Your Silent World!

August 15th, 2009

You live with millions, if not billions of unseen living creatures in your home.  They blow around and float in the air from your normal activities.  You kill them by the thousands when you walk across your carpet, or wash your bedding, but they always survive.  They have brains that contain everything preprogrammed for their survival.  They are called Dust Mites!

Dust Mite

Dust Mite

The house dust mite survives in all climates, even at high altitude. A person sheds about 1.5 grams of skin cells and flakes every day (approximately 0.3–0.45 kg per year), which is enough to feed roughly a million house dust mites under ideal conditions.  If trying to control house dust mites, humidity should be kept low. House dust mites thrive in the indoor environment provided by homes, specifically in bedrooms and kitchens. Dust mites survive well in mattresses, carpets, furniture and bedding, with figures around 188 animals/g dust. Even in dry climates, house dust mites survive and reproduce easily in bedding (especially in pillows), deriving moisture from the humidity generated by human breathing. House dust mites consume minute particles of organic matter. House dust mites have a simple gut; they have no stomach but rather diverticulae, which are sacs or pouches that divert out of hollow organs. Like many decomposer animals, they select food that has been pre-decomposed by fungi. House dust mites eat the same particle several times, only partially digesting it each time; between feedings, house dust mites leave particles to decompose further. Only when the particles are fully digested do they enter the dust mite’s fecal matter.  There are two species of house dust mites found in North America. These mites are so small they are virtually invisible without magnification. Female mites lay cream-colored eggs coated with a sticky substance so eggs will cling to the substrate. These mites have two distinct immature stages. Under optimal conditions, the entire life cycle from egg to adult takes three-four weeks. House dust mites feed on human skin scales, pollen, fungi, bacteria and animal dander. Dust mites do not drink free water, but absorb water from the air and the environment. To thrive, dust mites need very warm temperatures (75-80 degrees F) and high humidity levels — 70-80 percent relative humidity. One study showed when humidity is 60 percent or lower, the mite population stops growing and dies out.  Humans continually shed skin and lose about 1/5 ounce of dead skin each week. We also spend about one-third of our lives sleeping so high levels of dust mites are often associated with the bedroom, especially bedding and the mattress. Dust mites also eat animal dander so allergens will be plentiful in areas where family pets sleep.

Now, for the rest of the story, eye lash mites!  They live by the many thousands in your eye lashes.

eye lash mite
eye lash mite

These mites live heads-in  your eyelash follicle, feeding on sebaceous excretion and dead skin cells. They come out to the skin surface at night to mate and return to the follicle to LAY THEIR EGGS! The eggs hatch and *tada!* you got babies and the population of eyelash mites you are host to increases exponentially.

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.

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.

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.

And don’t bother scrubbing your eyes out tonight when you shower. Almost nothing gets them out. But washing your closed eyes with baby shampoo helps keep their numbers down.

Experts say that they do no harm except that if too many are in one follicle, that eyelash will come loose and fall out easily. In fact, some say that eyelash mites and you exist in a symbiotic relationship in that they actually eat your waste material, thus cleaning you up. Maybe they’re trying to say that if you didn’t have eyelash mites, you’d have greasy and dandruffy eyelashes.

Also, small comfort: Eyelash mites are so efficient that they eat but do not have excretory exits and thus there is no eyelash mite poop falling into your eyes.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

August 14th, 2009
 
 

 

Quiet   Im Thinking

Quiet I'm Thinking

 

 

Why doesn’t McDonald’s sell hot dogs?
At a movie theater which arm rest is yours?
Why do doctors leave the room when you change? They’re going to see you naked anyway.
Where does the toe tag go on a dead person if they don’t have toes?
If you dug a hole through the center of the earth,and jumped in, would you stay at the center because of gravity?
If you are asked to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, what if you say “no”?
How far east can you go before you’re heading west?
How does a Real Estate company sell its office without causing confusion?
Do dentists go to other dentists or do they just do it themselves?
If, in a baseball game, the batter hits a ball splitting it right down the center with half the ball flying out of the park and the other half being caught, what is the final ruling?
Why do people think that swinging their arm back and forth would change the direction of a bowling ball?
If pro and con are opposites, wouldn’t the opposite of progress be congress?
Why does grape flavor smell the way it is when actual grapes don’t taste or smell anything like it.
If a lesbian has sex with other women but never with another man is she still considered a virgin?
What’s the difference between normal ketchup and fancy ketchup?
Why is the Lone Ranger called ‘Lone’ if he always has his Indian friend Tonto with him?
When does it stop being partly cloudy and start being partly sunny?
Are eyebrows considered facial hair?
In the song Yankee Doodle, is he calling the horse or the feather “macaroni”?
Is there a time limit on fortune cookie predictions?
Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round?
Why do they have the word “dictionary” in the dictionary?
Why is it that on a phone or calculator the number five has a little dot on it?
If ghosts can walk through walls and glide down stairs, why don’t they fall through the floor?
Is it legal to travel down a road in reverse, as long as your following the direction of the traffic?
When Atheists go to court, do they have to swear on the bible?
Why is vanilla ice cream white when vanilla extract is brown?
Why does the Easter bunny carry eggs? Rabbits don’t lay eggs.
If a bald person works as a chef at a restaurant, do they have to wear a hairnet?
Do prison buses have emergency exits?
When lightning strikes the ocean why don’t all the fish die?
If a guy that was about to die in the electric chair had a heart attack do they save him?
Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?
If London Bridge is standing why is there a song about it falling down?
If a nursing mother had her nipples pierced would the milk come out of all three holes?
Who was Sadie Hawkins?
If a stripper gets breast implants can she write it off on her taxes as a business expense?
Why do we sing “Rock a bye baby” to lull a baby to sleep when the song is about putting your baby in a tree and letting the wind crash the cradle on the ground?
If parents say, “Never take candy from strangers” then why do we celebrate Halloween?
Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?
What does PU stand for (as in “PU, that stinks!”)?
Why do we put suits in a garment bag and put garments in a suitcase?
Why do people never say “it’s only a game” when they’re winning?
Why is it called a funny bone, when if you hit it, it’s not funny at all?
Do you yawn in your sleep?
Do Chinese people get English sayings tattooed on their bodies?
Do glow-in-the-dark objects stop glowing when somebody turns the lights on?
How come lemon washing up liquid contains real lemons, but lemon juice contains artificial flavorings.
Do you wake up or open your eyes first?
How do you handcuff a one-armed man?
If the FBI breaks your door down do they have to pay for it?
In some books, why do they have blank pages at the very end?
Why can’t donuts be square?
What happens to an irrisitable force when it hits an immovable object?
If there’s a speed of sound and a speed of light is there a speed of smell?
Do people in prison celebrate halloween…. if so how?
Do the security guards at airports have to go through airport security when they get to work?
Why are all of the Harry Potter spells in Latin if they’re English?
What do Greeks say when they don’t understand something?
Do all-boys schools have girls bathrooms? Conversely, do all-girls schools have boys bathrooms?
Are children who act in rated ‘R’ movies allowed to see them?
How come cats butts go up when you pet them?
Do the English people eat English muffins, or are they just called muffins?
How much deeper would the ocean be if sponges didn’t grow in it?
Why are dogs noses always wet?
Why do people say “heads up” when you should duck?
If one man says, “it was an uphill battle,” and another says, “it went downhill from there,” how could they both be having troubles?
Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
At what point in man’s evolution did he start wiping his ass?
Do bald people get Dandruff?
Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
Why do superheros wear their underwear on the outside of their clothes?
If you get cheated by the Better Business Bureau, who do you complain to?
If you blew a bubble in space would it pop?
How come all of the planets are spherical?
Why do they put holes in crackers?
What do people in China call their good plates?
How come toy hippos are always blue, or purple, when real hippos are brown?
Why don’t woodpeckers get headaches when they slam their head on a tree all day?
If someone owns a piece of land, do they own it all the way to the center of the earth?
Why do they say a football team is the ‘world champion’ when they don’t play anybody outside the US?
Do stuttering people stutter when they’re thinking to themselves?
If you put a chameleon in a room full of mirrors, what color would it turn?
What are the handles for corn on the cob called?
Why do British people never sound British when they sing?
Why do we press the start button to turn off the computer?
Do sheep get static cling when they rub against one another?
How old are you before it can be said you died of old age?
If K.F.C Stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Why do they play sweet home Alabama on the comercials?
If people with one arm go to get their nails done, do they pay half price?
What type of animal is Snuffaluffagus?
If you had a three story house and were in the second floor, isn’t it possible that you can be upstairs and downstairs at the same time?
Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?
Why do they call it “getting your dog fixed” if afterwards it doesn’t work anymore?
What happens when you put a lightsaber in water?
On Gilligan’s Island, how did Ginger have so many different outfits when they were only going on a 3 hour tour?
If I had my legs amputated, would I have to change my height and weight on my driver’s license?
If nobody buys a ticket to a movie do they still show it?
How do you tell when you run out of invisible ink?
Do movie producers still say lights, camera, and action when it is a dark scene?
What do you call male ballerinas?
How does Freddy Kruger wipe his butt?
Why are the numbers on a calculator and a phone reversed?
Why are plastic bears the only animal you can get honey from? Why can’t you get honey from a plastic bee?
Can bald men get lice?
Do butterflies remember life as a caterpillar?
If you undergo chemotherapy do you lose your pubic hairs?
Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
Does the postman deliver his own mail?
Why does toilet bowl cleaner only come in the color blue?
What happens when you put hand sanitizer on a place other then your hand?
Why are women and men’s shoe sizes different?
If prunes are dehydrated plums, where does prune juice come from?
If there’s an exception to every rule, is there an exception to that rule?
When you’re caught “between a rock and a hard place”, is the rock not hard?
Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
If there were a thousand seaguls in an airplane while its flying, each weighing two pounds a piece, but they were all flying in the airplane, would the airplane weigh 2000 pounds more?
If you soak a raisin in water, does it turn back into a grape?
How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
Why do they call steam rollers, steam rollers? They don’t produce, get rid of, or have anything to do with steam.