Eye twitching is something that almost everyone has experienced at one point or another, and for most people it represents a very temporary and mild annoyance. Although most cases only last for a few minutes, in some cases eye twitching can last for days, or even longer. It is in these situations where seeking the help of an optometrist is necessary. There’s a lot more to eye twitching, though – in this article, we take a look at what eye twitching is, what causes it and what you can do to prevent it to help give you a better overall understanding of the issue.
The basics related to eye twitching
If you’ve ever seen your optometrist in Malvern about a bout of eye twitching, you might have heard of it as being called “myokymia.” This is the medical term for eye twitching, and it is important to know that experiencing myokymia over a longer period of time you might actually be experience a serious neurological condition. These conditions include things like blepharospasm or hemifacial spasm, and while they remain relatively rare overall, they require immediate treatment. For less serious examples of eye twitching, these might be triggered by common things such as stress, fatigue, dry eyes, eye strain (such as when working in front of a computer for a long period of time), allergies and also things you might ingest. It may also be related to a nutritional deficiency, which is why you should consider closely all of these factors and decide which may be affecting you in the event you regularly experience eye twitching. It is believed the most common cause of eye twitching is stress, but this cause can be easily remedied by mindfulness-related activities such as yoga, breathing exercises and spending a bit more time away from work and with close friends and pets.
More causes of eye twitching
If you’re finding that you can’t find the time for a good amount of sleep, that might explain any recent eye twitching – fatigue and eye strain related to computers cause tired eyes to twitch more than they should, and rest is the simple solution for both of these problems. It might be a case of what you’re putting into your body that might be causing twitching – caffeine and alcohol are notable causes of eye twitches, so if you have been drinking too much of either – or both, even – it might be a sign to cut back. If you’re finding that there are no other concrete causes of your eye twitching, it might be because your diet is lacking in some way. A magnesium deficit is a very common cause of eye twitching, but if you believe that it is something related to nutrition, it’s always a better option to consult an optometrist before you purchase supplements.
Are you experiencing allergies?
As you might expect, rubbing eyes when they’re irritated when plants are pollinating during spring doesn’t do your eyes any favours, so rather than doing this for health issue relief it is often better to instead look into eye drops. This way histamines aren’t released into your eyes, so you can stop both your constant eye itching and eye twitching! Just be careful that the drops don’t make your eyes too dry, as this will also cause twitching – sometimes you just can’t win.
