Twitching under the eye, known medically as blepharospasm, is usually not, by itself, a serious condition. It is usually caused by one or more factors that make up a person’s lifestyle, such as fatigue, stress level or diet. To treat the twitching, its cause or causes must be isolated and corrected. In rare instances, under eye twitching can be caused by nerve disorders.
The main culprit in under eye twitching is lack of sufficient sleep, so if a person gets enough rest over time, the twitching should resolve itself. Fatigue is closely related to stress, another cause of twitching. Stress can result in lack of sleep. When a person is experiencing significant stress or anxiety in his or her life, eye twitching is often one of the symptoms. One of the first strategies in treating this problem should involve reducing stress level and getting plenty of rest.
Diet can play a role in muscle spasms under the eyes. Twitching under the eye is sometimes caused by nutritional imbalance or deficiency. Anyone concerned about nutritional deficiency should strive to eat a healthy diet and should talk to a medical professional before taking vitamin supplements. Other dietary factors that contribute to eye twitching include excessive use of caffeine or alcohol.
Twitching under the eye can also be the result of vision strain. People who spend a great deal of time reading on a computer screen often experience it. The condition might also be the result of needing correction of vision, such as eyeglasses or contact lenses.
Additional causes include dry eyes and allergies. Dry eyes are often a byproduct of aging, but the condition can also result from excessive use of caffeine or alcohol or spending too much time looking at computer or television screens. Allergies of the eye can cause twitching along with swelling and watering of the eyes.
In rare instances, twitching under the eye or an eyelid twitch may be caused by a neurological disorder such as Tourette’s Syndrome. Another condition that causes under eye twitching is hemifacial spasm, which is caused by nerve injury and manifests as involuntary muscle spasms that affect one half of a person’s face. Anyone who is experiencing under eye twitching that gets worse over time should seek help from a medical professional to make sure that the condition does not constitute a symptom of a serious medical problem.