Lip twitching is a common phenomenon among many people. While it can occur to anyone, there comes a time when it is uncontrollably.
For many people, it does not cause any major concern or alarm. This is mainly because the twitching comes once in a while and disappears within a few minutes.
Medically, this phenomenon is associated with hemifacial spasm, a condition that involves involuntary contraction of facial muscles. The involuntary contraction of facial muscles mainly affects one side of the face, either left or right.
Therefore, it is an involuntary contraction of lip muscles. It can either affect the right or left lip. These muscles are controlled by the seventh cranial nerve. This nerve is significant in controlling the movement of lips, mouth, eyes, and eyebrows.
Lip and eye twitching mainly go hand in hand. It can either be on the right side of the lip or the left one. It can also be on the lower or top lip.
This involuntary muscle movement is associated with many factors such as stress, stroke, and diabetes among other conditions.
Doctorshealthpress.com notes that it involves the sudden movement of your lips, lower or upper; left or even right. Sometimes, it may be a normal short phenomenon, while at other times it might be a serious medical condition.
Generally, it is associated with your emotional state. For example, the twitching is likely to happen to you when you are anxious. In other instances, it can be a symptom of a serious neurological health condition. Medically, this phenomenon is associated with the following factors:
1. Excess emotional stress
If you are experiencing this problem, then check if you are emotionally disturbed. When one is stressed up, facial muscles tend to tighten. Your facial nerves also behave abnormally. This tightening mainly affects your lips.
Facial muscle spasm is closely related to stress. On hemifacial spasm, Wikipedia highlights that facial nerves respond abnormally when one is depressed. This results in twitching either in the eyelids and lips.
The problem tends to stop when one calms down. If you are experiencing prolonged stress, then you are likely to experience the twitching now and then.
2. Too much fatigue
When one is tired, the muscles and the nerves are significantly affected. The affected nerves make your eyelids and lips to quiver momentarily.
Mayfieldclinic.com notes that your facial muscles and nerves are supposed to freely interact with each other. However, fatigue causes tremors on your face. These tremors interfere with how muscles and nerves interact.
In this context, it is as a result of a communication breakdown between the nerves and the muscles. As a result, you suffer from regular lip twitching.
3. General emotions
Apart from stress, it can also happen as a result of mixed emotions. For example, some will experience it when excited, overwhelmed or when in distraught. As a result of these mixed emotions, your lips will involuntarily tremble.
Doctorshealthpress.com insists that the nerve endings in the lower and upper lips are stimulated by our emotional state.
The emotional state can also cause your eyes to twitch. In some instances, over-excitement causes twitching to the extent that one cannot speak.
4. Bell’s palsy
If you are neither stressed up nor emotionally unstable, then it can be as a result of Bell’s palsy. This is a medical condition that occurs when facial nerves are injured. The injury or damage to the facial nerves causes the top or upper lip to twitch.
On what causes twitching of lip and what to do, newhealthguide.com highlights that damaged nerves affect not only the top lip but also one side of the face.
If you experience swelling or drooping on one side of your face, then it can be associated with Bell’s palsy.
5. Nicotine and caffeine intake
This is mainly experienced by people who excessively take products that contain large quantities of nicotine and caffeine. Some of the products include coffee, tea, and energy drinks among others.
According to Mayo Clinic, too much nicotine and caffeine interfere with the functioning of the central nervous system. This, consequently, causes your lip and eye muscles to twitch.
This is confirmed by the fact that this phenomenon is mainly experienced in regions where coffee and tea are consumed in large quantities.
6. Drug intake withdrawal
If you have suddenly stopped taking some hard drugs, then you are likely to experience lower this problem.
People who have stopped using street drugs, alcohol or other neuro stimulants are the primary victims. This is common among the people who are undergoing rehabilitation.
7. Lack of potassium
According to healthyandnaturalworld.com on what lip twitching means and how to treat it effectively at home, lack of potassium in the body causes the facial muscles and nerves to contract. This contraction is involuntary.
Lower lip twitches are associated with stroke. Stroke is associated with the functioning of the heart. Proper functioning of the heart depends on the presence of potassium. This, therefore, explains why lack of potassium causes facial spasm.
To manage this problem, you should adopt a healthy lifestyle and seek medical attention.
Treatment options should, however, target the existing symptoms. According to healthtap.com, the following practices can help {healthtap.com}:
There exist numerous superstitions. These superstitions relate to either lower or upper lip.
People believe that this is a sign of something likely to happen soon. In this context, when on the lower lip, it is associated with the following superstitions:
However, these are just superstitions. It is not clear whether these myths are true or false. However, medics believe that these are just stories invented to explain the mystery behind this phenomenon
