Let's not have a facial twitch, please
April 11, 2012 11:50 AM Subscribe
As of sometime yesterday afternoon, I now have a small but visible twitch in the center of my upper lip. Not a fan. What can I do to help make it go away again?
I'm sure the answer is probably "nothing," as with this similar question, but you never know! Or maybe there are ways to avoid making it worse. Not sure what else to put under the cut, really. It comes and goes in short cycles, a few minutes long. Pretty sure I wasn't doing anything special to strain the muscles or whatever. I don't feel especially stressed. Was my chocolate Easter bunny "excessive caffeine"? I don't know!
I'm sure the answer is probably "nothing," as with this similar question, but you never know! Or maybe there are ways to avoid making it worse. Not sure what else to put under the cut, really. It comes and goes in short cycles, a few minutes long. Pretty sure I wasn't doing anything special to strain the muscles or whatever. I don't feel especially stressed. Was my chocolate Easter bunny "excessive caffeine"? I don't know!
I get this every few months or so, usually in my left eyelid. I find that pressing gently on the twitchy muscle sometimes stops it jumping around, but usually all you can do is just wait it out. It's much like the hiccups: sometimes muscles just gotta twitch, ya know?
posted by ook at 12:02 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by ook at 12:02 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
Fatigue, caffeine, nicotine, dehydration can all contribute to these annoying little muscle spasms. Sometimes your body also just does weird stuff for no apparent reason too. Get rest, drink plenty of water and just wait it out.
posted by goggie at 12:03 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by goggie at 12:03 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
But seriously, it's kind of awesome when our bodies pull this crap. I'll get a facial or limb twitch for a day or two, or a week, but they always go away. If you're not taking anything new to cause this, it'll probably go away. Maybe check that's you're getting enough sodium and potassium (electrolytes; perhaps drink a Gatorade) and simultaneously enough water.
posted by Sayuri. at 12:04 PM on April 11, 2012
But seriously, it's kind of awesome when our bodies pull this crap. I'll get a facial or limb twitch for a day or two, or a week, but they always go away. If you're not taking anything new to cause this, it'll probably go away. Maybe check that's you're getting enough sodium and potassium (electrolytes; perhaps drink a Gatorade) and simultaneously enough water.
posted by Sayuri. at 12:04 PM on April 11, 2012
I solved a facial twitch by adjusting the louver on the AC vent in my bedroom so that I no longer had a breeze directly on my face while I slept.
posted by spasm at 12:09 PM on April 11, 2012
posted by spasm at 12:09 PM on April 11, 2012
I get this in my eyelid sometimes. For me it's a signal that I need to relax, breathe deeply, be more aware of stress in my body, and pay more attention to my caffeine intake. It goes away in a couple days.
posted by matildaben at 12:11 PM on April 11, 2012
posted by matildaben at 12:11 PM on April 11, 2012
I get facial twitches when I'm overtired or when my electrolytes are messed up. Rest and Gatorade help me, probably mostly the rest.
Also a warm compress.
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:13 PM on April 11, 2012
Also a warm compress.
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:13 PM on April 11, 2012
Tonic water can sometimes help tremors. The small amount of quinine is the active ingredient. Combine with gin and lime for the full effect.
posted by wrnealis at 12:59 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by wrnealis at 12:59 PM on April 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
My various facial twitches seem to have something to do with a combination of stress and sleep deficit. At the moment, I've got an eyelid twitch that comes and goes according to how much sleep I've been missing.
I had a twitch on my cheek about an inch or two below my eye near where the bottom part of my glasses frame sit (although they don't touch my cheek, so they didn't cause it) that lasted for years. Interestingly, it went away for a few weeks when I took a 3-week trip abroad, but came back shortly after returning, so I assume the stress/sleep combo was aprt of it.
posted by telophase at 1:10 PM on April 11, 2012
I had a twitch on my cheek about an inch or two below my eye near where the bottom part of my glasses frame sit (although they don't touch my cheek, so they didn't cause it) that lasted for years. Interestingly, it went away for a few weeks when I took a 3-week trip abroad, but came back shortly after returning, so I assume the stress/sleep combo was aprt of it.
posted by telophase at 1:10 PM on April 11, 2012
I developed a twitch in my cheek that would not go away. I spoke with my doctor and he recommended 150 mg of CoQ10 a day. That seems to have fixed it.
posted by blurker at 1:18 PM on April 11, 2012
posted by blurker at 1:18 PM on April 11, 2012
Honestly, when I get one, I know I need to take some time off work - whether it's a mental health day or a full-blown week off. Mine's usually an eyelid. ugh!
posted by Occula at 3:02 PM on April 11, 2012
posted by Occula at 3:02 PM on April 11, 2012
I get weird facial twitches when I am having sinus or allergy problems.
posted by wwax at 3:14 PM on April 11, 2012
posted by wwax at 3:14 PM on April 11, 2012
I had an eyelid/under eye twitch for about a year and a half. I was taking high doses of ibuprofen for a knee injury and didn't really connect the two until I had surgery, stopped taking the ibuprofen, and the twitch went away. You say you're not taking anything, but consider regular over-the-counter stuff, too.
posted by clone boulevard at 7:54 PM on April 11, 2012
posted by clone boulevard at 7:54 PM on April 11, 2012
If it were a more convenient body part to bathe I'd suggest a soak in epsom salts. Maybe you can make a poultice and place in on the lip? Ingesting magnesium internally works too but takes longer.
posted by parrot_person at 1:27 AM on April 12, 2012
posted by parrot_person at 1:27 AM on April 12, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! It's pretty much gone now. I wish I knew what answers to mark best, but I don't really know what did it, so I'll just leave them.
posted by jinjo at 11:24 AM on April 13, 2012
posted by jinjo at 11:24 AM on April 13, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by griphus at 11:51 AM on April 11, 2012