What She Learned About Her Pillow Will Have You Running To Do Laundry

A Chinese woman had an incredibly unfortunate experience that will make you check your bedding.

The woman named Xu had red and itchy eyes for two years. She had been treating this with over the counter eye drops. She may have dismissed her irritated eyes as being caused by allergies, but it was something far more disgusting.

Her eyes finally got so swollen, she couldn’t even open them. That’s when Xu headed to the hospital. Doctors found mites in her eyelashes. In fact, many mites were found. 100 of the critters had made their home in her lashes. Amazingly, a single lash had 10 mites.

Xu was diagnosed with blepharitis, a condition where bacteria and oily flakes gather at the base of the eyelashes. She also had conjunctivitis, which is better known as pink eye. But, this was all preventable.

She had been sleeping on a dirty pillowcase. In addition, she didn’t regularly remove her eye makeup to sleep. These eyelash mites “thrive on the natural oils produced by the body,” so Xu was creating the perfect environment for them with her sleeping habits. She was setting the table for their feast and reproduction.

The doctors removed the mites from her eyelashes and gave her medication to treat the pink eye.

An estimated 50% of Americans have eyelash mites. Much of this can be combatted by regularly washing your face before bedtime and making sure all eye makeup is removed. If you do have mites, you can remove them by simply using tea tree oil or a baby shampoo that doesn’t make you tear up.

Xu had apparently been sleeping on a dirty pillow and pillowcase for five years. It’s important to make sure you swap those out to ward off mites.

Share this to warn others to remove their eye makeup and regularly change sheets before sleeping!

Source: This Is Insider