What happens if left eye flutters

This is the most common type of eye twitch. It is often due to fatigue, stress, caffeine, or irritation on your cornea. Benign essential blepharospasm is a rare condition that develops in adulthood. It can cause your right, left, or both eyes to close involuntarily. In some cases, it may get worse and cause light sensitivity, blurry vision, or facial spasms. A hemifacial spasm is an even more rare type of eye twitch. It is usually caused by an artery pressing against a facial nerve.

It causes your eye, cheek, mouth, and neck muscles to twitch. There is no official known cause of eye twitching. However, it has been linked to many issues, including:.

In more rare cases, eye twitching is caused by a serious medical issue, such as:. Eye twitching happens when the eye muscles spasm involuntarily. It is commonly caused by factors like alcohol, caffeine, fatigue, bright lights, stress, and others. Conditions like Bell's palsy, multiple sclerosis, tourette syndrome, and Parkinson's disease can also cause eye twitching.

For most people, eye twitching is not a serious issue. However, you should seek medical attention if any of the following occurs:. It is quite rare , but eyelid twitching can be a symptom of a brain or nervous system disorder. However, eye twitching can be a symptom of a neurological condition, nerve disorder, or a virus. It's more common to be the symptom of a nervous condition than an eye disease. Eye twitching can be a sign of a stroke. You should not panic and assume you are having a stroke if your eye twitches.

Instead, evaluate your medical condition for other concerns occurring simultaneously. Eye twitching accompanied by other symptoms may be a sign of of a transient ischemic attack TIA. TIA is also known as a mini-stroke. TIA occurs when there is a temporary blockage of a blood vessel in the brain. Symptoms of TIA include:. These symptoms almost always occur on only one side of the body. Ask an Eye Doctor. Why is My Eye Twitching? Causes of Eye Twitching Most people will develop some type of minor eyelid twitch in their lifetime, as there are a variety of external factors that can account for twitching eyes.

Treatment for Eye Twitching If you feel your eyes begin to twitch, take a look at your recent lifestyle choices. Twitching lasting longer than 72 hours, that completely closes an eyelid Spasms that involve other facial muscles Redness, swelling, or discharge from an eye or a droopy upper eyelid This article was reviewed by Dr. Contact Contact Us.

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Facial muscle spasms: an Australian study. Matthews, B. Robb-Nicholson C By the way, doctor. From time to time, my eyelids twitch.

What causes this, and is there anything I can do about it? Harvard women's health watch, 17 9 PMID: Roberts, H. The views expressed are those of the author s and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. You can follow AiP on Facebook. Follow Krystal D'Costa on Twitter.

Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science. The superstition has multiple parts and meanings depending on which eye is affected: If your right eye jumps, you are going to hear good news. If your left eye jumps, you are going to hear bad news Roberts If your right eye jumps, someone is speaking well of you. If your left eye jumps, someone is saying bad things about you.

Roberts If your right eye jumps, you'll see someone you haven't seen in a long time. It is officially classified as benign essential blepharospasm BEB , a phenomenon that can be disruptive in severe cases causing functional blindness: The condition is progressive with the early symptoms being irritation and discomfort in the eyelids causing an increase in the blink rate, which can progress over time to frequent, forceful involuntary and uncontrollable closure of the eyelids Kowal et.

Celeste Robb-Nicholson advises a writer of ways to cope with "eyelid twitching": There are several things you can do to ease the spasms.

Close the eye and apply a warm compress—or try pulling gently on the lid. Get more sleep, and reduce your caffeine and alcohol intake. If the twitching occurs while you're reading or using a computer, relax your eyes occasionally by focusing on something in the distance. If your eyes are dry or irritated, use lubricant eyedrops 8.