Why is my eyelid twitching?

The eyelid twitch: almost everyone has had this happen at least once in their life.  To the person with the twitch, it feels like their entire eyelid is spasming.  This twitch, called myokymia, is caused by a random firing of nerves in the lid tissue.  While it may seem like a very concerning phenomenon, luckily it has no permanent or lasting effect.  Myokymia is generally caused by one of three things:

• lack of sleep
• stress
• caffeine

Unfortunately those three causes are rather hard to eliminate.  Rest assured that myokymia will resolve on its own, but to speed the resolution of the annoying twitch, trying to minimize the three causes above will be the best longterm solution.  Other treatment that work with varying success include:

• ensuring that your eyes are not under undue stress (investigating the need for a change in prescription or  in some cases computer or reading glasses to relax how hard the eyes are working)
• tonic water (I've heard varying results from this home remedy)
• Magnesium supplementation (this can also help you sleep at night!)   Studies have shown that if your body has an imbalance of calcium in much larger amounts than magnesium, your are more susceptible to muscle twitches
• tinted glasses (can help mask the appearance of the twitch to others if you are concerned, but keep in mind that even though it feels like your lids are fluttering wildly, the movements are actually very small and almost imperceptible to others)

250 mg Mg supplementation can help relax your muscles and prevent random firing, improving sleep in some people as well

If you are having more severe lid twitching where your lid fully closes without your control, this could be a more severe phenomenon termed blepharospasm.  This condition is sometimes treated with botox injections to provide full relaxation to the muscles around the eye.  It is best to consult with your doctor if you feel like your eyelids are not closing properly.