Superstitious man slaps twitching eye, causes retinal detachment

A man identified only as Le, living in Wuhan, Hubei province, suffered a retinal detachment after repeatedly slapping his twitching right eyelid. He had been troubled by the twitching for several days and, after rest and warm compresses failed, turned to the internet for advice. There, he found claims that slapping the eyelid could 'drive away bad luck,' a belief rooted in the Chinese saying that a twitching left eye brings wealth while a twitching right eye brings disaster.

Le slapped the area around his right eye for three days. The twitching eventually stopped, but he developed a far more serious problem: a retinal detachment. He sought medical help, and surgeons at a local hospital successfully restored his vision. The incident highlights the dangers of relying on folk remedies and internet misinformation instead of professional medical care. Some elderly in China also believe that sticking a strip of white paper onto the eyelid can stop the twitching.