What would be wrong if your left eye twitches, and ...

You have carpal tunnel syndrome and an eye twitch which is caused by ocular muscle fatigue http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/21692471/. Eye muscles sometimes twitch due to benign fasciculations.

Muscle twitching is the point at which signals from nerves (action potentials) are arriving to skeletal muscle (ocular muscles) to cause a series of individual twitches or if the signals are rapid enough in succession they can cause continuous muscle spasms. Rest and appropriate nutrition can restore nutrients and electrolytes to nerves and muscle fibers so that they function normally.

The cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is pressure on the median nerve which provides sensation to your index finger and middle finger. Pressure on the median nerve can stem from anything that reduces the space for it in the carpal tunnel of your wrist e.g. bone spurs, arthritis, repetitive use, trauma, etc. Some studies suggest that carpal tunnel syndrome can result from overuse or strain in certain job tasks that require a combination of repetitive, forceful and awkward or stressed motions of your hands and wrists e.g. repetitive computer use is commonly assumed to cause carpal tunnel syndrome.

Take frequent hand rest-breaks

Apply an ice pack to your wrist to reduce inflammation of your median nerve to regain sensation in your fingers.

Use a splint that holds your wrist still while you sleep to help relieve nighttime symptoms of numbness. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050106112808.htm

NSAIDs e.g. Motrin or Advil may help relieve inflammation and numbness.

Corticosteroid injections decrease inflammation which relieves pressure on the median nerve which eliminates the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.

If signs and symptoms interfere with your normal activities and they persist, then I recommend that you be examined and treated in person by a neurosurgeon. Surgery usually results in improvement. If you leave the condition untreated then further nerve and muscle damage can occur.

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I'm sorry I wasn't more specific. Two months ago, my symptoms started when my whole left side locked up all of a sudden. I woke up one morning and I had pain shooting down my left arm and leg constant pain. After several visits at the chiropactor the pain decreased, but now my strength in the left arm has decreased by atleast 50% and it feels like I'm wearing a rummber glove over my middle and pointer finger with no feeling what so whatever. The eye twitching on the left side has became more pronouned these last two weeks, the twitching is new it was not there when this first startred. Some morning I have numbness in my left side. Since this is all one one side, is there one nerve that could be pinched in my back that is causing all this?

Weakness or paralysis of the left side of your body suggests blockage of the artery supplying the area on the right side of your brain that controls the left body muscle movements.

By listening with a stethoscope to your carotid arteries a physician can hear the sounds of turbulent blood flow called bruits through your internal carotid arteries which may indicate narrowing. Ischemic strokes begin suddenly, develop rapidly, and cause ischemia of brain tissue within minutes to hours. Then most strokes become stable, causing little or no further damage. Strokes that remain stable for 2 to 3 days are called completed strokes. Such strokes are more likely to be due to sudden blockage by an embolus. An embolism occurs when the embolus migrates from one part of the body through the circulation and causes occlusion of a blood vessel in another part of the body. Less commonly, strokes may continue to worsen for several hours to a day or two, as a steadily enlarging area of brain tissue is without blood and oxygen. Such strokes are called evolving strokes. The progression is usually interrupted by somewhat stable periods, during which the area temporarily stops enlarging or some improvement occurs. Such strokes are more likely to be due to formation of clots in a narrowed artery. Many different symptoms can occur, depending on which part of the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen. When the arteries that branch from the internal carotid artery are affected, symptoms e.g. twitching in one eye or abnormal sensations and weakness in one arm or leg or on one side of the body are most common.

Neurons die within a few minutes of oxygen deprivation. Thus, some neuronal death occurs in areas of no blood flow within minutes of stroke onset. Around such areas of necrosis exist regions of hypoperfused, electrically silent tissue that barely receives enough blood flow to keep neurons alive. This tissue area is called the "ischemic penumbra." A major goal of acute stroke management is resuscitation of the ischemic penumbra. If reperfusion of the penumbra occurs expeditiously, neurons recover and the patient improves; with no reperfusion, a time-related attrition converts ailing neurons to frank infarction. The only specific intervention validated by adequate clinical trials and labeled for this use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is Tissue Plasminogen Activator (t-PA) given within three hours of stroke onset. However, the results of ongoing clinical trials may soon expand available therapeutic options.

I recommend that you urgently be examined with a CT scan, duplex Doppler to identify the nature of the cause, and an arteriogram to confirm the level of the obstacle, its nature, and the status of the downstream blood flow. The sooner you are treated, then the less likely your symptoms will progress.


Edited by DrHanson on May 24 2006 at 3:35pm

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