Could there be an association between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and demodex infestation?

[helvella]

When I looked up demodicosis the first hit was a veterinary site!

One of the more interesting facets of this disease is that it identifies a possible way in which thyroid disorders might affect us very indirectly.

We can become fixated on every symptom occurring more or less directly due to the thyroid hormone levels. And some are hard to explain if we continue with that.

For example, the loss of outer third of eyebrows in hypothyroidism. For which I have never seen a validated explanation of why it has that precise effect.

Could there be an association between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and demodex infestation?

Ayşe Topçu Dursun, Dilek Bayramgürler, Evren Odyakmaz Demirsoy, Aysun Şikar Aktürk, Rebiay Kıran, Nilgün Sayman

First published: 29 April 2022

doi.org/10.1111/jocd.15005

Abstract

Background

Human demodex mites are parasites that live in the pilosebaceous unit and can result in the disease demodicosis. While demodicosis may occur as a primary skin disease; immunosuppression, and topical or systemic immunosuppressive treatments can cause secondary demodicosis. It is known that thyroid hormones may cause skin changes, such as xerosis, and thereby may also modulate immune responses in the skin.

Objectives

The aim of this study is to investigate whether or not that the changes occurring in the skin of patients with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (HT) predispose to demodex infestation.

Methods

Seventy-eight patients being followed for a diagnosis of HT at Kocaeli University Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic, between January 2019 and March 2020, constituted the patient group. The control group consisted of 41 patients who did not have any chronic systemic or dermatological disease and were shown to have no thyroid disease by laboratory tests. Demodex intensity in the malar regions of the patient and control groups was determined using the standardized skin surface biopsy (SSSB) method and compared with each other.

Results

HT patients were significantly more likely to have increased demodex density and suggestive SSSB results than the controls (p<0.001, p=0.012, respectively). A significant correlation was found between demodex intensity and the findings of xerosis (p=0.010, p=0.011) and spiny follicular papules (p=0.008, p=0.008) in the patient or control groups, respectively. However, a significant correlation was identified between the demodex density and the symptoms of burning-stinging (p=0.028), and feelings of dryness (p=0.018) roughness (p=0.028) only in the control group.

Conslusion

Xerotic skin and/or impaired immune responses as a result of autoimmune changes in patients with HT may lead to secondary demodicosis.

As usual, full paper is behind a paywall:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

A useful description of demodicosis with photos:

dermnetnz.org/topics/demodex

[Sparklingsunshine]

Hi

I have rosacea and one of the topical treatments is Ivermectin , marketed as Soolantra. Yes that drug originally used a a horse parasite remover which became infamous in the media after Donald Trump suggested it was a cure for covid.

There's clinical evidence the dermodex mites are found in higher numbers in the skin of people with rosacea and Ivermectin kills them. I'm sure I read that rosacea is a thyroid linked condition so if so it might explain some of the symptoms. It didn't do anything for my skin despite months of use, I'm now on another medication.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Sparklingsunshine]

Thank you - interesting.

[tattybogle]

eugh !! thanks for that interesting , if weird "Thought for the Day" ..... i've got a sudden desire to go wash my face (again)... who knew ? ... we all live with some eyelash 'nits'.

( frankly , i think liked it better when i didn't know ... lol )

[Hedgeree]

Yes I went straight to the photos!

I know that Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic used for heart worm in dogs and horses though I can't remember what it's used for in horses.

Sorry I know I'm going off topic slightly....but my dog was prone to seizures and it was a process of elimination to find his triggers, ivermectin had to be avoided as it could cause him to fit as he had an MDR1 genetic mutation.

I really wouldn't fancy taking it as a cure for Covid!

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to Hedgeree]

What, you mean a medicine designed for livestock that can cause you to poo yourself in public due to diahorrea isn't recommended for Covid? I find that very hard to believe.

[humanbean]

This thread makes me itch.

I just read this link on the demodex mites that afflict humans:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demod...

and found that it can cause roseacea and blepharitis. I don't have roseacea but I have had what I self-diagnosed as blepharitis. My eyes are hellishly itchy when I wake up in the morning, and this became a problem as my eyes got drier with age - and it is still getting worse.

Products I've found helpful - I just wish they were cheaper :

Blephasol - for cleaning at the base of the eyelashes

Blephagel - for cleaning at the base of the eyelashes

Hycosan Extra - preservative-free eyedrops for dry eyes

[helvella Administrator in reply to humanbean]

When I had dry eyes I was advised to use a weak solution of baby shampoo.

However, I made the mistake of using Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo - which made my eyes more uncomfortable. I then found out that the extremely strict rules apply to baby bath products - but not baby shampoo. Cheapest Asda baby bath seemed fine!

I have largely recovered but something odd is happening to my hydration/thirst due (I think) to amitriptyline.

[humanbean in reply to helvella]

I've never tried baby shampoo on my eyes because I'd read a lot of anecdotes about it being very unpleasant. But I'll give baby bath a go. Could you link the product you use, please.

[helvella Administrator in reply to humanbean]

I'd have been happy to except the actual product `I used is no longer available!

This appears to be the same basic thing and claims to be a no tears formulation!

groceries.asda.com/product/...

But no personal experience, I'm sorry to say.

[humanbean in reply to helvella]

I'll give it a try, thank you. I'll have to work out where my nearest Asda is, or try and find a similar product from Tesco.

[TSH110 in reply to humanbean]

Try saline solution on a cotton bud and get every last bit of sleepy dust (sounds nicer than mite poo 💩😱💩) out of them! I just boil up some water and add Cornish sea salt. They don’t like it 😁

[humanbean in reply to TSH110]

Thank you. I have those things in stock already so I'll give it a try tonight and/or tomorrow.

[TSH110 in reply to humanbean]

Looks like Vaseline is reasonably effective against them too and very good at unblocking the meiobium glands - but the sample size was small: paojournal.com/article/petr...

[humanbean in reply to TSH110]

Unfortunately, I'm intolerant to Vaseline.

[TSH110 in reply to humanbean]

I tried it today it’s a bit messy and interferes with my eyes sight - blurring. Not great….so perhaps best you are not suited to it 🤣🤣🤣

[TSH110 in reply to humanbean]

And coconut oil reduces them too: ipinnovative.com/journal-ar...

[humanbean in reply to TSH110]

I've never tried that. I'll experiment, thanks.

[TSH110]

How very interesting. I have had those blighters in my eyelashes wreaking havoc. I had antibiotics & used those wretched eye masks but they were the very devil to keep at bay. I resorted to cleaning my lashes with saline solution using a cotton bud it seems to work even though the optician expressed surprise but I said at least salt water isn’t going to do any damage. If I stop they just recolonise. I often suffer with very itchy skin I bet those things are to blame…but how to get them under control? Sea water bathing or bath salts of some kind like magnesium?

[helvella Administrator in reply to TSH110]

I was advised to use cotton wool balls (but that was just to keep eyes clean and wash out any gunk left from Lacrilube, etc.). One for each eye to avoid any possibility of transferring anything between the eyes.

[TSH110 in reply to helvella]

I find you can get a lot more grot out with a cotton bud and a bit of persistence. Mine is quite hard to shift.

[TSH110]

This article is quite interesting by a naturopath:

youarethehealer.org/health-...

[June25]

OK here it is everybody - how to control demodex and say goodbye to blepharitis. My optician is great and made me aware that the bits of 'dandruff' on my eyelashes were in fact living creatures. Yes tatty, it is gruesome. The squeamish should not look at magnification photos of these things. Anyway he treated them and removed them but I got re-infested. I also tried ivermectin without success. These days I have a monthly routine which pretty much keeps me clear of the little disgusting things.

You need a very small stiff pointed brush, like an eyebrow brush, and a magnifying mirror x 20 or as much as you can get. I got one on ebay. You must be able to see the debris to get rid of it. Also you need Cliradex wipes and I use Ocusoft plus wipes also, both on ebay, as follows:

First brush along the line of your eyelash roots. Do this quite firmly while avoiding poking yourself in the eye. You'll see bits of dandruff looking stuff coming loose from your eyelash roots. Wipe with Ocusoft wipes as this helps loosen these bits. Then brush again vigorously and wipe to remove the loose debris. After that wipe with Cliradex which kills the mites. Do this for the upper and lower lids of both eyes. If you can afford it, wiping with Cliradex every night before bed will help to initially get rid of an infestation but after that I find a clean once a month does the job.