8 year old child with ticks

[debjlynn]

In the last year I have noticed my son has constant ticks that seem change on a monthly basis.  He will stop one and start another.  He started with tilting his head back off and on.. now he is moves his eyes from side to side and clears his throat.  Why is he doing this?  Is it an anxiety disorder?  At times he can be difficult, talks back, doesn't listen.. like many 8 year olds but I have to wonder now with the ticks that he has is it all related?  I am not certain what to do or who to talk to about it.  

[Chants1978]

Did you get anywhere with this? Any diagnosis. Both my sons are doing the exact same thing as yours they are 10 and 11

[specialmom]

Hi there, welcome to the forum.  What kinds of tics do your sons have?  My son has had tics since around 8.  He still does. He has tics that change over time and have been both simple and complex vocal tics as well as motor tics.  I try to help him find things that are less noticeable to his peers (my worry is making fun of him).  It's hard when they sit in a classroom and have tics!  He has sensory processing disorder and anxiety.  With sensory, kids do it to refocus, stay focused.  So, I try to help him by making sure he has a squeezy ball he can hold or hand fidget (not those silly fidgets everyone got as the latest fad last year, those spinner things which aren't real fidgets but real ones . . . if you need ideas, I can supply examples).  With anxiety, we try to work on anxiety as a whole.  He had some fidgets that were strange looking.  I tried to help him get a handle on those and switch to something else.  Not sure everyone can do that but it seemed like his motor tics will shift and the one he has now and has had for a year and a half is not that noticeable.  Someone might' pick up on it if they are closely observing him but otherwise, it's mainly our family that knows about it.  The vocal tics . . . he's had words he's said, but for him now, it's mostly a sound.  Like a hum that is quick and brief.  It's rough with that one when are sitting in a quiet atmosphere so he works to try to do breathing exercises in those situations so he doesn't do it.  

Anyway, tell us more about your sons and we'll try to help!

[rongos95]

My daughter is 10 years old.  She has had ticks a couple years ago with blinking her eyes alot.  That went away for a long time.  Just recently I noticed she says "ahem" and clears her throat alot.  She also nods her head alot too.  Should I draw attention to her to stop?  Should I just let it go? Should I call the pediatrician?  

[margypops]

Last post was for Claudie914  

[margypops]

As zyrtec is OTC you could stop giving it to him and see if it improves but it sounds like it gets a lot of attention from you all .,all these people asking him about it.Try ignoring the behavior make no mention of it and tell others the same .Focus on his positive side ., maybe he needs to be busy with sports ..does dad play games with him ?

[Claudie914]

I have also noticed our 8yr old with the same ticks lately. He tilts his head back and forth and is constantly smelling his hands. If he's not tilting his head he's smelling his hands and it goes on and on throughout the day. We've not told anyone about this but even his friends and cousins will ask him why he keeps smelling his hands. Just yesterday my in-laws asked us why he keeps tilting his head and smelling his hands, so it's obvious that he's not just doing this when he's as home with us but even when he's at other peoples house or out and about. He's on zyrtec off and on, especially when hiss allergies get out of control and I honestly didn't know that, that could have been some of the side effects--now that's scary.. We noticed his "tick's" even as young as 4 and they seem to change into something else with time... When we've mentioned it to his pediatrician, he casually dismisses it and says that it's perfectly normal for all kids to get some kind of tick and that it eventually wears off. We see it "wearing off" but only to then get a new tick.. we're just hoping that eventually it does go away completely. I do not want to put him on any OCD medications or for that matter any medications for anxiety, etc. If anyone would like to share ideas on how to better this situation, I'd gladly look into it. Thanks for your help.

[Eddy83]

just want to join this community.

[Mira380]

My Son he is 8 now, started a new habit 2 days ago out of no were basically he blinks once and raises his eyebrows up and then he twitches his eyes. I am sure this is a tic of some sort! I know he has stress about school and my husband’s routine oriented way, his teacher this year is hard on him and has approached and thinks my son had ADD, we followed up on it with his doctor and he put him on Meds for AHDD.. I was totally against it but my routine oriented husband was arguing that I need to listen to teacher and Dr. Thankfully he did show side effects and I put him off those meds. Now this tic happened out of no were! I am clueless between his pediatrician my husband and the teacher I cannot do my Motherly instinct. What do I need to do I am so worried about him. Should I straight go and see a Neurologist?
Please help with any info if someone has already had my situation and saw a good Doctor?!

[ormasha]

I have a 7.5 year old son who started constantly snapping his head back about a month ago. It's definitely a tick, and it started very suddenly, and I don't know what to do. Please let me know if you have any breakthrough with this.
We're not on Zyrtec, but my son does have some allergies and eczema

[ormasha]

I have a 7.5 year old son who started constantly snapping his head back about a month ago. It's definitely a tick, and it started very suddenly, and I don't know what to do. Please let me know if you have any breakthrough with this.
We're not on Zyrtec, but my son does have some allergies and eczema

[ILMom3]

I am in the EXACT same situation with my soon to be 6 year old. SAME thing... eye rolling, head movement and he CONSTANTLY has the "ahem, ahem" throat clearing. I talked to our Pediatrician and was told that because my son is on Zyrtec (same as yours!) that it could be a side effect from that and was told that they would watch it for 6 months. Well, every six months or so a NEW tick appears (after the "old" one finally goes away) and I get told "let's wait and see". Not sure what the answer is, but I feel your pain. Just wanted to let you know that you are NOT alone. I tried taking him off Zyrtec and that just made him miserable with his allergies. If you have any new news, please let me know!

[debjlynn]

He takes Zyrtec for allergies.  I do not have any children that has these tics.  He does do it at school as he told me a friend of his asked him why he was moving his eyes the way he does.  My husband travels for a living and this causes stress on him.. I would assume it would cause stress on any 8 year old boy who loves his Dad.  I have been reading on the internet that tics can be caused from low magnesium.  I have also ready about herbal remedies.  Do you have thoughts about this.  I am going to try to incorporate more magnesium type food in his diet... I do not believe he even gets the recommended dose naturally through foods on a daily basis.  Is there a supplement that is safe for kids that can be added to food?

[margypops]

Is he taking any meds, sometime they can have side effects ,could he be copying anyone has he older siblings, doe sanyone lese do anythjing even similar ? Does he do thios at school ask his teacher how he is doing if alls well at school it tells you the problem lies at home. What do you think he could be anxious about ?