Eyelid twitching is a common complaint that from patients. You are often very concerned about the health of their eye. The medical term for twitching is called myokymia. It can occur on either the upper or lower eyelid and it is a repetitive involuntary spasm of the muscle.
If you are experience this, Dr. Stanley Grandon, Dr. Cindy Wang or I can perform a comprehensive eye examination to determine the health of your eye. We will focus on the surface of the eye to make sure that it looks healthy.
Twitching can be caused by many things. Some causes include stress, fatigue, dry eyes, blephartis (inflammation of the eyelid), too much caffeine, irritants in the environment and a foreign body touching the eye. Certain medications can also cause eyelid twitching sometimes.
It is important that we treat the underlying cause of the twitching. If signs of dry eyes or blepharitis is detected then we can initiate dry eye or blepharitis treatment. This may include over the counter drops, prescription eye drops, lid hygeine, warm compresses and ointments. We will determine what treatment is best for your condition. If a foreign body is detected, removing it may help also. It is important for you to minimize irritants in your environment also.
Is It Serious?
Usually twitching is not the sign of a serious underlying problem. If the spasms become chronic, you may have what’s known as benign essential blepharospasm. This is the name for chronic and uncontrollable blinking. This can sometimes be treated with injections into the muscle area. Very rarely, eye twitching may be a sign of certain brain and nervous system disorders. Most importantly, it is almost always accompanied by other signs and symptoms. Conditions that can cause this include Bells Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Tourettes and Parkinson’s Disease.
In summary, most of the time eyelid twitching is not the sign of a serious medical condition. Treating the surface of the eye can be helpful.