Why does my daughter have episodes where "things look far away"?

[doodles08]

My 6 yr old daughter keeps complaining of  "things looking far away".  When this happens, which is episodic, 2-3 times a day, 1-2 times per year, she says things like..."your head is really small and your body is bigger" or that her backpack, which is 2 ft from her, looks like it's across the room.

She's had a eye exam by an opthamologist (not peds) and her vision is good, no physical problems that he could see.

I am getting concerned.  It happened this morning and again right now as I am typing this.

Any ideas what this could be?

Thanks

[Camillebarnett_34]

I found this and it was helpful https://www.healthline.com/health/alice-in-wonderland-syndrome

[JohnHaganMD]

So: rule out other causes. No treatment.  Sometimes better over time.

[Camillebarnett_34]

I searched out this discussion because my son (10) has had this for about 6 years.  They are almost always a precursor to his night terrors.  They usually happen at night but if he is sleep deprived they can happen during the day, but it’s rare.  It always scares him and all he can say is he’s “seeing far away”.  Sometimes he will cover his eyes with a pillow and the darkness seems to help, but not always.  I would LOVE to know what this is and how to help him.  Thanks for discussing this!  I have never heard of another person having it until now and you feel kinda lost and crazy asking about it with your MD!!

[JohnHaganMD]

Glad it was helpful.

[Krystal1623]

I am 28 years old and I still experience this from time to time. This started with me when I was around 6. It was usually when I was lying in bed ready to go to sleep. As I got older it would happen in school while I was trying to focus on the chalkboard. My mom had taken me to every medical professional in the area and they all looked at me like I was crazy. The only way I could exlain it was to say "mommy I'm seeing far away". It would seem as though the whole room went miles away, but my body almost felt big or swollen.  It can be very scary for a child. I eventually found relief by putting my hand far out in front of my face then focusing on it and slowly bringing it back in to touch my face. This would work about 80% of the time. The other 10% I would try to focus on something else or get up and move around. I have still never hear heard of anyone else dealing with this issue and never found a reason or medical name though it surely does exist. Hope this helps your little one.

[JohnHaganMD]

Migraine variants can do this often with no headache.

[Stuartw88]

I used to experience this alot when I was younger until I was about 12 only at night. I'm now 30 and get the odd occasion where it happens. Since January 2018 I have had it happen during daytime. The feeling big part and everything is far away is exactly what I experience. I also always reach out to grab a battery shape item with my thumb and index finger but they are huge compared to what they should be.

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

Migraines tend to get better, less severe and less frequent as we get older.

[Flavius G Pernoud III, MD]

If you feel that you are getting a trustworthy and accurate history from your 6 yr.old, you owe it to her to follow up on it. Metamorphopsia is a distortion of images which can be caused by something relatively benign like migraine or more worrisome like epilepsy. Teleopsia refers to seeing objects which appear farther away than they actually are. This can be caused by lesions in the parietal area of the brain. Since her eyes are probably normal, I would consult a neurologist, preferably a pediatric neurologist.