Why is my eye twitching?

A twitching eye is just about always nothing to worry about. Tiny spasms along either the upper or lower lid can be due to a range of reasons, including: • Stress

• Lack of sleep

• Caffeine

• Eye strain

• Dry eyes

• Nutritional imbalances, particularly a lack of magnesium • Allergies

• Alcohol.

Most of the time, the twitching goes away on its own after hours or days. You can reduce the chances of it recurring by taking steps to counteract the likely cause, such as getting more sleep, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine, wearing glasses to watch TV, doing computer work or learning techniques to combat stress.

If it doesn’t go away after a couple of weeks or becomes annoying and persistent, you should see your doctor.

And it is important to get medical help if the twitching or abnormal movements affect other parts of your face as well as your eyelid, or if your eye clamps shut and won’t open.

On rare occasions, a twitch can be the sign of a disorder such as Bell’s palsy, dystonia, Parkinson’s disease or Tourette’s syndrome.