[데일리포스트=장서연 기자] If you experience trembling around your eyes or mouth for no reason during your daily life, you may have heard information such as’I have to eat nuts such as peanuts or walnuts because I’m not enough magnesium’ or’It’s because of stress, so I can rest well.’ In fact, when magnesium is insufficient, symptoms such as △ eye tremor △ insomnia △ nervous sensation △ glare △ fatigue △ hair loss △ decreased appetite △ decreased bone density △ seizure △ epilepsy appear. In addition, shaking of the face, such as around the eyes or around the mouth, is one of the symptoms you experience when you are tired, so taking a break can quickly recover.
Usually, eye tremor is considered a simple lack of magnesium and only consumes nuts such as peanuts and walnuts. Regarding this, Kang-Jun Yoon, a neurosurgeon, head of Gangnam Peter Hospital, said, “Many patients ask if they are good at eating magnesium or nuts when treating facial cramps.” “Temporarily it helps relieve the symptoms of tremors, but if the tremors do not stop for more than a month even after taking enough rest and rest with magnesium intake, you should see a neurosurgeon for an accurate diagnosis and receive treatment according to the cause.”
Face cramps that occur slowly and are more terrifying. It starts around the eyes and is characterized by trembling under the eyes and one eye closing by itself regardless of will. After that, it spreads all the way around the mouth and rises over one lip repeatedly. Interpersonal relationships become difficult, leading to mental illness such as psychological atrophy and depression.
Gang-Joon Yoon, a neurosurgeon, president of Gangnam Peter Hospital, emphasized, “If the symptoms of facial spasms are neglected, one muscle of the face and the other muscle of the face develop asymmetrically, and the shape of the face may change into asymmetrical shape, so initial treatment is important.”
Facial spasms are caused by blood vessels in the brain compressing the facial nerve. Regardless of your will, the muscles on one side of your face tremble and distort from time to time. The trembling symptoms usually start around the eyes and shake all the way to the mouth. In severe cases, the face may tremble while sleeping and convulsions may occur so loud that you cannot open your eyes.
Facial cramps are known as a disease that is mainly experienced by middle-aged people in their 40s and 60s. This is because as you age, the blood vessels that compress your face become longer and thicker. Also, due to the atrophy of the brain, the anatomical structure between the nerves and blood vessels is changed, and the nerve membrane that protects the nerves is damaged by continuous nerve stimulation.
However, the number of patients with facial cramps is increasing in the 20s and 30s. According to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of patients who visited the hospital for facial nerve disorders (disease code G51) was 182,177 in their 20s and 285,837 in their 30s as of 2015, and 212,051 and 30 in their 20s as of 2019. The number of people in their 20s increased by 16% and 8% in their 30s over the past five years. This is a phenomenon related to stress and fatigue, one of the causes of facial cramps, and can be attributed to excessive exposure to psychological pressures such as social anxiety and employment stress in the 20s and 30s.
The main symptom is ▲ trembling under the eyes. ▲ Eyes close strongly by themselves. ▲ Regardless of the person’s will, the muscles on one side of the face tremble and distort from time to time. ▲ Over time, convulsions occur in the other facial muscles on the same side, such as the eyes, cheeks, mouth, chin, and neck.
When the facial nerve is compressed by abnormally running cerebrovascular blood vessels, damage occurs, and a short circuit occurs between nerve strands, leading to facial tremors.
Gang-Joon Yoon, CEO of Gangnam Peter Hospital (a neurosurgeon), said, “Facial spasms can rarely appear as cerebrovascular anomalies, brain aneurysms, and brain tumors. Therefore, if the symptoms are repeated for several hours or more than a few days, it may be caused by eye diseases, peripheral nerve diseases, and neurological diseases of the brain, so the symptoms should not be taken lightly.”
For the fundamental treatment of facial spasms, microvascular decompression to relieve pressure on facial nerve vessels is required. Although microvascular decompression is a relatively simple operation, the recurrence rate is known to be around 10%, so side effects can be minimized only by a neurosurgeon with extensive experience (systemic anesthesia, takes 3 hours).
Gangnam Peter Hospital Representative Director Gang-Jun Yoon, neurosurgeon, said, “Some of the patients hesitate to operate because of the burden of’brain surgery’ for facial spasm surgery, but if you receive surgery from an experienced doctor, you can return to your daily life, so don’t worry too much. You don’t have to. I recommend getting treatment after consulting with your doctor.”
On the other hand, medication and Botox injections can provide temporary symptom relief, but they are difficult to cure and have side effects such as decline in energy and dizziness. In particular, Botox injections have to be given every 2 to 3 months.
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