So What Does It Mean When Your Left Eye Jump ?!?! Read this article to understand the causes ,myths ,superstitions ,prevent left eye jumping and more.
Eye Jumping – Why Does It Jump?
These are some questions everyone has faced once in their lifetime. Eye jumping can be called as twitching, tics or shaking and it is really common. Basically, repetitive involuntary spasm or shaking of eye muscles is twitching. As common as it is, sometimes it can be annoying if it becomes persistent or too frequent. In this article, you can read about its causes, the reasons why they occur and the superstitions around it.
What Does It Mean When Your Left Eye Jump !?!?
The spasms of the eye are caused due to involuntary muscle fibers’ contraction. This happens due to an action potential which could be spontaneous. Almost everyone develops eye spasms at least once during their lives. These eye spasms could be on the eyelid, that is localized, on the eyebrows, or on the whole eye. It completely depends on which nerve or muscle is affected.
Eye Twitching Causes
Eye spasms don’t stay for long; they are temporary. Normally, they go on their own. However, it can get annoying when they happen every now and then. At times, the symptoms can remain for days or weeks or even months. This may cause emotional stress and affect your daily life. Even though the cause of eye twitching remains generally unknown, the possible explanation could improper sleep patterns or fatigue. Here are the causes of the left eye twitching:
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Stress
- Dry eyes
- Strained eyes or computer vision syndrome
- Allergies
- Imbalances in nutrition
Most of the times twitching could be due to dryness of eyes, which is treatable. It could also be due to pink eye, light sensitivity or blepharitis which again are treatable conditions. In rarest of cases, eye twitching could indicate nerve disorder or some other brain disorders. It could also indicate nerve or brain disorders like dystonia, Bell’s palsy or Parkinson’s disease. The drugs used in curing psychosis and epilepsy can be common causes of eye jumping.
Talking about serious forms for eye jumping, they are caused due to some neurological conditions like hemifacial spasm or blepharospasm. Chronic eye jumping, which is quite uncommon can be caused due to continous squinting or winking of eyes to an extent where you may have difficulty even in keeping the eyes open. This may lead to vision impairment. In some cases, people have continuous nerve jumping for several days or even weeks. Now even though it is nothing serious, it’s important to get the eyes checked, especially if the eye twitching is followed by some head trauma or any head injury, so that you don’t risk vision impairment. However, the proper cause of eye twitching is not identified, but for most cases, it is harmless and painless.
Myths And Superstitions About Left Eye Twitching
There are various superstitions and myths around the world. Different cultures have different theories trying to explain the spasm of eyes. May superstitions suggest that left eye jumping is a bad sign and that misfortunes are about to come, whereas many suggest that it is a good sign. These are all ancient and are even carried on for generations. Different people believe in different superstitions.
Now for instance, India and China’s superstitions about it are involved with astrology and are practiced till date. Chinese superstitions have it that left spasms are bad luck when they happen to women and are good luck in case of men. Moreover, these interpretations depend on the time during the day when they occur.
The Indian version is totally opposite to that of the Chinese version. From the Indian epic Ramayana, it is believed that left eye jumping is bad luck for men and brings good news for women, like birth of a child. Again, the interpretation varies based on which part of left eye is jumping.
For many parts in Africa, the jumping of left eye indicates sorrow, unexpected meeting and tears shedding.
So What Does It Mean When Your Left Eye Jump ?
Left Eye Jumping
Apart from the scientific explanations given above, for most times, eye jumping is interpreted based on myths, cultures and superstitions. At times, it becomes hard to say what it means when the left is jumping, after eliminating all causes around it. From muscle fatigue, which is harmless, to some serious condition of your nervous system, the reason for your eye jumps could be anything. The other common reasons are over-consumption of decongestants and caffeine, fatigue, stress, lack of sleep, allergies, plepharitis, dry eyes or some other conditions which can cause eye irritation locally. It can trigger the eye spasms.
Reduced energy due to lack of sleep or eye fatigue, eye hunger and strain leading to eye jumping is self limiting and causes no harm otherwise. Compensating for the above mentioned causing can help stop them.
Moreover, drinking alcohol, stimulating drinks and coffee lead to over stimulation of nerves and muscles causing involuntary eye humping. Both alcohol and caffeine can lead to stress and fatigue. One can limit their intake to avoid spasms.
Lack Of Minerals And Water Can Also Cause Eye Jumping
It is a well known fact that water is essential for nervous system and muscle functions. Through water, electrolytes like sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and others are provided to the body. These electrolytes are responsible for controlling all the muscle action including the eye muscles. Too little or too much – both cases can lead to spasms. During conditions like vomiting, diarrhea, ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome body is dehydrated. So the left eye jumping can be reversed by intake of supplements.
Role of Vitamin D in Eye Spasms
Vitamin D has several important functions, the main one being calcium absorption. If you happen to have a deficiency of Vitamin D, calcium absorption will be hindered and that can lead to weakness of eye muscles, ultimately leading to eye spasms. Vitamin D can be easily obtained by intake of proper food, sunlight exposure and vitamin supplements.
Vitamin B-12 and Eye Jumping During Pregnancy
The deficiency of vitamin B-12 causes dystonia among other neurological disorders. It is quite common for pregnant women and infants with low vitamin B to complain of spasms. However, for adults, it is not so common. Hence, eye jumping can also be associated with vitamin B-12 deficiency.
Eye Spasms And Allergies
Eye spasms can be triggered by allergies. Mostly, people having any kind of allergies have itching. It happens even if you have any kind of flu or influenza. Since eye itching causes stimulation of histamine release into eye tissue, it affects eye muscles commonly.
Now eye jumping can affect both the eyes – left and right. For the right handed people, left eye jumping is associated with weaker muscle line on left side. It is a myth, obviously as it is not scientifically proved. Mild left eye twitching goes away on its own after a while.
It is always advisable to stay stress free, take timely rest and enough sleep. Reduce caffeine consumption as much as you can. Drink lots of water. Sometimes, holistic methods like meditation, yoga, acupuncture, breathing techniques and hypnosis can help to reduce eye twitching and stress.
In case of sever eye twitching, medical help is required. Make sure you consult a doctor so that it doesn’t become a concern. Even though upper eye lid complications are rare, they can include the following:
- Double visions
- Drooping eyeballs
- Corneal injury
- Blurred vision
- Permanent damage to the eye
How Can You Prevent Left Eye Jumping ?
For people who suffer from frequent eye spasms episodes, they can maintain a journal. Every time they have it, it should be noted. As mentioned earlier, keep a watch on caffeine intake, alcohol intake and avoid smoking altogether. Try and control your stress, sleep peacefully for at least 7 hours a day. When you don’t sleep enough, it leads to eye twitching, hence follow a proper sleeping schedule.
Left eye jumping is benign and mild. Even though it is supposed to recover fast, is painless and harmless, it doesn’t cause any discomfort, but if they don’t, and they become frequent – persistent for days or even week, you should take more rest. Drink plenty of water so you don’t get dehydrated. Furthermore, if it doesn’t stop, consult your doctor as it may be a sign of some serious problem, or some other underlying medical disorder.
The doctor will carry out radiological tests like MRI scans or CTs. These are done to check if you have nerve damage or nerve compression. Some more lab tests to cancel out conditions like magnesium deficiency or diabetes will be done. Your doctor can even consider to give you muscle relaxers like valium to calm down your spasms. He may give a tranquilizer like tegrettol to calm down your nerves and relieve you from your eye twitching.
Quite surprisingly, botox is yet another effective method to numb your muscles if your left eye doesn’t stop jumping. To treat general spasms of muscles in eyes and face, it has proved to be successful. For the people who have weaker facial muscles and are ageing, this can work perfectly. It will help numb the muscles around eyes, thereby stopping the spasms. However, it is very important to note the apparent side effects for taking botox injections. Consult your doctor, check for all the other possible options, and then go for it.
Here’s When You Should Go See a Doctor For Left Eye Jumping
- If it doesn’t stop even after 3 days
- If it starts spreading to other parts of your face
- For spasms that could be associated with some kind of pain for nerve line
- If starts to cause discomfort or distracts you from your work
- If you are on a medication for any mental disorders