Ongoing Eye Twitch

Hi,

I have had a twitch going on under my upper left eyelid since August 2007.  I have been to 2 eye doctors who did not see anything medically wrong with my eye and yet this irritating twitch seems to continue all day long mostly with blinking.

The twitch seems to move from one side of the lid to the other, currently being in the inner most corner and is very irritating my eyeball.  I do not get this twitch if I hold my eyelid away from my eyeball.  I do wear contacts, but feel this twitch whether I wear them or not.  I have continuously washed out my eyes but nothing is relieving.

Is it possible that I have a contact stuck in the eye that I can't see or some sort of ingrown eyelash or something between the lid and the eye that could move around and cause this twitch?  I have searched for a contact and sometimes think I see one, but nothing comes out.  I am afraid to injure my eye.

Thank you for any advice.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Use Google and search and read about the term "myokymia". If you have been to 2 eye doctors and at least one was a MD eye physician ophthalmologist is very unlikely there is a problem with a lost contact or eyelash.

If you have not seen an Eye MD see one soon find one at www.aao.org

JCH III MD

[obsidianoceans]

I know this is a really old post, but I recently had this problem as well and FINALLY found a solution for myself!

I had an on-going eye twitch that I just couldn't seem to get rid of. My eyes were a bit sore and red, lots of times felt like I had an eye lash stuck in there that I just couldn't get out or like something was constantly irritating them. I finally sucked it up and went to an ophthalmologist (NOT AT ALL the same as an optometrist, don't think for a second that you'll get the same treatment and expertise!!! this was also a mistake I learned the hard way) and after a quick routine check-up and some non-invasive tests, was diagnosed with Allergic conjunctivitis. (an eye infection in the same family as pink eye, but a little different)

i've always had some allergies from pollen and stuff, but nothing too bad, so I never really made the connection. you can also develop new allergies as you get older, things can come and go, as well. Allergic conjunctivitis is basically an eye infection that develops inside your eye lids and inflames the capillaries and surrounding tissues. if it gets bad enough, it can also inflame the surrounding nerves and cause them to fire on their own, therefore making the muscles in the same area tense and twitch. it's very hard to self-diagnose as your eyes don't really look any different unless the infection gets really bad, and even then to the naked eye it just looks like you have irritated eyes and need to sleep or use some Visine. i was put on a 10-day treatment of some very strong steroidal eye drops to knock the infection down, and then was given a sample of Bepreve to use as needed through the rest of allergy season. (Zaditor is a similar product that will help prevent the infection from coming back after it's gone.)

Zaditor helped my twitches somewhat before I saw the ophthalmologist, and she said my infection was simply too far along and Zaditor wasn't quite strong enough to completely take it away. So if Zaditor relieves your symptoms even a little bit, definitely go get checked out, get the right meds to knock the infection out of there, and then just keep on it with a good OTC anti-histamine eye drop. i hope this helps anyone who might see it in the future. i suffered for 4 months with non-stop twitching, and it turned out to be something that was easily taken care of with the right doctor's help!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Treatments for myokymia are like treatments for hiccups.  Almost everything has been tried; nothing works for everyone; some things work for some people. Glad Zaditor helped. It's bo innocuous and relative inexpensive.
JCH MD