APR 2026
Demodex blepharitis may be more common than expected. In this video, European eyecare experts discuss its prevalence, clinical impact, and why the signs of Demodex mite infestation may be hiding in plain sight. Look for collarettes along the lash line and take the next step toward identifying Demodex blepharitis, including prior to refractive surgery.
0:05 – My name is Mayank Nanavaty, and I work as a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Brighton, which is in United Kingdom.
0:12 – Obviously ocular surface is bread and butter in the clinics.
0:17 – So Demodex is quite common actually, unlike my belief before I started working on the subject, but Demodex basically is a mite which stays in the hair follicles.
0:29 – Most of us will have some amount of Demodex in our bodily hairs, but if you get these on the eyelashes it can lead to collarettes which is just collar-like sleeves forming around the base of lashes.
0:43 – This is basically excreta of the mite which can cause irritation, inflammation, itching, rubbing and ocular surface problems.
0:52 – My name is Eric Mertens.
0:54 – I’m a vision correction surgeon and I’m based in Antwerp, Belgium.
0:59 – Demodex blepharitis is seen frequently in my patients and surveys also have shown that about 60% of our patients in Europe and abroad have signs and symptoms of Demodex blepharitis.
1:15 – So I think it’s very important for us as eye doctors to look for it.
1:20 – Demodex is seen in all ages.
1:22 – People diagnosed to have blepharoconjunctivitis, which in my opinion is a very broad term, often do have these collarettes in the lashes with irritation, inflammation on the surface of the eyes and young ones coming for refractive surgery until the age of 60 of having these on anecdotal examinations and findings and typically majority of the patients are seeing collarettes on beyond the age of 70 years, mainly coming for common surgery such as cataract surgery.
1:54 – Demodex blepharitis is frequently associated with dry eye disease and also with meibomian gland disease.
2:01 – In many cases we find that.
2:03 – So it’s very important to address this before doing refractive surgery or surgery in general.
2:10 – My name is Filomena Ribeiro.
2:12 – I’m from Portugal, Lisbon.
2:14 – I’m head of the department of Ophthalmology of Hospital de Luz in Lisbon.
2:19 – I also teach in the University of Lisbon and the Catholic University, and I’m the current president of ESCRS.
2:29 – It’s something that’s really surprised us as clinicians because when we are looking for signs of Demodex blepharitis, you can really be surprised if you pay attention.
2:44 – As a refractive surgeon, we need to be aware of this.
2:49 – So we need to check always our patients for Demodex blepharitis.