I noticed that there are a lot more posts from a few years ago than recent ones. Do you think it’s just because doctors are more aware that demodex infestations can happen to regular (non-immunocompromised) people than they were before? So, people are getting treated more quickly and not having to resort to the internet to search for answers? Have there been any recent studies about demodex to put it more on doctor’s radars?
After reading the posts on here I feel really lucky that the dermatologist I saw realized pretty quickly what it was and gave me the ivermectin cream. I hope that’s also happening for more people!
I don’t know. I know when I was “cured” a year and a half ago, it was because I had been on this forum and asked about Soolantra. I don’t think he was going to prescribe it if I hadn’t known about it and asked. In three visits never did the word “demodex” come up. He had me off on all sorts of tangents that were not helping at all. Haven’t had to go back to a dermatologist since, though maybe they’ll make me since I notice my last tube is getting low and I’ll need another prescription soon… Since then I haven’t had a need to come back here, other than to occasionally reply to posts.
I think that the more posts accumulate on this forum, the less people will post, when they are able to find the info they are looking for. Creating sticky forum posts about effective treatment and such, can further reduce new posts. Also when there are no recent posts, the forum looks less active, which reduces the chance that new members will post. I often see that when someone posts, the forum looks more active, the system then sends forum summaries to members, which will also trigger people to post. So if we are active, others will also become active
Doctors are becoming familiar with Soolantra, which exists since 2015 (if I recall correctly). So it’s currently probably easier to get it from the doctor than when it was just released. But I don’t think many doctors are aware of this disease, because there is no clear name for it, and I haven’t found a medical study about it.
Ok, I think there’s a name for what we have! I just did a quick google search and found demodicosis. (As a totally gross aside, this is what causes mange in dogs.)
It’s mostly about dogs, but, interestingly, it talks about how dogs with demodicosis have low levels of zinc and copper. The main active in sudocream is zinc — maybe that’s why it helps? Gonna keep reading…
