I have had a blinking problem for about 2 months and i dont know what to do?

Question

I am 14 years old and i have noticed that i have a blinking problem. it varies from time to time. I have lately been able to control it for like a little while but then there is like a little twitch or something. I have been very frustrated with it and i dont know what to do? I have asked my family doctor and he said it might be allergies but i dont think that is what it is. When the school year ended it was really bad and now its just an occasional hard blink or a little twitch. Is it just a habit/tic or is it something more serious? One last detail i notice it doesnt happen until i think about it. Like if im with friends and we are doing something it doesnt happen but as soon as i start to think about it, it kicks in again. So if you have any ideas what is going on i would love to get some advice. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

Excessive blinking can be a sign of a number of things, from a medical standpoint, so if you have the option of seeing a doctor I would do so.  From your description of your situation, I would tend to think of your symptoms as a nervous twitch with a psychological component.  You mention that it's worse when you think about it -- this suggests that a part of your mind that a good psychologist or hypnotherapist might be able to access is directly affecting your blinking.  

To me, it sounds a lot like a social anxiety tic (I used to yawn whenever anybody asked me a question, for example); a psychiatrist might recommend benzodiazeprene family medications, while a naturopath will go for calming herbs like lavender, chamomile, valerian root, and kava kava.  Exercise like yoga and some basic calming quiet meditations could be helpful, too.  In retrospect, I eventually overcame my yawning with a combination of exercise, noticing what made me yawn, seeing how those experiences were linked to anxiety, and why those anxieties were causing the compulsive behavior.  There was no medication involved, but based on other experiences I've had I'd say it could be helpful in some psychosomatic cases where tics are in play.

However, excessive blinking is also the sign of a number of physical disorders of the central nervous system.  If you have the option of seeing a GP or a Nuerology specialist they should be able to diagnose any physical problems; diagnostic and imaging tests for this kind of thing are expensive but worthwhile if this is a persistant problem that you'd like to have control over.  Overall, see your regular doctor first, ask for their opinion, and then get a referral to either a psychiatrist or a doctor of nuerology.

Answer 2

tape them to your forehead

(eyelids)

Answer 3

My brother has the same problem, except he twitches his mouth and nose too. We've been to the doctor's, and they couldn't find anything wrong with him either. He had it under control for a while, but it came back. I think it's just a bad habit. The best you can do is probably to try and control yourself.