Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentWhen to See a Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
When to See a Provider
This article looks at 13 different causes of facial twitching along with possible treatments.
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Why Is My Lip Twitching?
Specific nerves may also be affected, causing an abnormal jolt of electrical activity that causes a twitch. Different conditions can affect the nerves serving the lip muscles. These include thefacial nerve(cranial nerve 7) and thetrigeminal nerve(cranial nerve 5) which run along both sides of your face.
Many different medications, injuries, diseases, or neurodegenerative disorders can affect these nerves directly or indirectly.
Excess Caffeine
Caffeineis found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate, and other foods and drinks. If a person consumes too much caffeine, they can get symptoms of caffeine toxicity. Irritability,anxiety, tension, and tremors are common symptoms.
Drinking a lot of caffeine can also cause dehydration which can also lead to facial twitching.
How Much Coffee Is Too Much?According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), caffeine should be capped at 400 milligrams per day. This is equivalent to five cups of coffee, four energy drinks, or 10 sodas.
How Much Coffee Is Too Much?
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), caffeine should be capped at 400 milligrams per day. This is equivalent to five cups of coffee, four energy drinks, or 10 sodas.
Medications
Certain medications can cause the muscles in your face to twitch uncontrollably. When small muscle fibers are affected, it is referred to asfasciculation. Corticosteroid (steroid) drugs are common causes of fasciculation.
Other medications that cause lip twitching include:
If twitching is a problem, ask your doctor if there are alternative drugs you can use. This is important because some medications can cause permanent twitching after long-term use, including certain antipsychotic drugs.
Potassium Deficiency
Potassiumis a mineral that acts as anelectrolytein the body. Electrolytes are needed for nerve signaling which the brain uses to communicate with other parts of the body. If a person does not have enough potassium, this messaging system can be disrupted, leading to muscle spasms and twitches.
Potassium supplementscan be used to correct potassium deficiency, but you can also bolster your intake with foods like cow’s milk, beans, potatoes, spinach, and acorn squash.
Alcoholic Neuropathy
The damage may not only cause twitching of the lip and eyelid but also cause burning, tingling, or pins-and-needle sensations in the hands or feet.
The best way to stop alcoholic neuropathy is to quit drinking as the condition usually only happens after years of heavy drinking. If you can’t stop, ask your healthcare provider for a referral to an alcohol treatment center.
What Is Alcoholic Neuropathy?
Stress and Mood Disorders
If you are dealing with high levels of stress, lip twitching could be a sign that you need to take a break or practice some stress-relieving activities like:
Bell’s Palsy
Bell’s palsyis a condition that causes the muscles in the face to become weak or paralyzed. Lip twitching is a possible feature, which typically occurs with other symptoms like drooping eyelids.
The exact cause of Bell’s palsy is unknown but is thought to be associated with the reactivation of viruses such asherpes simplexorvaricella (chickenpox).
There is no specific treatment for Bell’s palsy, but corticosteroid drugs likeprednisoneor antiviral drugs likeZovirax (acyclovir)have been used with variable success.
Hemifacial Spasms
Several small injections ofBotox (botulinum toxin A)near the facial nerve is the first-line approach to hemifacial spasms. In severe cases, surgery may be used to relieve or reduce compression of the facial nerve.
Past Trauma to the Facial Nerve
Similar to hemifacial spasms, lip twitching can occur after a direct blow or injury to the facial nerve. A head trauma can also affect thebrainstemwhich relays nerve messages to the facial nerve.
In severe cases, a surgical procedure callednerve graftingcan be used to remove the damaged part of the facial nerve and replace it with nerve tissues taken from another part of the body. It is a highly complicated form ofmicrosurgeryreserved for only the most extreme cases.
Tourette’s Syndrome
Tourette’s syndromeis a movement disorder that causes a person to make sounds or movements repetitively and uncontrollably. The involuntary movements are called “tics” and may include lip twitching, puckering, or pursing.
The cause of Tourette’s is unknown but is thought to involve genetics paired with environmental factors like pregnancy complications, smoking during pregnancy, and childhood infections.
There is no cure for Tourette’s syndrome, but drugs like dopamine blockers, alpha-adrenergic agonists, and antidepressants are often used with varying degrees of success.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is an inherited disorder that attacks motor neurons that control muscle movements. It most often occurs between the ages of 55 and 75, more commonly in males than in females. With ALS, twitching can affect the entire face, including the lips.
There is no cure for ALS, but drugs like Radicava (edaravone), Rilutek (riluzole), Relyvrio (sodium phenylbutyrate/taurursodiol), and Qalsody(tofersen) can help ease symptoms and potentially slow disease progression.
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s diseaseis a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the brain that affects motor function as well as digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, and other body functions. Symptoms include tremors, muscle rigidity, and difficulties with movement, balance, and coordination. One of the first signs of Parkinson’s is tremors of the lower lip.
There is no cure for Parkinson’s but numerous medications are available to minimize symptoms and slow deterioration, including levodopa, dopamine inhibitors, and anticholinergic drugs. There are also surgeries, includingdeep brain stimulation (DBS), that may help,
How Parkinson’s Disease Is Treated
DiGeorge Syndrome
Treatment of DiGeorge syndrome involves a multidisciplinary team of providers, including specialists in pediatrics, cardiothoracic surgery, endocrinology, immunology, speech pathology, and audiology. Oral deformities like cleft palate can be treated with surgery.
Hypoparathyroidism
Hypoparathyroidismis a hormone disorder caused when theparathyroid glandsmake too little parathyroid hormone. The body needs parathyroid hormone to store and releasecalcium. If levels are low, calcium levels can plummet and phosphorus levels can skyrocket.
This imbalance leads to tingling or numbness in the toes, fingers, and lips as well as the twitching of facial muscles.
The treatment of hyperparathyroidism involves calcium andvitamin D supplementsto correct the imbalance. You can also get calcium and vitamin D from foods like fish, dark leafy vegetables, dairy, almonds, and oats.
How Is Lip Twitching Diagnosed?
If there is no clear cause, your provider might want to do some medical tests like blood work or anMRI.
How to Stop Lip Twitching
Treatment for lip twitching depends on what’s causing it.
If you have hemifacial spasms, Botox injections can help stop the lip twitching.
Some at-home remedies you can try to stop lip twitching include limiting your caffeine or alcohol intake and applying pressure to the affected area.
However, see your provider if you are concerned about the lip twitching or have not been able to get it to go away.
When Is Lip Twitching an Emergency?Lip twitching that comes on suddenly or comes along with “red flag” symptoms (such as weakness, dizziness, or numbness on one side of the body) could be a sign of a more serious health problem.You should seek immediate medical care if you have these symptoms along with a lip twitch.
When Is Lip Twitching an Emergency?
Lip twitching that comes on suddenly or comes along with “red flag” symptoms (such as weakness, dizziness, or numbness on one side of the body) could be a sign of a more serious health problem.You should seek immediate medical care if you have these symptoms along with a lip twitch.
Lip twitching that comes on suddenly or comes along with “red flag” symptoms (such as weakness, dizziness, or numbness on one side of the body) could be a sign of a more serious health problem.
You should seek immediate medical care if you have these symptoms along with a lip twitch.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Lip twitching on its own might have a simple cause that you can fix on your own.
However, you should tell your healthcare provider if you have other symptoms that started with or after the lip twitching began. You should also check with your provider if you have taken steps (like improving your potassium intake and reducing caffeine and alcohol consumption) and have not seen any improvement.
If the lip twitching does not go away, keeps coming back, is causing your stress, or gets in the way of your daily life, let your provider know—even if you don’t have other symptoms.
Summary
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Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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