Ticked off about your eyelid tic?
Dr. Anthony Youn, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Michigan, is sharing three ways to stop the pesky twitching.
“It happens to so many of us,” Youn said Friday in a 12-second TikTok. “The treatments are to get more sleep, reduce the amount of caffeine intake and if all else fails, Botox injections can take care of it.”
Myokymia is the scientific term for the temporary spasms that mostly affect the lower eyelids. The common condition occurs when the orbicularis oculi, a muscle that surrounds the eye and closes the eyelids, contracts involuntarily.
It “is the fastest-working muscle in the human body, so when it goes into a spasm, it goes into a spasm,” Dr. Stephanie Marioneaux, a Virginia ophthalmologist and a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, told The Washington Post in July.
The quivering is usually harmless — it has been linked to stress, fatigue and caffeine consumption.
ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton recently said that adjusting your lifestyle by sleeping more “is probably going to help you with your eye twitching more than any medication could.”
Adults should aim for seven to nine hours of nightly slumber — poor sleep can lead to diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and depression.
“Twitching is a signal by your body asking you to slow down,” Dr. Raj Maturi, an Indiana ophthalmologist, told The New York Times.
Well+Good reports that eyelid wiggling may also stem from an electrolyte imbalance, as magnesium and potassium help muscles function; eye strain from staring at a computer for too long; certain medications, including some for Parkinson’s disease; or blepharitis, which causes eyelid irritation and swelling.
Other less common causes include neurological disorders like Bell’s palsy, multiple sclerosis or a hemifacial spasm.
See a doctor if the twitching lasts longer than a week or is accompanied by other symptoms.
As the fluttering is happening, you may find relief from artificial tears, lubricating eyedrops, eye massages in the shower or a damp, warm washcloth before bed, according to the New York Times.
For its part, Botox can help relax the muscles that cause the twitching.
