Myokymia is a sudden, involuntary intermittent twitching of the muscles that surround the eye. This annoying twitching typically results from stress, anxiety, fatigue, lack of sleep and occasionally excessive use of alcohol or smoking. In some cases, it may result from increased caffeine consumption or from superficial irritation of the eye. Aside from uncorrected refractive errors, eye-related factors are rarely the cause of myokymia.
Occasionally, topically applied (drops placed in the eye) decongestants containing antihistamines may reduce the annoying symptoms of this condition by relaxing the eyelid muscles. Do not use any eye drops without direct permission from this office. Although these muscles spasms are often annoying, they typically are of no medical concern and require no treatment other than eliminating the cause.
