Facial Tics

[Hammer39]

My 8yr old son has had various facial tics over the past few years. They would appear and eventually go away. I haven't been overly concerned in the past with the nose twitch or blinking. However, recently he has started a new eye movement that is hindering his vision. Let me explain. He "feels" as though his ocular muscles are tight or loose so he unconsiously rolls the eyeballs to the left or right to "stretch" them. This movement intterupts his line of sight. It has escalated over the past few weeks and is very noticeable.

He has alergies (allergies) and we have used a variety of drops; Opcon, ect. as directed by a an MD. Initially, when the new tic appeared, we tried eye drops to help soothe. No effect.

He is an extremly bright kid who is sensitive and well adjusted. He has had an eye exam and has 20/15. There have been no stressors, except the adoption of our newborn son 8 months ago. The older is in love with little one. The adoption was simple and laid back and has not disrupted family life. The tics were around before the baby.

My wife accuses me of being a bit over concerned when these "child behavior" issues arise. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. I certianly don't want him to be stigmatized.

Should we see a Pediatric Neuroligist? Is there any treatments available or do we ride it out and ignore it? I am concerned that he may be in harms way when baseball season approaches. I find him him doing it on the basketball court now.

Thanks

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It is likely that your son displays a benign condition called transient tic disorder. However, you should definitely schedule an appointment with a pediatric neurologist in order to be sure. This is particularly so if the tic causes problems in functioning. And it is important to remember that the tics, by definition, are involuntary movements and are not under your son's control. While stress can exacerbate some tic conditions, they are not caused by stress.

[kerryanneo]

Please check out Tourette Syndrome(TS) as a first to ruling out tic disorders. TS For more information on this you may find it on the Internet under Tourette Syndrome or by contacting me direct at ***@**** Good luck!

Your child's symptoms seem to fit the waxing and waning of TS tic symptoms exact.

kerryanneo

[scotthas]

My 8 1/2 year old daughter also displays facial expressions as to "clear " her eyes. She seems to try and stretch the musles round her eyes with her eye ball rotating up or to the side.

This started out of the blue maybe 3 months ago. My wife visited a doctor about 1 month ago where he stated that most cases just dissappear so lets wait another 2 months and see what happens.

But in the last week or so it has become worse, and is now noticable in everyday things she does. Although not a big TV watcher it seems to be worse while watching TV .

While my wife and i were careful not to make an issue of the problem, our daughter just mentioned that she knows she is doing it and she is worried that she might have to have an operation. So we comfort her, but Im worried. So it's back to the doctor pronto and the next step is to a clinic that specialises with this condition with children.

I write this to simply let you know that you are not alone with this problem and hopfully we can both post a positve outcome very shortly.