In Plain Sight: Skin Mites

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AMY GARBER
I've seen a lot of crazy things in my time. Edible socks, for one. Not sexy, by the way. But the craziest things of all can only be seen with the help of a powerful microscope. I'm talking about the billions-- yes, billions with a b-- of microorganisms that live all over our bodies. People, we are not alone.

From a distance, this freshly scrubbed person looks clean and bug free. But deep on the surface of our skin is an ecosystem you may not be aware of. Those are demodex mites. We all have them, and they're found on the scalp and face. See those guys? They're chillin' in the roots of your eyebrows right now. Nice. These micro mites eat the dead cells on our skin's surface, and they usually don't cause problems. Although, now that you know you have them, it'll probably keep you up at night.

The human body has about 10 trillion cells, but get this. It hosts up to 100 trillion bacteria. Lucky for us, microbes like this live on us without causing disease. But they do make their presence known. When your body produces sweat, it's odorless. But when these guys digest it and poop it out, that's when things get stinky.

Now don't let all this freak you out. There is a silver lining, and it's that you're never, ever alone. Oh, hey guys! What do you want to do for lunch? Ah, not dead skin cells again. How about Chinese food? Not Chinese skin cells! Ah, these guys.

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