Vibrations of the eyelid, the so-called bouncing eyelid is usually caused by fatigue or stress. Sometimes, however, a twitching eyelid may indicate more serious disorders, including severe neurological diseases. What are the causes of eyelid twitching and how to treat them?

Vibrations of the eyelid , the so-called bouncing eyelid means fast, involuntary, repeated eyelid movements caused by contractions of the eye's circular muscle.

This muscle is responsible for tightening the eyelids. Vibrations most often affect the upper eyelid, but the lower eyelid may also be twitching. In most casestwitching eyelidhas no serious cause.

However, in a few cases, especially when the vibrations are accompanied by other symptoms and it lasts quite a long time (several weeks), various diseases can be suspected. Less often they are eye diseases, more often they are neurological diseases.

Vibrations of the eyelid - the most common causes

  • Magnesium deficiency - then irritability, nervousness, palpitations, insomnia, fatigue and repeated muscle contractions or eyelid twitching appear,
  • Fatigue (after a sleepless night, after exercise),
  • Stress,
  • Stimulants (excessive amount of coffee, alcohol, cigarettes),
  • Irritation of the cornea, caused, for example, by long-term gazing at the screen of a computer or telephone, when the eye blinks less frequently - it leads to drying out of the so-called tear film,
  • Irritation of the conjunctiva (e.g. as a result of allergy to grass pollen),
  • The effect of taking certain medications.

Twitches of the eyelid - eye diseases

Rarely the cause of eyelid twitching may be ophthalmic diseases, e.g.

  • Blepharitis - is characterized by chronic inflammation involving the edges and skin of the eyelids, thyroid glands and eyelash follicles. Symptoms in most patients include: burning, swelling and itching of the eyelids, discharge covering the eyelash follicles, and a feeling of sand in the eyes.
  • Corneal erosion - is a defect within the corneal epithelium. Pain symptoms, redness of the eyeball or visual impairment appear.
  • Dry Eye Syndrome - your eyes are red and sting, you are dazzled by the light, and looking is painful.
  • Congenital glaucoma - excessive watery eyes,sensitivity to light, as well as trembling or tightening of the eyelids. If an infant or toddler shows these symptoms, consult an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

Twitches of the eyelid - half facial spasm

Half facial spasm is the involuntary contraction of the muscles on one side of the face. The disease appears gradually, with spasms of the eyelid initially, then spreading to other areas on the same side of the face (cheek muscles, lips and chin) and neck.

Half facial spasm occurs when the patient has a rather characteristically twisted face, which is associated with:

  • with a strong blink of the eye,
  • stretching the lips on the same side,
  • forehead contraction,
  • raised eyebrow.

Some patients hear a peculiar noise due to the contraction of the small ear muscle during contraction.

Twitching eyelid - Bell's palsy

Bell's palsy is a spontaneous paralysis of the facial nerve (ie VII cranial nerve). The essence of the disease is the sudden weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles on one side. Symptoms of the disease are:

  • facial asymmetry with facial movements - the patient has the impression that the face is stiff and something is pulling it to one side,
  • open eyelid, which makes the patient difficult to squeeze the eyelid and close the eye,
  • lowering the corner of the mouth on the side of the damage, which resembles the condition after a stroke - the patient cannot grin, whistle, inflate his cheek, saliva may flow from the corner of the mouth,
  • smoothing the forehead, the patient cannot wrinkle it,
  • smoothing the nasolabial fold.
Important

Vibrations of the eyelid - alarming symptoms

  • Long-term vibrations (lasting more than a week) or frequent vibrations,
  • Vibration or contraction of other muscles of the face, neck or other body parts,
  • Drooping eyelid,
  • Forced closing of the eye,
  • Coexistence of conjunctival or corneal irritation (redness, burning in the eye, tearing or unusual discharge),
  • Vibrations extremely bothersome.

Twitching the eyelid - multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a disease in which the structures of the nervous system are damaged. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are various types of neurological problems. Due to the nervous system damage that occurs in the course of MS, patients may experience such ailments as:

  • sensory disturbances (e.g. paraesthesia),
  • imbalance,
  • gait impairment,
  • pain,
  • unilateral visual acuity disturbance,
  • Lhermitte's symptom (in which, after the patient's head is bent to the chest, the patient feels as if an electric current is passing through his arms and to the lower body towards the back),
  • trigeminal neuralgia,
  • increase in muscle tone and related muscle contractions,
  • chronic fatigue,
  • urination and stool disorders,
  • sexual dysfunctions (e.g. erectile dysfunction in men or decreased libido in patients of both sexes),
  • memory, concentration and attention impairment,
  • muscle tremors,
  • dyzartria,
  • dizziness,
  • sometimes symptoms of transverse myelitis.

Eyelid twitches - Tourette's syndrome

Tourette's syndrome is characterized by multiple motor and verbal tics (uncontrolled activities). It usually occurs in children between the ages of 2 and 15, although statistically most cases are recorded at the age of 7.

A characteristic feature of the Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is the simultaneous occurrence of motor and vocal tics. The former are fast, non-rhythmic, recurring involuntary movements - simple or complex. The simple ones (sticking out the tongue, blinking the eyelids) involve contraction of one group of muscles. Complex ones involve more muscle groups, create a sequence of movements, and can make the impression of being deliberate (spitting, touching another person). Sometimes they take the form of obscene gestures or self-aggressive behavior (e.g. biting the tongue).

Eyelid twitches - treatment

If eyelid twitching is caused by a disease, treatment depends on the cause.

If a possible cause of the trembling of the eyelid is a magnesium deficiency, make up for the deficiency in the body. Cocoa is a rich source of magnesium, as well as buckwheat, white beans, dark chocolate. Diet and meal composition have a great influence on the absorption of magnesium.

In the case of supplementation with medicinal preparations with magnesium, it is worth choosing the form of an enteric-resistant tablet, which has a special coating and protects the content of the tablet against the acidic environment of the stomach. This ensures that the magnesium ions go to the small intestine, which is the place of their most effective absorption.

You should also ensure good quality and duration of sleep (6-7 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night is recommended), avoid drinking alcohol and energy drinks, smoking cigarettes and drinking too much coffee. You should reduce your stress levels, and it's a good idea to use all sorts of relaxation techniques.

If the problem isvery burdensome, you can use an injection of botulinum toxin (botox) in the eyelid area. This results in paralysis of a part of the muscle that lasts up to several weeks. This procedure is not performed on children.

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