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You'll Never Look At Your Pillow Case The Same Again

10 January, 2018 - 10:47pm by - Head Pixie | 16 Comments

By BR Amelia

I am officially washing my pillow case daily. And I'm airing out my home as much as possible.

What's got me all extra with the cleaning?

This article from The Daily Mail.

We're not putting up the images, because, bleurgh. But in a nutshell a woman went to her doctor complaining of having itchy red eyes.

No biggie. Conjunctivitis is a thing. It happens.

EXCEPT on examination it was discovered that the woman had over 100 mites living in her eyelashes. 

It turns out she hadn't changed her pillow in five years. The doctors also said lack of airflow would have contributed to the mites taking up residence in her eyelashes.

That poor woman. I feel for her. But I also had to know more. What are eyelash mites? Since when have they become a thing? And how have we not heard about them until now?

After a little googling I discovered it's not unusual for mites to reside on our faces and mostly we co-exist without issue - and if you want to fall into a geeky mites on faces hole, check out this BBC article (be warned you may feel fascinated and ill all at the same time) - but 100 mites in your eyelashes? No. Thank. You.

So what can we do to keep our lashes mite-free?

According to Consumer Health Digest prevention is key, and we can avoid a mite infestation with some very simple tips.

  1. Firstly, cleanse daily. Let's just say I'll be paying closer attention to my eye area from now on.

  2. Throw away old mascara and makeup (something we harp on about regularly).

  3. And regularly clean and replace bedding and pillows.

 

Three easy steps to ensure you don't wake up one day with swollen, itchy, red mite-invested eyelashes. 

So will you be stepping up your cleaning regime? Will you be buying a new pillow? Is your makeup stash about to get the biggest clean out ever? Get chatting!

Comments

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15th January, 2018

Yikes, eyelash mites that doesn't sound good. I do wash our bedding in what I consider a good time frame but after reading this will definitely wash even more regularly eek

14th January, 2018

Oh my god that is disgusting! I would think hay wearing mascara and removing it each night would prevent this as you're cleaning your lashes each time

14th January, 2018

Yes especially with having cats that want to share the bed with me and it being flea season here. My partner likes to keep the same fitted sheet on for ages and I am like ewwww

13th January, 2018

I wash my bedding once a week so I think I’m ok . I could imagine not washing my pillow cover for that long lol Why is it so hard to let go of mascara lol . I cleanse daily no probs there.

12th January, 2018

I use a latex pillow which is more hygenic and a pillow protector with a treatment for dust mites and stuff like that. I don't wash my pillowcase every week because it's silk but I handwash that every two weeks. My eyes have actually gotten more itchy and irritated from spf moisturizers that were reformulated and too strong for my eye area. I switched to and spf eye cream and the redness and irritation was gone.

12th January, 2018

Ew ew ew eeeeewwwww! It sounds like this woman was an extreme case though.

11th January, 2018

Ew gross! I didn’t know that was a thing! I’ve washed my pillows from time to time but I think I’ll be doing it more often now

11th January, 2018

I change my pillowcases weekly and iron them too. I love the feeling and smell of clean,fresh, crisp linen Plus, the heat from ironing helps kill anything... ialso air my pillows weekly. I do think this lady needs to practice basic hygiene though....yuk!

11th January, 2018

That is gross to read and I am glad I have a good regime in place for all 3 steps above.

11th January, 2018

Eek I've watched docos on these mites - urg makes me want to scratch!!!

11th January, 2018

That BBC article was a fascinating read! I was already aware that they exist and most people have them. I'm scrupulous with cleansing and changing bedding, so as long as I can't see them, it's all good. I do however think about them everytime my eyebrows itch or I'm talking to students with crusty eyelashes lol.

11th January, 2018

Gross..that freaks me out. Will be re going through my eye makeup collection later on

11th January, 2018

I’m going to be paranoid every time I have an itchy eye!! BTW, I do change my bed linen weekly...

11th January, 2018

It says hadn't changed her pillow not her pillowcase. Im not sure anyone would go 5 years without changing a pillowcase lol so I am guilty as I've got a couple pillows that are older. Ewwwwww!

11th January, 2018

I think not washing the pillow case for 5yrs is extreme and I would suggest it was not the only thing that wasn't clean. Most people wash bed linen every week and enjoy the nice feel of fresh sheets and pillow cases. Good to look at basic hygiene though and be aware makeup and mascara is a risk.

Koni
11th January, 2018

The UK article states pillow case - quite a concern right? Ick.

Lisa-Lou
11th January, 2018

Yes yuck indeed!!

tannygirl
12th January, 2018

I had a couple older pillows on my bed but I think if you regularly air and sun them out then it's less likely you would have problems. Also using latex pillows where dust mites have a harder time living would probably make it difficult for those

tannygirl
12th January, 2018

eyelash mites too. I've had a latex pillow for more than five years but haven't had issues with mites. Also if you sun and air out your pillows regularly they probably won't be really enjoying their time on your pillows.

Nicolef
11th January, 2018

I have the same reaction when people talk about nits Maree... lol

MareeB
11th January, 2018

Eeeeeeee me too! I was glad when my kids grew out of getting them!

tannygirl
12th January, 2018

Yes I can't imagine how someone could go a whole five years not thinking to wash their pillowcase.

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