Therapy options

A twitching eye is in most cases not dangerous and has no disease value. Nevertheless, many affected people find it extremely stressful when the eye muscle culture twitches uncontrollably. The therapy of a twitching eye depends on the cause.

These are very often stress or emotional strain. There are studies that have shown that options for stress management and relaxation techniques such as autogenic training can significantly improve the symptoms. Behavioural therapy can also be useful in dealing with what is emotionally stressful.

If the general level of tension is reduced, the twitching eyelid usually disappears as well. If a magnesium deficiency is the cause of the twitching, one should take in more magnesium. This can be through food, or in tablet or powder form.

If the muscle twitching is caused by serious illnesses, these must be treated. The first point of contact is actually the family doctor. He can then decide whether it is advisable to consult an ophthalmologist or a neurologist.

Basically, however, the muscle twitching disappears of its own accord in most cases even without therapy. In most cases magnesium helps with a twitching eyelid, because a magnesium deficiency is often the trigger for muscle twitches. However, there are numerous causes for a twitching eyelid.

A magnesium deficiency is not always responsible. For example, if it is stress and emotional strain that leads to a twitching eyelid, the symptoms will not improve with magnesium intake. Unfortunately, this is relatively common, which is why the term “nervous eye” has become popular.

In these cases, relaxation techniques such as autogenic training are more likely to help. Homeopathic remedies can be used for eyelid twitching. They do not usually work directly against eyelid twitching, rather they can help to reduce stress and calm the eyelid, thus alleviating the symptoms.

One of the most popular remedies is valerian, which is mainly taken when sleeping in the evening. Lycopodium and aconitum can also be taken in case of inner restlessness. Those who are under strong pressure to perform, on the other hand, benefit from remedies such as Argentium nitricum, Calcarea carbonica and Stramonium.

Schüssler salts are used just like homeopathic agents mainly because of their anti-stress effect in eyelid twitching. A cure programme can look like this, for example: In the morning, potassium phosphoricum should be taken for fatigue symptoms, at noon, ferrum phosphoricum is suitable for reducing tension, and in the evening, magnesium phosphoricum can be taken for inner restlessness. In addition, calcium phosphoricum can relieve the symptoms of exhaustion.

Diagnosis

To determine the cause of the twitching eyelid, the doctor will first ask the patient in detail how often the twitching occurs and whether there are accompanying symptoms. Usually the doctor already has a suspected diagnosis after the medical history. This is followed by a physical examination.

The family doctor will first look into the eyes and check whether there are any abnormalities, e.g. indications of conjunctivitis or inflammation of the eyelid margin. The ophthalmologist can also assess the cornea more precisely; sometimes there is irritation there, too, which can cause a twitching eyelid. Ultimately, however, even the general practitioner can say with relative certainty whether it is worth visiting an ophthalmologist or a neurologist, or whether it is a harmless phenomenon with no disease value.