eye twitch

[actollinger]

I have had an eye twitch in my right eyelid for three weeks now. It is mainly the lower eyelid. The twitch does not make my eyelids close at all, instead the muscle just sort of moves back and forth like an accordian. It has gotten to the point now where it doesn’t sporadically twitch on its own unless I voluntarily blink and/or close my right eye (does not twitch every single time I blink) or sometimes if I yawn. I went to the eye doctor and my primary doctor. Both of them said that twitches like this are almost always stress related. I read several sites on the internet about eyelid twitching and several talk about Bleauphorospasm and how some people develop a twitch that gradually gets to the point where the eyelid stays shut for several hours at a time. It is scary to read about this because you can’t help but think about it after having a twitch that won’t go away. Anyways I am concerned because the twitch mainly happens when I voluntarily blink or close my eye. After about 30 seconds it stops twitching and it doesn’t happen every time I blink, but it seems to me that a true twitch just happens without any obvious triggers, such as blinking your eye or winking.

[Forum-OD-MP]

the most common cause for an eyelid twitch (called myokymia) is either stress or lack of sleep, but some folks get it for no reason ("idiopathic").  a warm compress will stop it temporarily.  i have also had success Rx-ing topical eyedrop antihistamines like optivar, zaditor, patanal & elestat.  its an "off-lable" use (meaning those drug were not DESIGNED to treat it, nor do they claim to do so) but they work pretty well.

if it does not eventualy go away, you could, in fact have blepharospasm.  thats damage to the facial cranial nerve from a former viral infection or old car accident or something of that nature.  if that were the case, i usually recommend BOTOX injections, the same type of treatment some people use to reduce facial wrinkles.

good luck!  and dont worry to terribly much, as this is usually not a dangerous or life/sight/eye threatening condition...

[quoting]

My eye has been twitching for about 3 weeks now. My eye doctor gave me some cream called aclovate cream.