# Why does my eye twitch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2001, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132 "2001-11-08T04:20:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![barking\_frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@barking\_frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barking_frog)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/1 "2001-11-08T04:20:37Z")
I don’t know when it started, but for the last few weeks my right eye has been twitching periodically. I don’t know if it is my eyelid or eyeball that is actually moving, and while my vision doesn’t vibrate or anything when it happens, it does feel like it is my eyeball. FWIW, I’m a 16 year old male and have never really had any eye problems nor twitching problems. Also, during the day I don’t really care, but at night I can’t stand white light in my room–I use softer (i.e., the ones that glow orangish) lighting for my room (e.g., those Ikea lamps). BTW, I heard that there are many possible causes for eye twitching, and that it is fairly common, but it’s just that for the last few weeks it really has become increasingly common and therefore I was just wondering if it is anything I should be worried about. Also, it is only my right eye that twitches. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/2 "2001-11-08T15:05:49Z")
Eyelid twitching is common, usually due to nerves or stress. I get them occasionally, too, but they don’t persist for two weeks. Sometimes as long as two days, and never at night. Having said that (I hate that expression, but I use it anyway), if you’ve had this problem for two weeks, I suggest you see an eye doctor. IANAMD, and I’m sure one will come along with better info. But my ophtalmologist, with whom I play tennis, said that it’s nothing when I mentioned it to him while I got the twitch playing a set with him. ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/3 "2001-11-08T15:14:50Z")
I second **barbitu8**. I had an eyelid twitch that lasted off and on for a month. The eye doctor said it was most likely stress and not to worry about it. Since you say that you are also having problems with light I also suggest you go to the doctor anyway and get your eyes checked. You should do that every couple of years even if you don’t notice any problems. ---
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/4 "2001-11-08T15:44:49Z")
My eye twitches BIG-TIME when I get stressed out. It started in college on my first finals week. It only twitches periodically. I mean, it might twitch a lot for 2 weeks, and then it doesn’t do it for two months. I’m back on the twitch at the moment, and since this has been going on for so long, I am able to tell that it IS caused by stress. My work has been stressing me out, hence the eye twitching. I can usually get it to stop by having my husband softly massage my scalp. The thing is, which looks worse: my eye twitching, or my husband massaging my scalp?? 🙂 Haha It’s kind of a toss up. :):)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/5 "2001-11-08T16:17:19Z")
Probably stress, and no big deal, but if you haven’t had your eyes examined in a long time, the twitch would be a dandy excuse. OTOH, you don’t happen to work with anyone named Clouseau, do you? RR ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/6 "2001-11-08T16:50:00Z")
Like others have said, it’s probably nothing, but your doctor can tell you for sure. I had the same problem a few years ago, and the doctor that I saw then advised me (after bloodwork and stuff-I’m a hypochondriac) that mine was the result of low potassium levels in my blood. ---
**Author:** ![Chubbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Chubbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chubbs)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/7 "2001-11-08T17:05:30Z")
I heard that lack of sleep may also cause dancing eyelids. ---
**Author:** ![Purdzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f0a364/32.png) [@Purdzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purdzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/8 "2001-11-08T17:36:28Z")
I have a friend I met in business school whose eye twitched pretty badly. It seemed to always be twitching at least a little bit (the area under his right eye actually looked slightly bruised compared to that under his left), but I noticed it got worse when he was stressed – when he was called on in class, when he was put in a situation where he didn’t know an off-hand answer to a question in a topic he was supposedly an expert in, etc. I used to joke to myself that it would be fun to play poker with this guy – the twitch seemed to me to be a pretty serious “tell.” Once I got to know him better, I actually asked him about it. He told me an interesting story: he went on a bender in college one day and woke up the next with the twitch. And it never went away. So he went to lots of doctors, with varying results, none permanent. One prescribed Prozac, which didn’t help the twitching but DID make him feel better about life in general (so he kept taking it). One day he showed up to school with the entire left side of his face kinda Stallone-like, all droopy. I noticed it right away: his eye had stopped twitching! I asked him about it, and he excitedly told me that he had received Botox treatments (injections of botulism toxin) around his eye, and that for the first time in twelve years his eye actually wasn’t twitching at all. He was genuinely overjoyed! Within a few days, the limpness of his face faded, but the twitch remained at bay for another six or eight weeks. At which point, he went in and got another series of shots. He has been doing this for several years now, and he couldn’t be happier. So, there is at least one available option for you when you have tried everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/9 "2001-11-08T18:12:52Z")
I’ve got the twitch. It’s weird - it’s a tiny muscle on my eyelid; I can close my eye and lay a finger lightly on the eyelid, and feel the damn thing twitch under my finger like some sort of mini-_Alien_-type creature. In my more irritated moments, I have considered botox, curare, or a pair of scissors. Fortunately, they have only been a passing fancy thus far. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/10 "2001-11-08T19:16:51Z")
Well done Purd. Nice first post - informative, with a twist. ---
**Author:** ![Nukeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Nukeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nukeman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/11 "2001-11-08T20:03:07Z")
I get that very occasionally, and I agree with Bricker, it’s definitely my eyelid. The funny thing is, it seems to go away if I am distracted. I don’t think its necessarily stress though, it may be for some people, but I doth think I am ever stressed when it happens. ---
**Author:** ![ubergoober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ee7513/32.png) [@ubergoober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ubergoober)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/12 "2001-11-08T21:14:14Z")
Some folk have told me that low potassium can cause eye twitching, and that supplements and/or refraining from potassium depleting activities (such as excessive exercise) can help. My own eye twitchings seemed to be related to stress and lack of sleep. Going on a big old sleep binge has always worked for me. ---
**Author:** ![sford](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/edb3f5/32.png) [@sford](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sford)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/13 "2001-11-09T00:34:10Z")
I hope you’re keeping count… Mine twitches (always my left) when I’m sleep deprived. Stress can make me more vulnerable. And it lasts until I get a few contiguous days of adequate sleep. (One sleep binge won’t do it.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/14 "2001-11-09T03:19:43Z")
Although stress and fatigue are by far the most common causes, don’t forget about muscular dystrophy and myasthenia gravis, which I believe could also cause it. I’d bet diabetes could too. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/15 "2001-11-09T04:10:25Z")
I had this a while ago. A friend mentioned that he had the same problem until he was told by a Dr to give up things with aspartame (in his case diet coke) and that cured it. I tried the same thing and it seemed to work, although it twitched a bit last week and I haven’t knowingly had anything with aspartame in it for months. Anyhow that gives you something to try. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/16 "2001-11-09T04:29:33Z")
How about twitches in other body parts? I get twitchies all the time, sometimes in really big muscles like my calf. What is it about diabetes that would cause these twitches? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/17 "2001-11-09T05:33:38Z")
IANAD, but eye twitches --and leg cramps, for that matter-- can be caused by a calcium deficiency. I also drink tonic water when taking the calcium, because it helps too. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/18 "2001-11-09T15:21:05Z")
hmmm… try [webmd.com](http://webmd.com) its pretty common but I don’t get it anymore since I became an adult. ---
**Author:** ![barking\_frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@barking\_frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barking_frog)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/19 "2001-11-09T20:11:26Z")
Thanks for the suggestions all; I guess it was stress since for the past few weeks I had quite a few tests (and the fact that I was so nervous as to what my marks were while waiting for them didn’t help either). Unfortunately, I have another calculus test on monday 😉 (I guess that will suffice for an eye-twitching smiley). BTW, I don’t drink that Diet Crap, only the real thing :D. ---
**Author:** ![RexKatWA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@RexKatWA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexKatWA)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132/20 "2001-11-10T00:50:54Z")
I found by accident that my eye twitching stopped when I quit consuming caffeine for a few days. I’ve since confirmed that if I use a large amount of caffeine for a couple days, the twitch starts again. Did you by chance start drinking coffee, or increase your caffeine intake recently? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-eye-twitch/92132.md?page=2)