Head Twitching: What Is It?
A person with head twitching is one who experiences a sudden twitch or spasm of their head, neck and face. Usually these are not accompanied by any other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness or loss of balance. People may experience it only once in a while and then they will go back to normal within 24 hours. There is no known cause for this condition.
The most common causes include:
Head injury (such as a blow to the head)
Cerebral hemorrhage (bleeding inside the brain)
Brain tumor (a mass of cells in the brain)
Stroke (loss of blood flow to parts of your brain)
How Does It Affect You?
You might experience it when you are driving, talking on phone, working at computer or performing other activities requiring concentration. If you have it constantly, you might suffer from it day after day.
Some people experience it for long periods of time and even develop a fear of going out in public. Others do not notice any change in their behavior. Some people think that they are just having a bad headache or experiencing some sort of mental problem which needs to be treated.
Head twitching can be a symptom of a more serious medical condition. It is best to consult your doctor immediately who will be able to determine the cause behind this condition.
How Is It Treated?
Treatment for head twitching depends on the cause and some of the common treatments include:
Physical therapy: Physical therapy might help in reducing the number of twitches and spasms.
Anti-seizure drugs: These drugs decrease the intensity of twitches and spasms.
Therapeutic injections: These may be given to relieve pain or burning sensations that are caused due to head twitches.
Surgery: Surgery might be necessary in case of brain tumors.
It is best to consult your doctor immediately!
What Should You Do?
Some people experience it for short periods of time and it does not have any significant effect on their lives. However, you should still consult your doctor immediately to rule out a more serious underlying condition. On the other hand if you never had it before and if you have never had any head injury or stroke then you do not need to worry about it!
What Are The Causes Of Head Twitching?
Nervous System Disorders: Epilepsy, seizure, migraine, brain tumors, multiple sclerosis and other nervous system disorders can cause head twitches.
Head Injury: A blow to the head may result in temporary head twitching.
Stroke: A stroke occurs when the blood flow to your brain is interrupted. This may cause twitching of facial muscles on one side of your face.
Alcohol Withdrawal: If you are an alcoholic, you may experience twitching of the face muscles while going through alcohol withdrawal.
Genetic Disorders: Certain genetic disorders may also cause twitching in the face and other parts of the body.
What Are The Tips To Stop It?
Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help in preventing many medical problems.
Watch your alcohol intake: If you are an alcoholic, it is better to seek medical help.
Don’t Smoke: Smoking can increase your risk of stroke and other medical conditions that may cause head twitching.
Get Tested For Neurological Disorders: As it was mentioned above, there may be more serious medical conditions that may be causing the twitching in your face. You should get yourself tested for such disorders by your physician.
Get Enough Rest: Getting enough rest can help in reducing the number of twitches you experience during the day.
How Can You Prevent It From Returning?
Common sense tips: These tips are simple things that most people tend to overlook but can have a huge effect on your life. For example, most people do not realize that lack of sleep can cause health problems such as head twitching. If you are having a hard time falling asleep and you are consistently tired during the day then you should get enough rest.
Another common tip is to keep yourself hydrated. Most people do not realize that their body can suffer from dehydration and this can cause several medical problems. The simplest way to prevent this from happening is to drink plenty of water every day.
Another tip is to avoid stress as much as you can. Most of us tend to overlook the harmful effects that stress and can have on our lives. If you are always stressed out, then it is best that you find ways on how to manage your stress.
You should also make healthy choices in your diet. Maintaining a balanced diet can do wonders for your body in the long run.
You should also try to keep yourself physically fit. Even if you are not into sports or activities that can help you lose weight, you should still try to find time to exercise on a regular basis. Physical activity can help in preventing several diseases and medical conditions such as head twitching.
You may also consider taking up stress relieving hobbies such as playing an instrument, painting, etc.
What Are The New Innovative Treatments?
Since head twitching can be caused by several medical conditions and disorders, you should seek immediate treatment as soon as you experience the first twitch. Your treatment options depend on the underlying cause of the twitching itself.
For example, if you are diagnosed with essential twitches, you may be provided with a short course of medication to control this condition. Most of the time, anti-seizure medications are used for people who suffer from this condition.
Concluding Remarks
Head twitching can be a very annoying condition to deal with, but with proper knowledge and information you can effectively reduce the number of twitches that you experience. The most important thing that you should remember is to seek immediate treatment as soon as you start experiencing symptoms. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away.
Good luck!
Whatever your reasons are for wanting to get rid of this annoying medical condition, make sure you keep this article handy. Refer to it anytime you experience a twitch in your face or head area. While twitches are not dangerous in and of themselves, there is no telling whether or not they may be a sign of something more serious that can threaten your life.
Always remember to take care of yourself and your health first.
Sources & references used in this article:
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Antagonism of L-5-hydroxytryptophan-induced head twitching in rats by lisuride: a mixed 5-hydroxytryptamine agonist-antagonist? by R Gerber, BJ Barbaz, LL Martin, R Neale, M Williams… – Neuroscience …, 1985 – Elsevier
Involvement of noradrenergic and 5-hydroxytryptaminergic systems in allylnitrile-induced head twitching by H Tanii, J Huang, K Hashimoto – Brain research, 1993 – Elsevier
Quipazine-induced head-twitch in mice by JB Malick, E Doren, A Barnett – Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 1977 – Elsevier
Effect of carbon tetrachloride on allylnitrile-induced head twitching by H TANII, K HASHIMOTO, A HARADA – Neurobehavioral Methods and …, 1994 – Elsevier
Effects on the 5-hydroxytryptamine-induced head-twitch of drugs with selective actions on alpha1 and alpha2-adrenoceptors by SL Handley, J Brown – Neuropharmacology, 1982 – Elsevier
Effects of drugs affecting endogenous amines or cyclic nucleotides on ethanol withdrawal head twitches in mice. by HO Collier, MD Hammond… – British journal of …, 1976 – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
