If you find that you regularly get eye twitching, you are not alone. This is one of the most common problems that people get with their eyes, and it is something that you are going to find happens from time to time as long as you live. However, depending on the underlying circumstances, an eye twitch can either be something very serious, or just a momentary issue that you don’t need to worry about. There are many possible reasons why your eye twitches, including:
- Stress
- Fatigue
- Strain
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Dry eyes
- Nutritional problems
- Allergies
In this article, we will look at each of these in turn and look at various options to combat eye twitching, whilst providing an understanding of the causes in the hopes that you can take steps to prevent it in the future.
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The Causes
The most common causes of eye twitching are as follows;
1. Fatigue
If you have not slept well for a while, then you might find that your eye twitches. In fact, for many people this can happen after merely one night of not sleeping well. Whatever the cause of your sleep deprivation, you will want to think about what you can do to get some more sleep, and therefore hopefully do away with your eye twitching for good.
2. Stress
If you experience a great deal of stress, then you are going to experience some persistent eye twitching along with that. Everyone suffers with stress, but an abundance of it is never going to be a good thing, and it’s something that you will need to think about improving. Reducing stress and learning to relax are both going to be important in keeping your eye from twitching excessively.
3. Strain
If you strain your eyes a lot, then that too can cause a lot of eye twitching. It might be that you have been looking at a screen too much, or that you have new glasses that you are not used to yet. In any case, it is something that you should try to avoid if you want your eye to stop twitching. If you look at a screen too much, try to avoid that.
4. Caffeine
For those who drink a lot of caffeine, this might be obvious, as it is just one of the many physiological effects of drinking too much caffeine. If you think that your eye twitch might be caused by this, then you should find ways to reduce your caffeine intake. In particular, you should aim to keep it to one or two coffees a day, if possible. That is going to help your eye twitch to subside.
5. Alcohol
Similarly, drinking too much too regularly can cause the same problem. Many studies have shown that alcohol can have an effect of making your eye twitch, and it might even do it the day after too, even once you have stopped drinking for the night. So avoiding alcohol over-consumption could be an important factor in ensuring that your eye does not continue to twitch too much.
6. Dry Eyes
From time to time, it is possible to get dry eyes. When this happens, a natural bodily response is for the eyes to itch more, and that is something that you are going to want to be aware of. Dry eyes can occur as a result of the aging process, and that happens for around half of the population. Or they can be as a result of specific medication, or because of computer use. In some cases, it might be caused by something like glasses or lenses. If you have dry eyes regularly, it’s important to identify the cause and overcome it.
7. Nutritional Problems
With specific nutritional deficiencies, the eyes can become dry and itchy. In particular, it might be that your diet is lacking in magnesium, a key thing that can be found in most healthy diets. So eating healthily could help you to avoid itchy eyes in some cases, though the jury is out on this one.
8. Allergies
Finally, if you have itchy eyes it might simply be that you are allergic to something. Hayfever sufferers know this too well, as do those who are allergic to their pet’s fur. It can be hard to find the cause of your allergy, but in the meantime you can take antihistamines and see if that fixes the problem.
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Dealing With Eye Twitches
Of course, you will mostly want to know how you can possibly get rid of an eye twitch. Actually, this should be pretty straightforward in many cases, but it does of course depend greatly on the cause of the twitch. You should firstly therefore look through the list above and see whether any of that seems like a likely or possible cause of the itch, and then that might lead you to an obvious solution. However, if that doesn’t work and your eye twitching persists, you should make sure that you seek out medical advice, as you might need a different solution provided by them instead.
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Serious Causes
In rare cases, the cause of an eye twitch might be a result of a much more serious cause. That could be an eye condition like conjunctivitis, or something like Bell’s palsy. It might even be as a result of MS or Parkinson’s in some severe cases. Obviously this is statistically less likely, but it’s something to be aware of. If you are worried about any of this, or if your eye twitch persists despite all else, you should see an optician or doctor.
All in all, if you are concerned about your eye twitching, you should think about visiting an optician like Belsons. They will be able to help you get to the root of your problem, and to provide you with possible solutions for them in good time too. Clearly, that is going to be something that you are glad for, especially if it means the end of your eye twitching for good.
