RED ALERT

The surprising reasons for a flushed face. This week: Skin mites TINY, eight-legged mites known as demodex, which measure just a fifth of a millimetre in length, can be found on the forehead, cheeks, sides of the nose, eyelashes and external ear canals.

Up to 41 per cent of us may have them in our eyelashes, according to a 2014 study in the journal Archives Of Medical Science, although in most cases we don’t know it.

They normally don’t cause symptoms and lead a harmless, parasitic existence feeding off oil in the hair follicles.

But, if there are too many of them — more than five per square centimetre — they can trigger demodicosis, causing red, sensitive and itchy skin.

TREATMENT: Washing the area with soap and water usually helps. If not, doctors may recommend over-the-counter or prescription creams that contain ingredients such as benzyl benzoate to reduce the spread of the mites.