When I thought this was makeup I thought it was crazy cool but when I found out it was a tattoo all I could think about is how painful and dangerous getting your eyeLIDS tattooed would me. I mean, one wrong slip with the needle and you’re blinded! Or you just got free Lasik!
This morning I spent several minutes staring intently at my own face. I wasn’t putting on makeup or popping zits* or even watching the color of my eyes lighten inexplicably. Rather I was watching my right eye spasm annoyingly every few seconds. Have you ever tried to put on mascara while your eye jumps around like Kriss Kross (may he rest in denim-clad peace)? Yeah, no.
I have an eye twitch. It sucks harder than 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife. (Apparently I’m reliving my 90’s youth in song today. Feel free to finish this line in the comments!) And you probably know exactly what I’m going through because it seems like everyone gets the twitchy-twitchy at some point in their lives. Heck, even the wizard of all wizards Gandalf gets an eye spasm every time the ring “talks” in the movies.
It’s the worst. First, because I can see it and feel it every time it twitches, by day’s end I want to punch myself in the face. Second – and this is even worse – because no one else can see it! It’s like my own secret horror. Third, because eye twitches generally connote some kind of severe stress, mental imbalance or evil bent – at least in cartoons – and I think they might be right. On all three counts.
So I did what I always do when I have a medical condition I can’t solve with Airborne or acidophilus (seriously those two things alone take care of like 95% of my illnesses!): I Googled it. It turns out there are a lot more reasons besides stress and being a cartoon character that cause eye twitches. And because there are so many ways to develop one, there are lots of different ways to fix it. And you’ll be surprised to learn what actually helped me! I’d never heard of this cure before but as of this writing (10:30 at night) I’m twitch-free for the first time in two months.
And because I, I love you like a love song, baby, I’m sharing the top 10 causes of eye twitches and how to treat them.
Cause: Stress
Cure: The number one reason for a twitchy eye, or eye spasm, according to Dr. Monica L. Monica M.D., Ph.D., (nope, not a typo – she has the same first and last name. I didn’t ask her about it in our interview as I didn’t think it would be professional but I’m still kinda dying to know how that happened.) a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, is stress. “Typically, the patient presents with the twitching for a week or so when something is troubling them, they are in final exams, or just not sleeping well.” In most cases she says the twitching resolves on its own within a couple of weeks once the stressful situation ends. In the meantime you should make every effort to reduce the stress in your life or practice other coping techniques like meditation.
Cause: Fatigue
Cure: “We all know how important rest is but it is just as important to actually believe it,” Dr. Julie Miller, Eye specialist and cosmetic surgeon with Associates in Plastic Surgery in New Jersey, explains. And your eyes need adequate rest just as much as the rest of you!
Cause: Jaw Clenching or Teeth Grinding
Cure: Some people tighten their jaw or grind their teeth in their sleep, called bruxism. Some people meaning me. Turns out this is my problem. I’ve always bruxed (bruxised?) but apparently all the strain on my jaw muscles caused my eye to twitch! (And I’m guessing all my stress with the move and everything probably made me clench my jaw more.) Taking steps to prevent it, like wearing a mouthguard at night, is the first thing to do. (Except I hate wearing mine.) In the meantime, doing a little self massage on your jaw – both inside and outside your mouth really helps. Sure it sounds a little icky to be sticking your fingers in your mouth but I swear it really helps!
Cause: Caffeine or Alcohol
Cure: The stimulants in caffeine and the relaxant properties of alcohol can both bring on a twitchy eye, especially when used in excess. “I know it is unrealistic for me to tell my patients to stay away from caffeine and alcohol,” Dr. Miller says. “But if you are have suddenly increased your normal intake you may want to scale back.” Also, when it comes to your liquid intake, it’s important to stay well hydrated with pure water and to stay away from real and artificial sugars,” adds Dr. Katrina Wilhelm, a board certified naturopathic physician.
Cause: Dry Eyes
Cure: Dr. Jeremy Fine, MD, a Los Angeles-based concierge doctor, says overly dry eyes “can be a result of getting older, contact lenses or certain medications.” He suggests changing your contacts as often as prescribed, and checking the side effects of any medications you take. Another trick you can try, according to Dr. Benjamin Ticho, MD, a board certified ophthalmologist and a partner at The Eye Specialists Center, is to “distract the brain by placing artificial tears or cold water in your eye.”
Cause: Eye Strain
Cure: Eye strain is caused from a number of things, Dr. Miller explains. Not wearing sunglasses on a bright day, not wearing the proper eyeglass prescription, sitting at your computer for hours on hours without an anti-glare cover over the screen, and smartphone or tablet useage are some of the most common reasons. “Give your eyes a break! Put on sunglasses, wear your eyeglasses and step away from the devices,” she adds.
Cause: Mineral Deficiencies
Cure: According to Dr. Fine, a magnesium deficiency is the most common nutritional imbalance leading to eye twitches. If the twitch persistently recurs or is really bothering you he suggests getting your magnesium levels tested and if you are deficient, an over the counter supplement is quick and easy. (Another good source of magnesium? Dark chocolate!)
Cause: Allergies
Cure: As if your eyes aren’t already irritated enough during allergy season, sometimes all that pollen can make you twitchy too! “Be aware of allergy season and be sure to take your allergy medicine and keep your eyes hydrated,” Dr Miller advises.
Cause: “Essential” blepharospasm means your eye is twitchy for no apparent reason.
Cure: “Eye twitching is more common than you think. Nine out of 10 times it is nothing to worry about, it’s just more of an annoyance than anything else,” Dr. Fine says. The most common “prescription” is simply time. But if it’s really driving you nuts, you have one more option: Botox! Just like it freezes your muscles from making wrinkles, it can also freeze the muscle that is spasming. “Botulinum toxin lasts 2 to 6 months,” Dr. Ticho explains. “Botox was ‘invented’ by a pediatric ophthalmologist to fix crossed eyes [and] I’ve been using it successfully for more than 20 years.” Dr. Fine adds that it’s important to find a qualified professional to do this since improperly administered botox can make your eye droopy.
Other Causes: Sometimes an eye twitch can be indicative of a larger medical problem. Hypoglycemia, Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s Syndrome, and neurological dysfunction can cause your eye to spasm.
Cure: If you’ve tried all the above remedies and haven’t found relief and/or have other worrisome symptoms see your doctor immediately. Also, when I was researching this piece for Shape (an excerpt appears on their site) I got a really sweet note from a man telling me about his lifelong struggle with being bullied for his Tourette’s Syndrome of which his eye tic was one of the most notable features. So if you need support resources for eyelid twitching associated with Tourette’s, check out Mark Horner’s site.
Any of you had an eye twitch? What worked for you to stop it? How do you feel about zit-popping: Love it or hate it?
*I actually can’t stand to pop my own zits or watch others pop theirs. I think I was scarred by watching a guy pop one at the gym so hard that it splattered on the mirror on the weight floor. Full-body shudder inducing. You’re welcome.
‘It’s meeting the man of my dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife!”
Those tattoos freak me out!!!!!
I used to have a pretty severe eye twitch. I was also having panic attacks, so stress was the obvious cause. And yes, they were thoroughly annoying. Especially when I was onstage, in the middle of a show. Grrr!
But, hey! Moving isn’t stressful! Especially when you’re moving to a different state, with 4 kids and 2 pets, into temporary housing until your new (fab-looking!) home is ready.
Really.
What’s so stressful about THAT?!?!
Wait-
My eye just started twitching…
I love tattoos by wow! Imagine when this girl growsup or when she passes away and her eyes are forever closed… that’s what people will see.
As far as the eye twitching….I was thinking mine that’s driving me nuts is from stress. I was googling to see if that seemed right. But I also grind my teeth, I drink caffeine and alcohol…. Who knows why I’m doing it then. I just hope it stops soon.
The commenter above basically said what I was going to say! But Charlotte, if eye twitching is the worst/only sign of stress you’re having, that’s pretty amazing.
And I want to know what the girl at the top looks like when her eyes are open. That’s really a permanent tattoo?
It’s scary to think of the risks of getting a tattoo like that.. but even worse to think of what she would have to go through to get it removed!
Seriously, my preferred remedy for an eye twitch would be chocolate 🙂
…I’ve not had an eye twitch that lasted any longer than an hour or so, but I get leg twitches and cramps sometimes, and I find magnesium works really well. Magnesium “oil” – that thick solution that you apply to the skin – works fast. (Though you might not want to put it on your eye, because it stings on sensitive skin at full strength – like salt.)
Oh yes…right before I defended my thesis and I was running on 4 hours of sleep and loads of coffee I started getting annoying eye twitches. I was told it was stress and lack of sleep and caffeine all rolled together and that I should cut back, which of course I couldn’t just then…but thankfully after I was done they went away. It was 3 odd weeks of annoying twitchy eye tho. Made me feel like I was about to go crazy at any moment…
Well this is a relief! I’m perfectly normal! OK Relatively normal! I had a very stressful period in my life recently and I got the eye twitch. No problem I get it, stress. Unlike every other time I have had it this time my eye twitching happened several times a day for a week. Of course I am overly dramatic so I was ready to make an emergency stop at the doctor’s clinic because clearly I’m dying.
It went away before for my dramatic nature could overcome my lazy nature.
I’m an optometrist and I get at least one patient per week who comes in with the complaint of eye twitching and this basically reads as exactly what I tell them. A cold compress on the eye can help relax the muscle.
On a somewhat related note, I had a patient yesterday who had the same first and last name(and it was a normal girl first name). She had met a man who had her first name as his last name and had married him and taken his name. I think I would’ve kept my maiden name in that scenario.
Oh boy. It all started with an eye twitch. It ended with thousands of dollars in hospital bills because I though I was dying. Which I wasn’t. Turns out it was just my stress-y self giving myself over 100 body twitches a minute. Did you know the end of your nose can twitch? Or inside your ear? It can. And it is nerve-wracking. And it will make you feel like you are probably dying of ALS or something horrible…I have a long history of dealing with stress in kooky and dangerous ways (EDs, Hypochondria, insomnia, you name it), but the winter I was twitching was the kookiest. I finally took a trip to my chiropractic neurologist, he ran a red and white checkered strip of cloth in front of my left eye, and within the day the twitching almost completely stopped. It was…surreal. Turns out there was probably a little part of my brain that gets stuck in the “on” mode, and makes my body react in crazy, unfun ways. That particular form of stimuli can jolt that little brain part out of it’s endless loop of stress reactions. (Sounds crazy, I know. But it worked! I did some research on the brain/body connection, and it makes sense to me now.) Now I know, and I have ways to turn that little part of my brain “off” if it gets “stuck” again. I also needed sunlight, a rare commodity in Minnesota in December and January. I also needed to quit my extremely stressful job, which I did. Together those things stopped the twitching. Twitching is annoying, but rarely fatal. It took me 4 months and many doctor’s bills to figure that out…Hang in there Charlotte. Hang in there. This too shall pass and soon you’ll be back to a new normal.
A twitchy eye was one of my first pregnancy symptoms with all three of my kids, I’m guessing because of fatigue. Now whenever I get an eye-twitch, I’m like, “uh-oh”. 🙂
That eyelid tattoo is going to haunt me!
I never imagine getting a tattoo ever because they are painful and your body will look like dirty. This article makes me quiver seeing the woman had her eye-twitch with a tattoo.
I had no idea that so many things could cause twitchy eyes!!!
The last time I was around my twin brother, his eye twitched almost all the time – he chalked it up to stress. Maybe he should have it checked out.
I’m glad you resisted punching yourself in the face. Well done. 🙂 Such restraint. (You are so damn funny, Charlotte. Thanks for making me laugh.)
Gaye
I used to love that song. Side note, my sister got married on a rainy day and I had that song playing in my head all day.
I’ve had chronic eye twitching since I was a kid. I’ll have to give some of your ideas a try. I’ve long accepted it as being just a quirky thing about me. Maybe I’m like a mutant in X-men where I have a cool super power or something 😀
Thank you for 2 song lyric quotes!! It’s like you’re talking to me from a few states away!! My eye twitches when I’m stressed, so it’ll start soon since I’m soooo behind on algebra (devil math)! I miss you princess!!
The eyes scare me! I can’t believe they are permanent.
Didn’t realize that dry eyes could cause eye twitching! haha thanks for sharing!
I’ve suffered from twitching eyes and my Doctor told me it could be potassium imbalance. His advice of drinking 2 – 3 glasses of coconut water for the day made the twitching go away 🙂
Ah yes, the coconut water! Nah nah nah! You will not be able to leave the bathroom, maybe! Not everyone is so effected but if you are, watch out!
What an awful tattoo!!! I thought it was really cool makeup and was also happy until you said tattoo! Eye twitches are horrible and they always strike when you’re already stressed! Hope you have less stress the next few weeks!
Wow, I didn’t know that it was common for people to have eyelid twitches. And I’m amazed with the picture of the tattoo on the eyelid. Wouldn’t that hurt, I meant your eyelids are pretty thin.
It’s amazing what just an extra hour of sleep can due. When I was having sleep issues and sleeping 5 hours a night, I was constantly having eye twitches. When I went to 6 hours a night, (I don’t need more), within weeks the twitching stopped.
Great information! I’ve rarely had this happen to me so I haven’t really looked into it. I can imagine it would be horrible for someone who has it happen quite often.
I have been getting a twitchy eye every year, in the late summer, for 25 years (I’m in my 50’s)! I have never linked it to stress, so I am assuming it is allergies. It drives me crazy for a few weeks every year. Strangely, it usually starts when I’m leaning over, like brushing my teeth.
Had Botox shots in my eye lid to make the twitching stop. It was going for four months, making me crazy.
Went to my eye doctor and she wanted me to have a brain MRI. Even though I have had the same thing at times all my life, usually lasting several months. This time a kindly plastic surgeon gave me Botox on the upper lid. Two days later, all gone. Relief spelled Botox.
It seems very very few ophthalmologist will actually do the Botox shots for the eye twitch. Mine told me that there is a specialist that does that. She told me she will not do it. What is notable is that Botox is approved for Crow’s feet wrinkles? Women go get shot with Botox around their eyes all the time. But Ophthalmologist are too afraid to do that. However, it is the only thing that really works once you have had it for about 4 weeks.
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Love what you wrote lol..My eye is twitching as I write this and it is Sooo ANNOYING!! When I see my doc tomorrow I will ask her about it because,ahhh I don’t know how much more of this constant twitch I can stad..
Great to read all the info on the eye twitches. Wish mine would go away. Have been suffering with it on and off daily for a few months. Very very frustrated. Read the different causes but seems I could one or several of them so there is no way to figure it out. Uggghhhh just want it gone already. 🙁
Going on two weeks of eye twitch. I work 12 hour shifts staring at a computer and two weeks ago I found out my job may be classified as redundant. I am going to go with the stress diagnosis. Good to know I can rule out my original fear of rare exotic disease.
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Great to read that others are also being driven mad by eye twitches!! ive had one in my left eye for a few weeks now but in the last few days my right eye has joined in on the action!! soooo annoying and its weird, I feel like the detective in the pink panther at this stage!! mine must also be a mix of stress, coffee and alcohol!!
the eye tattoo is crazy, must have been so sore!! how weird when shes sleep with those big eyes staring at u!! Cant imagine why anyone would want that permanently there!!
Pingback:Causes and Remedies for Eye Twitches | Organic Health
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I had an eyelid twitch for 8 months straight last year and tried everything to get rid of it. It started on the bottom lid, then moved to the top lid too and got to the point where the bottom lid would even quiver every time I smiled. I swore if I ever got rid of it, I would come back to some of the sites where I was desperately looking for help and post what worked for me, so here I am with an update. I tried tonic water (worked temporarily), magnesium and other supplements, getting more sleep, avoiding the computer more, putting moisture in the air…nothing worked. Then after a huge argument I removed someone from my life who had been causing me a lot of chronic stress, and literally overnight, the eyelid twitch was gone. I hadn’t realized I was that stressed out. So my advice would be to take a good look at your life and see if there is something you are not dealing with that you know you should be. Stress comes out in weird ways sometimes. I seriously thought I had MS or something because I have never had an eyelid twitch that long before. But I think in my heart I knew I was being taken advantage of and needed to deal with it, I just didn’t know how.
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Aww thank god I’m not the only one that’s suffers from a twitching eye, every day on and for for weeks on end I honestly got to the point where I was diagnosing myself with everything that could possibly be bad possible. I’m going to now stop stressing about it as it is probably stress that brought it on and won’t go because clearly I’m not stressing about it.
I know this is an old article, but I thought I would let you know that I enjoyed reading it! You’ve compiled some good info here.
I also wanted to add that my dad had the eye twitch for a long, long time; he decided to start eliminating things from his diet to find out what the trigger was. It ended up being an aspartame allergy. He drank tea and/or coffee with Equal in it every day, and chewed Ice Breakers sugar free gum, both of which contain aspartame and maltodextrin. So it may be worth a shot to try an elimination diet when trying to figure out the cause of the twitch!!
Isn’t it “EYE”ronic?
Stress, lack of sleep, too much Cafine/Alcohol, dry eyes…. where do I start?
That tatoo is a real Eye Opener! Sorry….
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Medication for eye Twitching