What causes twitching of the corners of the mouth

Twitching of the corners of the mouth is a phenomenon we often find in life. If it happens in adults, it may be facial spasm, which we call facial muscle twitching. But for babies, we should be alert to whether it is a symptom of neonatal epilepsy.

1. If it is an adult, it is generally hemifacial spasm, also known as facial muscle twitching. It is a disease characterized by involuntary twitching of one side of the face. The convulsions are paroxysmal and irregular, with varying degrees of severity, and may be aggravated by fatigue, mental stress, and voluntary movements. The onset usually starts from the orbicularis oculi muscle and then involves the entire face. This disease usually occurs after middle age and is common in women. The cause of this disease is unknown, and modern Western medicine still lacks effective treatment for it. Currently, symptomatic treatment is generally used, but the results are less than ideal. Western medicine treatment mostly uses gamma knife, while traditional Chinese medicine treatment generally adopts a three-in-one comprehensive treatment.

2. If it is an infant, it is most likely neonatal epilepsy, which refers to epilepsy that occurs within 28 days after birth. There are many causative factors for this disease, which are divided into three types: prenatal, delivery and postnatal factors. Prenatal factors include abnormal fetal brain development, fetal cerebral vascular occlusion, prenatal fetal infection, the mother's use of hormones, narcotics, alcohol, etc. during pregnancy leading to congenital metabolic defects in the fetus, and the mother's illness during pregnancy and hereditary convulsions. Factors during delivery include various birth injuries, intracranial or extracranial infection of the fetus, and pregnant women accidentally injecting anesthetics into the child's scalp during difficult labor. Postpartum factors include metabolic disorders, postpartum infection, intracranial hemorrhage, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, among which perinatal asphyxia and hypoxia are the most common causes, followed by metabolic abnormalities and birth injuries.

3. The incidence of this disease is relatively high, about 1.5%-3%. The first peak of the disease is in the first 3 days after birth, and the second peak is in the 4th to 14th day. The disease is divided into four types according to clinical manifestations: micro-, clonic, tonic, and myoclonic. The clinical manifestations of micro-epidermis are not obvious and may manifest as one or more of the following: oral-cheek-tongue movements, tonic eye deviation with or without nystagmus, repetitive eyelid blinking, drooling, sucking movements, pedaling-like movements of the limbs, and changes in respiratory rate or apnea. The clonic type is characterized by rhythmic, slower-rate clonic twitching of the limbs. The ankylosing type is characterized by rigid contraction of the limbs. The myoclonic type is characterized by one or more rapid synchronous twitches of upper and lower limb flexion. This disease should be treated promptly after it occurs, otherwise the prognosis will be poor.