When the eye dances…

“Playing” of the eye is a very common phenomenon and mostly affects the eyelid or the thin muscles of the outer corners of the eye. In medicine, this phenomenon is known as “fasciculation” and means fine, rapid tremors of bundles of muscle fibers, i.e. eye muscle spasm. Don’t worry, this “playing” of the eye is mostly harmless and cannot damage vision.

Why is this happening?

The specific causes are not known. Very often eye flickering can occur due to stress, lack of sleep, strain, hard and long-term work, excessive intake of caffeine and/or alcohol, smoking, long-term and continuous use of the computer or lack of some nutrients in the body (magnesium).

What should be done?

This phenomenon, which may be accompanied by mild itching, blurred vision or sensitivity to bright light, is generally short-lived and harmless. In rare cases, it can be a sign of more serious conditions (nerve paralysis) or inflammation of the eyelid.

The flickering of the eye should stop in a few days, and you can speed this up by putting a warm compress on the eye and getting better, longer sleep. Try to remove possible causes as much as possible, changing bad lifestyle habits.

If the strength and frequency of tremors increases, lasts for a long time, the eye is red and swollen or other parts of your face are cramping, it is necessary to visit an ophthalmologist and a neurologist.

Beliefs and myths

Superstitions related to eye twitching are known in many cultures.

Balkans: flickering of the left eye is a sign of bad luck.

Africa: the fluttering of the lower eyelid indicates the shedding of tears soon, and the upper eyelid a sign that you will have an unexpected encounter.

China: A flicker in a man’s left eye indicates good luck, and a flicker in the right eye is considered a bad omen. Also, fluttering in the lower left eyelid means that you can expect to cry or be gossiped about.

India: blinking of the right eye means good news, and the left eye – bad luck.

Hawaii: flickering is a sign of the arrival of a stranger, and if the flickering is constant, it heralds ruin in the family.