Those little white plugs and the painful nodules that multiply

These plugs are parasites. DO NOT LET ANYONE CONVINCE YOUR OTHERWISE …and believe me, they’ll try (ill-informed dermatologists included). The parasites are called Demodex mites. That plug is the adult stage of the mite. Usually, humans are only inhabited by Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis. I suspect you’re describing the Demodex injai, the "large-body" Demodex. You'll want to get rid of these things ASAP and with extreme prejudice. I wound up with an all-out infestation because it took me 7 years, 5 useless dermatologists, and 2 ill-equipped primary care physicians to figure it out. One dermatologist accused me of making the sores myself and suggested I take an anti-depressant. But, don't get me started on that... I even had an elevated IGg because my system was so irritated by them. Anyway, back to the mites …The adults move around on your skin (usually at night because they don’t like light) and give you an itchy, crawly sensation. After they mate, the pregnant female emerges to lays eggs. When the pregnant female comes out, it looks kind of like a regular pimple. But, no puss comes out it-only fluid- and it gets red and irritated if you mess with it. The eggs she lays around the area where she emerged, that look kind of like "spindles." They’re down inside your skin but have little white hairs sticking out of your pores. Those hairs get a little thicker and will sometimes fall out as the egg evolves into an adult mite. Don’t bother pulling them out. The hairs will simply detach and the mite will stay in your pore. The adult mites are NOTHING NICE. They have, what I call venom (for lack of a better word), that causes a sever immune response. If you mess with them, they create this clear fluid that makes a hole in your skin. If you persist, they will make you bleed profusely. I think that stuff is an anti-coagulant too! After you lose the battle (and you will), your skin feels like it's on FIRE. Depending upon how much you messed with them, you'll either have a sore spot that won't heal or a plasticky quasi-scab looking thing …on top of a sore that won’t heal. If you lift up the plasticky scab, you can see the adult mites attached to the underside of it. I say that to say this: DON’T BOTHER MESSING WITH THEM. You will not get them out without putting a deep hole in your skin. They just dig down deeper if you try to pull them out with tweezers. The immune response will make a real mess of your face. You cannot kill the adult Demodex with creams because they move down into your pores beyond the reach of topical miticides. You cannot kill adult Demodex with ingested miticides because they have a hard outer shell that protects them from absorbing the chemicals. If you pinch one of those white plugs really hard with some tweezers you can hear it crunch. (I even tried applying a tiny bit of RAID …didn’t work.) I got rid of the MF’ers with 3 things: (1) Ivermectin, (2) Permethrin SFR, and (3) sulfur paste (all of which I found at the local feed store for animals). First: Use Ivermectin to kill the mid-stage mites. I used the equine version. It’s a paste with 1.87% Ivermectin. (DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. IVERMECTIN DOSES ARE DETERMINED BY WEIGHT. I SIMPLY USED THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF PASTE FOR MY WEIGHT. I HAD NO PROBLEMS AT ALL, BUT BE CAREFUL). Within 6-8 hours of your first dose of Ivermectin, you'll see the mites pushing out of your pores IN DROVES. Because it only kills the mid-stage mites (not eggs or adults), you’ll need to take Ivermectin once a week, for 4-6 weeks. When you take the Ivermectin, change your bed sheets every night, for at least three nights. Also, buy a few extra pillow cases so you can have a newly washed pillow case every night for at least four weeks. I STRONGLY suggest this measure because the mites wreaked havoc on my scalp. My hair has not grown for more than 3 years. You may want to use Selson Blue shampoo for 4 to 6 weeks, just in case. Second: Use Permethrin SFR, which is 38.6 % Permethrin, to kill the eggs. Dilute it in a spray bottle and spray EVERYTHING in your house, including mattresses, couches, carpets, etc. …EVERYTHING. Then, vacuum really good, and spray EVERYTHING again. Buy new pillows too. Wash ALL CLOTHING and LINENS in hot water. Put them in the dryer on “high heat.” I even lightly sprayed the Permethrin solution on the dried laundry, and the replaced bed sheets. Permethren is not really toxic to humans, and it’s odorless once it dries (PLEASE READ THE PACKAGING THOROUGLY). WHILE I DON’T RECOMMEND THIS: I poured ¾ cup of the Permethrin SFR in my bath water. After soaking for a short time, there were so many eggs (with the white hairs) that my bath water had a film on it. I only did this because I had a full-on infestation. Third: Apply the sulfur paste all over your body. It’s a little tricky to apply, so I suggest wearing gloves. Also, it’s really thick and has a strong smell. I used Pierce’s All Purpose Nu-Stock. I had to mix the paste with baby oil to get it to spread. You’re supposed to wear it, kind of like calamine lotion, for 3 days straight. Then re-apply, on top of the first application, and wear for another 3 days. The objective is to keep the adult mites from mating and laying new eggs. I realize this is a lot. But, BELIEVE ME, you do not want to be infested with these things. This has been a 7-year nightmare for me …finally coming to an end. Good luck!

These plugs are parasites. DO NOT LET ANYONE CONVINCE YOUR OTHERWISE …and believe me, they’ll try (ill-informed dermatologists included). The parasites are called Demodex mites. That plug is the adult stage of the mite. Usually, humans are only inhabited by Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis. I suspect you’re describing the Demodex injai, the "large-body" Demodex. You'll want to get rid of these things ASAP and with extreme prejudice. I wound up with an all-out infestation because it took me 7 years, 5 useless dermatologists, and 2 ill-equipped primary care physicians to figure it out. One dermatologist accused me of making the sores myself and suggested I take an anti-depressant. But, don't get me started on that... I even had an elevated IGg because my system was so irritated by them. Anyway, back to the mites …The adults move around on your skin (usually at night because they don’t like light) and give you an itchy, crawly sensation. After they mate, the pregnant female emerges to lays eggs. When the pregnant female comes out, it looks kind of like a regular pimple. But, no puss comes out it-only fluid- and it gets red and irritated if you mess with it. The eggs she lays around the area where she emerged, that look kind of like "spindles." They’re down inside your skin but have little white hairs sticking out of your pores. Those hairs get a little thicker and will sometimes fall out as the egg evolves into an adult mite. Don’t bother pulling them out. The hairs will simply detach and the mite will stay in your pore. The adult mites are NOTHING NICE. They have, what I call venom (for lack of a better word), that causes a sever immune response. If you mess with them, they create this clear fluid that makes a hole in your skin. If you persist, they will make you bleed profusely. I think that stuff is an anti-coagulant too! After you lose the battle (and you will), your skin feels like it's on FIRE. Depending upon how much you messed with them, you'll either have a sore spot that won't heal or a plasticky quasi-scab looking thing …on top of a sore that won’t heal. If you lift up the plasticky scab, you can see the adult mites attached to the underside of it. I say that to say this: DON’T BOTHER MESSING WITH THEM. You will not get them out without putting a deep hole in your skin. They just dig down deeper if you try to pull them out with tweezers. The immune response will make a real mess of your face. You cannot kill the adult Demodex with creams because they move down into your pores beyond the reach of topical miticides. You cannot kill adult Demodex with ingested miticides because they have a hard outer shell that protects them from absorbing the chemicals. If you pinch one of those white plugs really hard with some tweezers you can hear it crunch. (I even tried applying a tiny bit of RAID …didn’t work.) I got rid of the MF’ers with 3 things: (1) Ivermectin, (2) Permethrin SFR, and (3) sulfur paste (all of which I found at the local feed store for animals). First: Use Ivermectin to kill the mid-stage mites. I used the equine version. It’s a paste with 1.87% Ivermectin. (DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. IVERMECTIN DOSES ARE DETERMINED BY WEIGHT. I SIMPLY USED THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF PASTE FOR MY WEIGHT. I HAD NO PROBLEMS AT ALL, BUT BE CAREFUL). Within 6-8 hours of your first dose of Ivermectin, you'll see the mites pushing out of your pores IN DROVES. Because it only kills the mid-stage mites (not eggs or adults), you’ll need to take Ivermectin once a week, for 4-6 weeks. When you take the Ivermectin, change your bed sheets every night, for at least three nights. Also, buy a few extra pillow cases so you can have a newly washed pillow case every night for at least four weeks. I STRONGLY suggest this measure because the mites wreaked havoc on my scalp. My hair has not grown for more than 3 years. You may want to use Selson Blue shampoo for 4 to 6 weeks, just in case. Second: Use Permethrin SFR, which is 38.6 % Permethrin, to kill the eggs. Dilute it in a spray bottle and spray EVERYTHING in your house, including mattresses, couches, carpets, etc. …EVERYTHING. Then, vacuum really good, and spray EVERYTHING again. Buy new pillows too. Wash ALL CLOTHING and LINENS in hot water. Put them in the dryer on “high heat.” I even lightly sprayed the Permethrin solution on the dried laundry, and the replaced bed sheets. Permethren is not really toxic to humans, and it’s odorless once it dries (PLEASE READ THE PACKAGING THOROUGLY). WHILE I DON’T RECOMMEND THIS: I poured ¾ cup of the Permethrin SFR in my bath water. After soaking for a short time, there were so many eggs (with the white hairs) that my bath water had a film on it. I only did this because I had a full-on infestation. Third: Apply the sulfur paste all over your body. It’s a little tricky to apply, so I suggest wearing gloves. Also, it’s really thick and has a strong smell. I used Pierce’s All Purpose Nu-Stock. I had to mix the paste with baby oil to get it to spread. You’re supposed to wear it, kind of like calamine lotion, for 3 days straight. Then re-apply, on top of the first application, and wear for another 3 days. The objective is to keep the adult mites from mating and laying new eggs. I realize this is a lot. But, BELIEVE ME, you do not want to be infested with these things. This has been a 7-year nightmare for me …finally coming to an end.