ask: My 8 year old suddenly has a problem with eye twitching
My daughter has had a cold and is stuffed up. She in the past has experienced itchy eyes and a stuffy nose. On Monday her eyes started twitching and blinking her eyes. When I asked her why she was doing it, she didn't know why. Her teacher called to let me know that she was doing this.
Has anyone experienced this??? It came out of the blue. I have asked her if she is stressed out or her eyes are dry. She said she's not stressed and her eyes are not dry.
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Dear Anon: Thank you for sharing this information. It appears that your eight year old is experiencing muscle fatigue due to allergies. For most people eye twitching is not a serious condition and typically results from excessive fatigue or stress. For others eye twitching can lead to chronic irritation or vision problems.
Eye twitching is known as Blepharospasm. This is the technical term for involuntary eye twitching (eye spasms). Blepharospasm is more specifically defined as an abnormal involuntary blinking or spasm of the eyelids. Eye twitching usually involves involuntary movements of the eyelid specifically and are known as eye spasms. Some doctors often refer to this condition when chronically present as "blinking disorder." Sounds pretty serious. But it may not be.
There are actually multiple forms of blepharospasm, some more serious than others. I suggest your consult a pediatrician to ensure this is not a case of a blinking disorder that while not life threatening, is quite common and results frequently in patients. Some patients including those with Tourette's Syndrome or related neurological problems may experience more serious eye blinking disorders that may require evaluation and treatment.
Have you noticed any eye irritation? If she has a history of allergies it would not be uncommon to experience sensitivity to overly bright lights or being overly tired. Have you asked the teacher what type of lights they have in the classroom?
I suggest monitoring the frequency she is experiencing the eye twitching from day to day. You may notice that her symptoms resolve during sleep and restart on waking.
Causes of Eye Twitching
There are various causes of eye twitching in its serious and not so serious formats. The more common causes for eye twitching include:
Corneal irritation or injury (which could be linked to frequent coughing or sneezing in the case of your daughter)
March 25, 2009 - 9:09pmStress
Lack of sleep
Fatigue
Prolonged staring or eye strain
Neurological disorders
Possibly Hereditary
This Comment
My daughter has the exact smae problem...it started about 3 weeks ago...
April 16, 2010 - 8:42pm