(Relaxnews) – If you suffer from the skin condition rosacea, a new study may lead the way toward better treatment. Scientists from the National University of Ireland have discovered that mites living on your face may be responsible for the condition.
A review of studies supports a link between rosacea — a condition in which the skin is inflamed and becomes reddened — and the bacteria that is inside the Demodex folliculorum species of mites, which live in the pockets of skin that surround facial hair follicles.
While that may not be too comforting a thought, many people have these mites on their faces, but rosacea sufferers may have more.
A bacteria that lives inside of these mites, called Bacillus oleronius, is released when these mites die. The researchers found that for people with rosacea, the bacteria then triggers an immune reaction.
"Once the numbers of mites increase, so does the number of bacteria, making rosacea more likely to occur," study researcher Dr. Kevin Kavanagh, of the National University of Ireland, said in a statement. "Targeting these bacteria may be a useful way of treating and preventing this condition."
The researchers suggest a possible treatment for rosacea may lie in reducing the number of these mites that live on the face, so as to decrease the amount of bacteria that is then released onto the skin.
The research was published online on August 29 in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.
According to the Mayo Clinic in the US, the cause of rosacea is not officially known, though it is thought to be exacerbated by temperature, exercise, certain drugs, hot or spicy drinks or food, sunlight, and stress.