Is your lower eyelid twitching? Causes of nervous tics and methods of dealing with them. Everyone has probably experienced a somewhat unpleasant sensation caused by a spontaneous twitching of the lower eyelid. Have you ever wondered what causes a nervous tic and how best to treat it? The answers are below.
What Are Tics?
A nervous tic is a type of hyperkinesis – movements of several or one muscle that occur at the wrong command sent by the brain. A tic is an involuntary periodic and rapid muscle contraction occurring over a short period of time. However, such contractions are not rhythmic; they simply follow each other and each lasts no more than 1 second.
There are cases when it is almost impossible to count the number of contractions, so fast they occur. This is the so-called ticosis storm. Facial muscles may contract, in which case you may see winking, twitching of the corner of the mouth, moving of the nose, clasping. Tics of the extremities look like spontaneous hand waving, clapping hands. Tics of the vocal muscles lead to the pronunciation of any sounds or even entire words. A nervous tic can also be localized, when a single muscle contracts, or it can be generalized, when several muscle groups contract at once.
The most common variant of a nervous tic is the twitching of the lower eyelid. This tic is a localized mimicry, and most people have experienced it for themselves.
Causes of Nervous Tics
There are several factors that cause involuntary muscle contractions, so doctors divide nervous tics into different groups according to etiology (origin).
The first group includes psychogenic or primary tics, which occur mainly in children and boys. The trigger factor is usually a psychological trauma, but the course of these tics is benign, they do not last long and pass on their own, even without treatment. Symptomatic or secondary tics may occur at any age and are caused by organic brain lesions, such as craniocerebral trauma, meningitis, encephalitis, or stroke.
Hereditary tics are related to Tourette’s syndrome. It is a hereditary disease of the central nervous system that manifests itself in childhood and is characterized by the presence of multiple tics, including one vocal. Diagnosis of Tourette’s syndrome is not difficult, but there is no need for treatment of the disease, but if it has a severe course, certain therapy is used.
Nervous tics can occur with other diseases of the nervous system (Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and others) and are one of their symptoms. Medical professionals have also proposed the theory that nervous tics are caused by hypersensitivity of receptors – nerve endings located in the skin. These receptors begin to respond to the slightest irritation, sending an impulse to the brain, and from there, in turn, comes the impulse, forcing the muscle to contract.
Tics can also be triggered by taking certain medications, drugs of the neuroleptic group, tranquilizers, antiepileptic drugs. In addition, the occurrence of tics is influenced by lifestyle, adherence to regimen and diet.
Physiotherapy for Nervous Tics
Physiotherapeutic treatment involves a course of acupressure and therapeutic exercises. Some people find acupuncture helpful.
With twitching eyelids one may do gymnastics for the eyes: squeeze your eyes shut, take deep breath in and out, repeat the exercise several times, then draw a figure eight with your eyes and look around without turning your head.
There are three directions for serious treatment of tics. First, the cause is determined and, if possible, eliminated. Then symptomatic treatment is performed, i.e. the tic itself is relieved; medications are usually used for this purpose. The third stage is psychotherapy, aimed at stabilizing the emotional state, removing stress and developing self-confidence.
Drug Treatment of Nervous Tics
A tic consisting in the twitching of the lower eyelid usually does not require any drug treatment. To eliminate it is enough to concentrate on any task, distract yourself from the case, which you have been engaged in for a long time without a break. If the lower eyelid twitches several times a day for a long time, the intensity of tics increases, or new ones appear, you need to establish the cause of this situation.
Firstly revise your regime, this means sleeping 6-7 hours a day, taking regular breaks at work, eating natural products, fruits, vegetables and porridges, eating prunes, apricots, nuts and bananas.
If tics interfere with the fullness of life, they need to be eliminated, and this is done with the help of medications. However, they should be used with care, since the side effects of some medications may cause more problems than the tic itself. Neuroleptics are often used to “damp down” spontaneous muscle contractions. Sedatives (sedatives) are also widely used: tincture of valerian, peony and others. Folk remedies against nervous tics also have a good effect non-conventional medicine, such as tea from chamomile or motherwort and other compounds that relieve severe stress.
If, however, the need to see a doctor arises. The doctor may need to see a doctor, make an appointment with a neurologist. And remember: the fastest way to get rid of tics is to use a complex method, with healthy sleep, gymnastics, massage, a balanced diet, avoidance of stress and through phytotherapy.