winkeye!

[Jaw27]

I know this discussion is a couple of years old now but hey!

I am 27 and have Marcus Gunn syndrom! (did not mean for it to sound like a AA meeting)

Like all kids i was teased but to be honest i don;t think i was teased more than the red heads or the one with his brothers old shoes!

When i was younger i did have some problems with my special eye but as i have grown up i am glad i did not get it operated on. If you look at most of the stories about people getting their eye operated on then they often have a string of operations with the same result, more surgery! I know there are differences in how sevear peoples eyes are but if the eyelid is not below the iris there should be no problems other than cosmetics.

If anyone else have any questions please ask i would be more than happy to answer


This discussion is related to eye blinks when chewing plz help.

[WinkyEye2]

I am 49 years old and I never knew until today what this was called.  I just decided to see if there was anything about it on the internet.  Kids started making fun of me in the 7th grade.  Since then, I have been self-conscience and I try my best not to eat in front of people.  When I talk, laugh or just move my mouth in general, it happens and everybody notices.  In the scheme of things, I am very blessed but as a kid, it was very difficult.  Thank you all for sharing your stories!!  Oh, I did go to the doctor about it and he said the risk of trying to repair it would not be worth the damage it could cause to have a permanent closed eye lid.  At that time, he did not tell me or name, but said somehow my jaw muscles and eye lid were cross wired.  ;)

[npatentalakis]

Hallo,
I'm Nikolas, 28, from Greece.

I first noticed it when i was 18, a girlfriend of mine told me my eye widens when i eat. Then on, i can even feel it when i do it.

I have found a moderate solution for that. I just look down when i eat, towards my plate, so that the eye doesn't open.

Just take small bites, so that the jaw doesnt' open much. Simple. Since then, no one seems to notice. Xept when i eat up a sandwich and open my mouth to the full.

Greetings from Greece.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[kureigu]

Hey all, I'm Craig from Scotland.
I've just turned twenty and for as long as I can remember I've wondered what this thing I had was. It's kinda interesting to actually find other people with this, I'd never even heard of anyone else with this other than myself. I don't recall this ever causing me a problem during my school life. Most people thought it was pretty cool and no one was ever put off by it or stared at it.
I asked my dentist and doctor about it recently and neither of them could tell me anything about it other than it was a neat party trick.
I never knew that there was any treatment for it, and even if I did I still wouldn't have had it. It's a pretty unique trait to have and I think I'd feel strange without it now.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

This is an excellent reference on "jaw winking"

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1213228-overview

JCH MD

[selfmotivated]

I am almost 30 and I discovered this year what it is. I have gone my entire life not knowing what was wrong with my eye and that it's called Maxillopalpebral Synkinesis. I never was made fun of for it, however it has affected my confidence. For this I close my eyes while drinking, and I look away while chewing food at dinner when sitting across from someone that I usually do not eat with. I wish I would have had an easy fix way back when. My doctor told me when I was in my tens to wear an eye patch fver my normal eye for 6 months to strengthen the weak eye lid. I never did, and now that I have been reading up on my problem, I'm glad I didn't because it seems that is not the cure. The best thing for a kid who has it, is to let them know what it is and that they are not the only one who has it. We are who we are and we must accept and love that and be grateful for alot!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

I have not read of it and think it would be frought with problems such as complete closure or having a droopy lid that is more noticable than the winking phenomen.

JCH IIMD

[mswils]

Hi there - have you or anybody else thought about trying botox injections into the muscle that pulls the eyelid up when chewing?  Just a thought since surgery doesn't sound like the answer.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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