Migraine and eye twitching 2024
Migraine is a neurological problem that is related through genes and your family. Twelve percent of persons have migraine. Twenty-five % of women, and six % of men have migraine. The frequency of eye twitching is not reported but is rare in clinical neurologic practice.
Eye twitching is a benign, bothersome medical symptom. Sometimes eye twitching will come with a migraine.
This is an article by Britt Talley Daniel MD, retired member of the American Academy of Neurology, Migraine textbook author, Podcaster, YouTube video producer, and Blogger.
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Migraine and eye twitching occasionally occur at the same time. Migraine does not cause simple eye twitching, but Migraine and eye twitching both relate to stress and insomnia.
Eye twitching is a separate neurological problem from benign essential blepharospasm which blocks vision because of eyelid closure and is classified as a dystonia. Benign essential blepharospasm does not relate to or occur with Migraine.
Related questions:
What is migraine? Migraine is a primary headache disorder with recurrent moderate to severe headaches which may be one sided, throbbing or pulsing, and associated with nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, or sound. As a rule, an individual migraine lasts 4-72 hours. Migraine headaches are worsened by activity and the affected persons wants to lie down or sleep.
What is eye twitching?
This is called blepharospasm. The lid is called blepharo and to spasm means to twitch or draw up.
What causes a migraine attack?
A migraine may be set off by certain events, called migraine triggers.
Migraine triggers are:
Stress
Freedom from stress
Estrogen drop which occurs the third week of the normal menstrual cycle
Estrogen based birth control pills or estrogen patches or estrogen intramuscular injections
Sleeping too little
Sleeping too much
Barometric pressure change
Dieting or missing meals.
Red wine and specific foods
Too much caffeine
Stopping caffeine
Stress-too much to do, no time to do it.
What causes eye twitching?
lack of sleep
eye strain (a lay term, commonly used, a vague symptom)
dry eye
too much caffeine
stress or anxiety
driving long distances
irritation from allergies, pollution, or chemicals
exposure to bright lights
Are there medications that worsen eye twitching?
antihistamines
calcium channel blockers
dopamine agonists
noradrenaline
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
antipsychotics or neuroleptics
The patient should not stop any medication without first talking to their doctor.
What is meant by “eye twitching?”
Twitching of the eye is an involuntary movement that can affect one or both eyes. It is usually a single or a short run of twitches, lasting seconds only. Sometimes it will draw the eye closed and interfere with vision briefly.
Eye twitching does not cause pain and is not a concerning neurologic symptom indicating something wrong with the brain.
Eye twitching is an involuntary movement that can cause one or both eye lids to contract suddenly and briefly. It is thought to be caused by muscle spasms from muscles around the eye.
That twitchy old eye
What is the duration of the eye twitching? Individual twitches last seconds and may vary from person to person and event to event. The twitches or spasms are usually intermittent over minutes to half an hour. Some persons develop twitching from close visual observation such as reading or watching TV. Twitching may come on and off during the day. It may be there for intermittently during one day and then disappear for months.
Why do migraine and eye twitching come together at times?
Migraine and twitching of the eye can relate to stress, poor sleep, or too much caffeine. Persons who develop eye twitching present to the world a facial constitution of worry, with chronic contraction of the muscles around the eye, forehead, and jaw. Just as a jogger can get twitches (myoclonic jerks) in their leg muscles after running, a person who holds their eye and facial muscles tightly a lot may later develop eye twitching.
How to treat eye twitching.
hot compress
rest eyes, lie down, take a nap
exercise
change life plans-destress
gentle eye lid massage
take benzodiazepine tranquilizer if you doctor agrees
What is benign essential blepharospasm?
This is a different problem from the rare, brief eyelid twitching with migraine as discussed in this post. Benign essential blepharospasm is a more concerning, chronic neurologic problem wherein the patient has a dystonia, which means there is an usual increased tone in the eye muscles which open and close the eye. This condition often causes complete eye closure and blocks vision , making it a more serious problem.
With benign essential blepharospasm, the situation is chronic, and symptoms are present daily over the years. The symptoms are not intermittent, like with eye twitching as discussed here.
This is a more severe neurologic problem and may be treated with Botox injections given by specially trained neurologists which releases muscle tone so the eye can open. This condition causes ptosis which means that the eyelid itself drops down, covering the pupil and preventing vision.
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Although this site provides information about various medical conditions, the reader is directed to his own treating physician for medical treatment.
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All the best.
Britt Talley Daniel MD