, which help them anchor themselves in the follicle. The mite's digestive system results in so little waste that the mite doesn't even have an excretory opening. So although there may be mites in your eyelashes, there isn't any mite poop! Thank goodness!
However ... did you know that you go to sleep at night on a pillow that is home to many thousands of dust mites ...which help keep our homes clean by consuming the tens of millions of skin cells we shed each day? Just pretend they're not there!

Holy shit!
thats kinda freaky.....never knew about that.
Nice post Lebell

once in a while my eyelashes will itch a lot & then i always think about the mites & get freaked out.
does soap & water kill them? hmm... :\

that last pic that Lebell posted is <i>almost</i> kinda cute...

my daughters are 9 and 10... so i'm right there with you sexymama! :crazy:

thanks for the pics Lebell... i was hoping to find some on-line but was too lazy to look them up before i posted... pretty cool when you think about it... always makes me think of Horton Hears A Hoo :)

damn, that makes my eyelids itch. :p

That thing is badass looking! Where can I get one?!!

Thanks...

Now, I'm gonna go shower for 8 hours.

Yeah, that's about how I feel. I'm almost 20 and STILL totally grossed out by things like that.... I'm gonna go take a looooooong shower now. *shudder* and I didn't even look at the botfly thing...

*soft laugh*... sorry KING... if it's any consolation, i know how you feel... (hug)

Ya, when I first found out about this I think I may still have been in grade school, and tried to find them on my eyelashes. Stupid me. After finishing senior highschool biology, I learned to accept that there are way to many microscopic things on or in me to worry about and I should stick to thinking about bigger things.

Now that is FUN!
You always have something good to share, don't you?
Kids are great, they always have interesting things to say.

~springrain, you troublemaker ;)

There was an episode of Northern Exposure where Maggie got all freaked out about dustmites and covered all her furniture in plastic and sprayed the house, etc...till she had a daydream about a Daddy Dustmite sitting in the bar complaining about not being able to provide for his family because the furniture was all covered in plastic and pickings were lean. An odd show, but they are critters who have to live somehow. Since they're helpful and I don't have to see them, welcome to them!

Yes guys, there are micro-organisms and bacteria everywhere. If these mites didn't exist you'd have a helluva lot more dust in your house (dust is approximtely 80% human skin cells).

Also, the dust mites are what cause a lot of people's allergies to act up. Make sure you wash your bedding in HOT water in order to kill the little bastards.

It's nice to know that your never truely alone. Think of them as pets! Maybe the crazy people out on the streets aren't really crazy, they just have a closer connection to their eye mites.