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Dr. Reckell describes the most common cause of eye twitching.
Dr. Reckell:
Well the most common cause is stress. We have nerve receptors, or what’s call the trigeminal nerve, it’s a nerve that extends from our ear and it has branches that go to the upper lid, the lower lid, the upper lip, the lower lip and when we have stress, there are muscles overlying that tend to clench up and those muscles, when they clench, will push on that trigeminal nerve and the endings start to have an irritation, that kind of twitch sensation.
So again, stress is the most common reason and people don’t realize that they are under stress at the moment. They just feel that twitching. So when it happens to realize most likely it is stress, to try to do some deep breathing, possibly massage the temples, take it up and walk around, you know, and just realize you have to just calm yourself in anyway that you can.
Now there are some health disorders that can be related to a twitching. There can be a focusing disorder, many different focusing disorders that the eyes are strained and that extra strain can lead to that twitch. So you should have a complete eye exam and see if there’s any focusing problems that are related to the twitch.
Other things can be an environmental irritant, dry eye, allergy and just that irritation there can set off those nerve endings and start to have a twitch there as well. So, with that you can use an over-the-counter lubricant; put the drop in, rinse, relax the eye; that can help there. If it was focusing, to be prescribed the appropriate eyewear that will relax that strain from the focus and again, stress-related to realize, do some deep breathing, maybe some massaging, do something to relax your stressful, a healthy way to relax from your stress.
About Dr. Susan Reckell, O.D.:
Dr. Susan L. Reckell graduated from Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris University in 1984. She holds optometry licenses in Arizona and Michigan. With more than 23 year of experience, she currently works as an optometrist at Riviera Opticare Inc.
Visit Dr. Reckell at Riviera Opticare Inc.