Eye twitching or myokmia in its medical term is the involuntary twitching of the eye. It refers to the abnormal blinking of the eyelids, which is due to the uncontrolled contractions of the muscles around the eyelids. Sometimes it is also called the eye muscle spasm. Although it is not painful, it can be irritating and annoying, the reason why eye muscle twitching causes have to be known.
When to Seek Medical Help
Eye twitching comes and goes unpredictably and eye twitching reasons can sometimes be difficult to find out. Sometimes they don’t come in a few days or weeks or even months because eye twitching stops on its own.
There are rare cases when eye twitching symptom is an early sign of a chronic movement disorder moreso when there are other facial spasms that develop aside from just the twitching of the eyes. For a more violent and severe twitching which entails the entire side of the face, this is a condition called hemifacial spasm.
Constant Under Eye Twitching Reasons
Everybody can have this disorder and there are a various reasons for eye twitching. In the absence of eye twitching causes such as having a different condition or a disease, this can happen to anybody from time to time when the cause of eye twitching is unidentifiable. The unidentified reason for eye twitching is sometimes associated with the prolonged use of caffeine, alcohol, or cigarette smoking. Other causes would include:
- Stress
- Fatigue
- Irritation of the inner eyelids or the eye surface
- Lack of Sleep
- Physical Exertion
In benign cases of myokmia, the causes of eye twitching would also be unknown. But this condition is known to precede or occur in conjunction with these other conditions:
- Blepharitis
- Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)
- Dry Eyes
- Light Sensitivity
Rare Causes of Under Eye Twitching
There are nerve and brain disorders that are the eye twitching causes especially when it is accompanied with other signs and symptoms. These are very rare cases and these conditions are the known causes of eye twitching:
- Bell’s Palsy
- Dystonia
- Cervical Dystonia
- Parkinsonism
- Tourette Syndrome
- Benign Essential Blepharospasm