Eye twitching

When your eyes twitch

This is an involuntary spasm in the muscles of your eyelid, or under your eye. These eye spasms are usually mild and painless. They can feel as if your eyelid is being gently pulled. Typically, they happen every few seconds and last for a couple of minutes.

It is common for our eyes to twitch. If you’ve noticed your eyes twitching, it’s usually not a sign of a serious problem. About 70% of people have twitches of some kind.

Twitches can affect the right or left eye. Both the top eyelid and the bottom eyelid can twitch, although twitches are more common in the upper eyelid.

Twitches often come and go by themselves and a warm compression can help to relax the spasm. Usually your eye will probably stop twitching by itself within a week or two. However, if you notice your eye keeps twitching for longer than this, we’d recommend talking to an optometrist or a doctor.

Look for the signs

If you have chronic eye spasms in both eyes, or if the twitches are strong enough to close your eyes completely, this could be a sign of benign essential blepharospasm. This condition makes our eyes blink or wink uncontrollably. This affects around 1 in 50,000 people and is more common in women than in men. It’s not harmful in itself, but it usually gets worse over time and can lead to blurred vision, sensitivity to light, and spasms elsewhere in your face. This condition can be treated with Botox injections or with surgery on the nerves and muscles in your eyelid.

Our eyes twitching could also be a sign of more serious conditions, such as:

Benign fasciculation syndrome (a harmless condition where our muscles twitch persistently).
Dystonia (a long-term condition caused by uncontrolled muscle spasms which can be painful).
Motor neurone disease (a rare condition causing weakness which gets worse over time).

If eye twitches are the only symptom you have, it’s very unlikely that you have any of these long-term conditions. However, we would still recommend talking to an optometrist or doctor if:

your eye keeps twitching for several weeks
the twitching spreads to other parts of your face
your upper eyelid continues to droop when your eye isn’t twitching
you have any unusual discharge coming from your eye.

Eye twitches can also be a symptom of corneal scratches. These can be caused by foreign objects like dust or sand getting into your eye. They can also happen if your eye gets scratched by a fingernail or claw. The discomfort and eye twitching can continue even after the object has been removed from your eye. Corneal scratches usually heal by themselves, but if it’s particularly painful or lasts for a long time then you should talk to an optometrist. They can prescribe eye drops for pain relief or antibiotic eye drops to clear up any infection.

How to prevent your eyes twitching

Twitches are often caused by stress and tiredness, so you should try to get enough sleep and relax. Try going for a massage, taking a warm bath, yoga, aromatherapy, or whatever works for you. We wouldn’t recommend drinking alcohol to relax, as too much can cause twitches.

Also try not to worry about the twitches. They are usually harmless. Worrying and stressing about them can actually make them worse! However, if you are concerned because an eye twitch isn’t going away, then you should talk to an optometrist.

Too much caffeine can also cause twitches. Cutting down on coffee, tea, or caffeinated soft drinks can help stop your eyes twitching.

Some prescribed medicines can also make your eyes twitch. If you think this could be the cause, then you should talk to your doctor. They could help you find an alternative medication or change your dosage. You should talk to a doctor before deciding whether to take a smaller dosage or stop taking it completely.

Keeping your eyes well-lubricated can help prevent twitches (as well as making your eyes more comfortable). You can buy lubricating eye drops, also known as artificial tears, over the counter.

You can also try pressing a warm compress (like a face cloth dampened with warm water) against your eyelids to help stop them twitching.

Back to overview

Eye twitching

Look for the signs

How to prevent your eyes twitching

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