As it is well know, multiple sclerosis has a number of symptoms, some more bizarre than others. It’s needless to say, that while some symptoms are well documented and everybody knows about them, there are a number of adjacent symptoms that are seen as awkward and unusual, and don’t seem to be related to multiple sclerosis. Eye twitching is one of them.

Of course, everybody experiences eye twitching from time to time, and this is attributed to lack of calcium. But, how can one be sure that their eye twitching and multiple sclerosis are related, and that this doesn’t mean that they need more calcium? Well, there’s no way to know that for sure without any tests.

The question is, how is eye twitching caused by MS? As it is already well know, multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that is constantly progressing due to the demyelination of the fatty myelin sheaths around the spinal cord and brain, and pretty much everywhere where myelin is present. This demyelination directly affects nerve cells’ ability to communicate with each other – this happens both in the brain and spinal cord. What exactly happens? Nerve cells use electrical signals to communicate with each other. The signals are sent through axons, and the axons are wrapped in an insulating substance – the myelin.  The immune system of a person with MS attacks and damages the myelin – needless to say, this doesn’t happen in the body of a person who doesn’t have MS. As myelin is lost, the axons are unable to properly conduct the electrical signals sent by the nerves through various parts of the body.

Due to the fact that there are lots of myelinated retinal nerve fibers in the eyes, the autoimmune system of a person who has MS attacks that myelin, which can lead to a number of symptoms like blurred or double vision, loss of color, and of course eye twitching.

The question on everyone’s mind is “can this be prevented?” Unfortunately, as already said, MS is a progressive disease, so this means that the chances of stopping this are very, very slim (at least for the moment). But it has been proven that people, who take their medication religiously and keep their level of fitness up, slow down the effects that MS has on their bodies.

Of course, it is to be expected to have days when eye twitching is constant and days when it is not present at all. This happens due to the nature of the disease itself as there are periods or relapse and periods when everything is fine.  Unfortunately, some days will be better, some worse, but one  needs to understand that this is just the MS and one of its symptoms – there’s no reason for fear or despair!