Diet for demodicosis is an important part of treatment. With this parasitic disease it is impossible to cope with only medications. The demodex tick feeds on subcutaneous fat. The secretion of this substance largely depends on the use of certain foods. In addition, demodicosis occurs mostly in patients with a weakened immune system. To strengthen the immune system, good nutrition is also required. Next, we will consider in detail the principles of diet for this disease.
What is demodicosis
Normally, a demodex tick lives on human skin. It has microscopic dimensions. If the number of individuals on the skin does not exceed the norm, then this does not lead to pathology. In a healthy person, demodex does not penetrate the skin. Under certain conditions, the tick begins to multiply actively. Usually this is preceded by a decrease in immunity. Demodex penetrates deep into the skin and parasitizes there. There is a disease - demodicosis.
In the skin form of pathology, the tick lives in the sebaceous glands and feeds on their secret. With an ocular form, the parasite penetrates the eyelash bulbs and eats their protein - keratin. Most often, demodex is found on the face and eyelids.
Mite vital products cause an allergic reaction. The skin form of the pathology is manifested by the following symptoms:
- the appearance of acne;
- severe itching of the skin, especially in the evening and at night;
- shine of the skin due to excessive secretion of fat;
- redness of the affected areas;
- proliferation of the wings of the nose.
With the ocular form of demodicosis, the following clinical manifestations are noted:
- eye fatigue;
- redness and inflammation of the skin on the eyelids;
- the formation of a sticky film on the eyelashes.
A tick can be detected using a special study. A skin scraping is taken for analysis and the number of parasites per 1 cm 2 of the epidermis is counted. If the number of adults is more than five, then the diagnosis is considered confirmed.
Rosacea
Often, patients believe that rosacea and demodicosis are the same disease. This is an erroneous opinion. Rosacea (rosacea) is not a parasitic pathology. The disease occurs due to the expansion of the vessels of the face and is accompanied by reddish rashes on the face.
However, rosacea often provokes the development of demodicosis. Favorable conditions are created on the affected skin for increased tick activity. Therefore, these two pathologies often occur simultaneously in one patient.
The principles of the diet for demodicosis and rosacea are very similar. Both diseases are accompanied by inflammation of the skin and require the restriction of the same products.
Treatment
With facial demodicosis, doctors prescribe local anti-mite drugs (ointments, gels, shampoos), and with demodicosis of the eyelids, eye drops. They destroy parasites. A diet for demodicosis is necessary to maintain a good state of immunity and skin, as well as to create adverse conditions for the reproduction of a tick.
Is it possible to cure demodicosis with just one diet? This question is often of interest to patients. Diet is a very important part of treatment, but it can not replace drug therapy. It is impossible to get rid of a tick with just proper nutrition.
What contributes to the development of the parasite
Let's try to understand the conditions conducive to the active reproduction of the tick. This will help to better understand what these or other restrictions on food associated with the diet for demodicosis are associated with.
The following factors can provoke active reproduction of Demodex:
- decreased immunity;
- increased secretion of the sebaceous glands;
- excessive consumption of fatty and sweet foods;
- bowel disease;
- skin inflammation;
- hormonal disorders.
The diet for demodicosis of the face or eyelids should be built in such a way as to reduce the harmful effects of these factors.
General principles of diet
We can distinguish the following principles of therapeutic nutrition in demodicosis:
- Food should be rich in vitamins A, C and group B, as well as proteins and amino acids. This will help strengthen the immune system.
- Food should contain enough fiber. Such food stimulates the intestines and the removal of toxins.
- Dishes must be boiled or baked; frying is not allowed.
- Complex carbohydrates are recommended.
- You need to drink at least 1.5 liters of fluid per day.
- The patient should eat fractionally and not overeat.
- Simple carbohydrates are limited. A sweet environment is favorable for tick propagation.
- Food should be hypoallergenic and not contain histamine and thyroxine. Allergen-absorbing products are also limited.
- All foods with artificial food additives are prohibited. They can also trigger allergies.
- The use of salt and food that irritates the stomach is limited.
- Easily digestible carbohydrates are excluded from the diet, as they contribute to the inflammatory response.
- It is necessary to minimize fat intake. Such food contributes to excessive greasy skin.
If the patient worsens the symptoms of demodicosis, then it is necessary to switch to a dairy-vegetable diet. At the same time, only fermented milk products and permitted vegetables and fruits are allowed. All other dishes should be excluded. Such a strict diet should be followed for about 7-10 days. Then your diet can be gradually expanded.
Allowed Products
Strengthening the body's immunity is one of the main goals of the diet for demodicosis. What can I eat? The food rules provide for rather strict restrictions, and the list of allowed products is not large. However, this does not mean that nutrition in demodicosis should be scarce. Those products that are approved for use contain all the necessary substances to maintain immunity. They are rich in vitamins, proteins and healthy carbohydrates.
The diet for demodicosis of the face for every day allows a wide variety of vegetable dishes. It is allowed to eat zucchini, eggplant, squash, potatoes, any kind of cabbage, onion, garlic. It is not limited to the use of leafy vegetables (lettuce, asparagus), as well as greens and legumes. These foods are high in fiber and allergen free. Vegetables can be boiled, baked or steamed.
Hypoallergenic types of fruits and berries are allowed: peaches, nectarines, pears, black currants, gooseberries. They will help saturate the body with vitamins necessary to maintain immunity.
From protein foods, it is recommended to eat low-fat fish, veal, rabbit meat, chicken breast and turkey fillet.
Nutritionists recommend using cereals (buckwheat, oatmeal), crackers, whole grain bread, unsweetened dry biscuits, pasta for demodicosis. These foods contain healthy complex carbohydrates.
Of fats, vegetable oils are allowed to be consumed predominantly. As for butter, it can only be eaten in limited quantities.
To maintain normal intestinal microflora, fermented milk products are recommended: kefir (fat content not more than 0.1%), bio-yogurt without additives, low-fat cottage cheese. Cheeses with demodicosis are prohibited. But you can eat the tofu soy product. It is rich in protein and tastes like cheese.
The diet involves the use of a sufficient amount of fluid. It is allowed to drink green tea, a rosehip broth, freshly squeezed juices from permitted vegetables and fruits, mineral water and chicory.
Conditionally Approved Products
These products should not be included in the daily menu. In a diet with demodicosis, they are not completely banned, but they can be eaten in small quantities and not daily.
Conditionally approved products include:
- sweets: jam, sugar, jams, ice cream, sweets, confectionery;
- White rice;
- salt;
- semolina.
With special care, you need to eat sweet dishes. Such nutrition creates favorable conditions for the reproduction of Demodex in the body.
Prohibited Products
Patients with demodicosis must completely abandon the use of first courses in meat and mushroom broth. Only vegetable soups are allowed.
The following products are also completely excluded from the diet:
- butter baking;
- red meat;
- mushrooms;
- pickles;
- sausages;
- fat meat;
- eggs
- canned food;
- animal fats;
- cream;
- sour cream;
- high fat cottage cheese;
- seafood (except seaweed);
- marinades;
- smoked meats.
Such food is heavy for the stomach and contains a lot of fat. This can trigger an exacerbation of demodicosis.
Citrus fruits are rich in ascorbic acid. However, they are contraindicated in patients with demodicosis, as they are highly allergenic. They can not be consumed even in small quantities. To saturate the body with vitamin C, you need to drink a rosehip broth daily or eat allowed fruits and berries.
For the same reason, vegetables, fruits and red berries are prohibited:
- carrot;
- Tomatoes
- red bell pepper;
- mango;
- red apples
- Strawberry;
- raspberries;
- Red Ribes;
- cranberry.
Cheeses are also prohibited, as they can cause allergies.
With demodicosis, spicy food is extremely harmful. Therefore, spices, seasonings and mayonnaise must be completely eliminated.
It is necessary to pay attention to the composition of the products. If the food contains artificial nutritional supplements, then its use should be discarded.
With demodicosis, you can not drink coffee, black tea, energy and sweet soda. Such drinks contribute to the absorption of allergens. Under all prohibition is alcohol in any dose.
Sample menu
How to make a sample menu for the week? The diet for demodicosis imposes many limitations. However, even from a small list of allowed products, you can make a varied and tasty menu.
You should eat at least 4 times a day. For breakfast, it is recommended to eat cereals on the water and low-fat cottage cheese. For taste, you can add pieces of allowed fruits and berries to them. If a person is used to drinking coffee in the morning, then it can be replaced with green tea. This drink also contributes to vigor and activity.
Light vegetable soups are prepared as a first course for lunch. On the second, you can boil chicken breast, turkey fillet, rabbit meat or veal, and as a side dish cook vegetable stew or mashed potatoes in water.
For a mid-morning snack you can eat fruit and drink a glass of kefir with crackers or unsweetened dry cookies.
For dinner, fish dishes with buckwheat or mashed potatoes are recommended. It is useful to make a salad of vegetables. As a dressing, you can use only vegetable oil. People who are prone to allergies, it is better to use not fresh, but boiled vegetables for the salad.
With eye form
Does the diet for demodicosis of the eyelids differ from the nutrition rules for the skin form of the disease? After all, demodex, which lives in the eye region, does not eat subcutaneous fat. Should fats be excluded from the diet in this case?
The eyelids are also equipped with sebaceous glands. With demodicosis, the skin in the eye area is inflamed. Strengthening the production of fat is extremely undesirable, this can aggravate the irritation of the eyelids.
Therefore, a patient with lesions of the eyelids and eyelashes needs to adhere to the same food restrictions as with the skin form of demodicosis. Abuse of fats can lead to blockage of the sebaceous gland on the eyelid. This will cause severe inflammation and complicate the course of demodicosis.
Diet duration
It is often difficult for patients to follow a fairly strict diet with demodicosis. How many days do you need to adhere to food restrictions? This question interests many.
The diet must be observed for at least 2 months. The nutritional rules should be followed not only in the acute period of demodicosis, but also for some time after recovery. As the condition improves, the diet can be gradually expanded. It must be remembered that demodicosis often recurs, and any malnutrition can lead to tick activation.