Blepharospasm is the involuntary closing of the eyelids, also known as twitching eyelid or excessive involuntary blinking. The first symptoms of twitching eyelid are an occasional increase in blinking of one or both eyes, or simply some difficulty in keeping the eyes open. Most patients with blepharospasm also present light sensitivity (photophobia) and dry eyes.
If the disease progresses, the eyelid spasms begin to increase in frequency until they become constant. This condition is usually progressive, as the spasms tend to increase in frequency and the relaxation periods become shorter. However, in some cases, the spasms reach a plateau and remain at that level without further progression.
Symptoms usually begin during the fifth or sixth decade of life, and it is three times more common in women. Although benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) was first described in an American medical journal in 1985, it is only in recent years that physicians have started to recognize it as a physical rather than a psychological condition.