Facial Spasms

[Kome_Lika]

I have a wonderful baby girl named Makenna. She is 10 months old. We noticed her teeth are finally cutting a few days ago. It seems like since that day she has been having facial spasms. My wife and I are very concerned. It happens very quick (between a half second to two seconds), often when she is either excited or frustrated, but sometimes just out of the blue. She doesn't seem to notice them at all and just continues about her business. After a serach on the internet I am terrified. Could she have Infantile spasms? Prognosis is poor for IS. Her spasms don't look like the IS spasms I am seeing online, but I don't know if they start small and then progress. We have an appointment with her Ped tomorrow morning. We have no idea what to expect.

She has been a miracle baby since she was born. She has been breastfed since day one, she has slept through the night for months, she eats anything we give her, and she is really the happiest baby I have ever seen and rarely cries unless she is tired. I can't imagine anything actually being wrong with her.

[jakemsu]

We have a 7 month old boy who has just started having the same sypmtoms you described.  He makes a strange face only for a second and it seems involuntary.  We went to the doctor yesterday and of course our son didn't make the face the entire time.  We are scheduled to return to the doctor on Monday.

Sorry to see no responses to your e-mail.  Please let us know if you receive any information (we will do the same for you).

[jesslyynn]

MY 8 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER JUST CUT HER FIRST TOOTH ABOUT A WEEK AGO AND OVER THE WEEKEND WE NOTICED HER HAVING SPASMS IN HER FACE.  THEY ARE SHORT AND WE CAUGHT SOME ON VIDEO FOR HER PED.  SHE HAS AN APPOINTMENT FOR AN EEG AND AN MRI AS WELL AS HAS BEEN REFERRED TO A NEUROLOGIST.  SHE HAS ALSO HAD NO MEDICAL PROBLEMS AND HAS BEEN VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY.  IT IS VERY PUZZLING AND SCARY AS TO WHAT IS THE CAUSE.

[Degrouv]

My 6 month old son has the same symptoms listed above. They just began this morning and happened again tonight while eating.
We are going to the doctor tomorrow morning-has anyone found any answers?

[zulu567]

hi ,
My baby has similar prob as you all described even i am  worried  he too has symptoms suggested in infantail syndrome but, he has not been daignosed . may be because we areseeing a neurologist ,instead of good pediatrician .even i am worried about poor prognosis if he is daignosed  with infantail spasms.pls go through ?posted under seziers ? infantail spasams. do reply fast pls

[Kome_Lika]

Hello all, Well I have good news to report. Makenna is doing fine. Her EEG came back abnormal (higher voltages on the left side of the brain compared to the right side). We took her in for an MRI and it came back normal. She no longer has the facial spasms. They seem to have disapeared altogether. We have an appointment at the end of the month with a nuerologist to hopefully wrap this up once and for all.

To Zulu, infantile spasms look nothing like facial spasms. I had to stop looking online for answers because I was scaring the hell out of myself and my wife. Good luck to all.

[dorotaha]

Hello all,

My 7 month old baby started having the same symptoms (facial spasms while eating that appeared after he had his first teeth). Did anyone find answers other than Koma Lika ?

Please let us know.

Thanks

[greekmom]

Wow, we are experiencing this problem too.  My daughter is having sudden facial tics or spasms, and I have been scaring myself reading things on the net.  She is 8 months old, and teething really badly, so I am hoping that this is the cause.  We are calling the doctor tomorrow of course, but I am terrified right now..she too has been very normal and happy, and it is strange this is happening :(
Please, those of you who have posted, if you have any information, I would love for you to share!

[EdithW]

My ten month old boy has been doing the same thing it really is scary. Some facial spasms which look very wierd, 2 or 3 on the trot and a few times a day. We have been to the doctor who was non-comittal but did mention infant spasms but also said it could be part of normal development.  We have an EEG next week and will let people know if there is any news. Not sure how common it is but they seemed to think not very. He also has just developed mild excema and has no teeth yet. There are also some interesting video clips on you tube.

[jw7078]

For those of us whose child is experiencing this for the first time, could one of you let us know how if turned out with your child.  It appears that facial tics are fairly common, but no one on this site ever seems to relate how the problem was resolved, diagnosis, etc.

[sweetpea03]

facial spasms tend to happen when a young child is growing quickly. It's fairly normal and goes away on it's own. My cousin had it for a few months and then it was gone. haven't had any problems since and everything is perfectly normal.

[vgru78]

Our baby had "facial spasms" when she was around 6 month old. These happened over a course of a week and would happen several times during the day. She would have an unusual mouth opening and curving expression. We taped this and showed it to our pediatritian who tought it is probably nothing but recommended seeing a pediatric neurologist just to be sure. We did an EEG which came back normal showing no seizure activity. We also did an MRI which showed some brain abnormalities. It is uncertain if those spasms were related to this in any way. She is 10 months now and she never had any other "events".
If your child is having facial spasms, while it is probably nothing, it is good to ask for a specialist oppinion.

[AdrianMR]

I just wanted to leave a post regarding this subject.

We looked all over the internet to find out what was happening to our little boy Fraser some 7 months ago. He was having some involuntary tics or facial spasms that started at about 7 months of age that just didn't quite fit the IS diagnosis. They progressively got worse for the next 2-3 months so much so that we thought it best to get a EEG scan. It's hard to describe the symptoms, but his eye lids would flutter and his face would contort into a mild grimace for 0.5 to 1 secs 3-4 times in a row. At it's peak these kind of episodes would happen about 5-8 times per day. We couldn't isolate any pattern to this either through his diet or time of the day - it just seemed so random. The closest we could find to a trigger was bright light, but even then it was sporadic.

I probably don't need to illustrate the fear and worry that goes through your mind at this stage, as you're probably there at the moment, but we did find incredible comfort from the this thread - which leads me to this post. Between the EEG (where incidentally he did have an episode) and the following specialists consultation (several weeks later), things improved dramatically and they seemed to just stop. The specialist said that there was no abnormal brain activity, even while he had the episode, which was a huge relief. But by then I felt fairly certain this was just going to disappear. The problem only lasted about 3 months and has now complete gone. It's now been 4 months since he had a spasm and it looks to have naturally cleared up.

I truly hope this post reaches parents who are worried about these kinds of spasms that the medical community doesn't seem to have classified. Our specialist was equally mystified. After reading the previous posts and through our experience, I suspect brain development in some infants can veer slightly off course during this rapid period of growth, but self corrects. He's lovely boy, bright as a button and developing ahead of the curve with whole world ahead of him.

Best wishes to your family and I hope everything works out as well for you.

[Kome_Lika]

I just got an email alerting to a private message regarding this thread. It has been a very long time since I posted this and I remember the fear vividly. My second post shows my frustration. Makenna will be four in January and she has never had any further episodes. She is a very healthy, happy, and well adjusted little girl. She also has a little brother that is due any minute now. He's taking his time though. I keep telling my wife that it feels like the day before Christmas... everyday!

To all the parents searching for information on this mysterious topic, I hope this thread helps. I remember finding nothing constructive on the subject, only bad news. I didn't realize the activity generated on this thread, but it looks like all the parents that have posted have kids that turned out healthy. Good luck... and try not to drive yourself or your spouse crazy while you go through the paces of the EEG and the MRI.

[KatieDinVA]

Thanks so much for following up--It's now been many years since your post! My daughter is 8 months and doing something similar to what you are describing. She is so developmentally appropriate in every other way its just these random facials spasms... Reading this makes me feel much better!

[all4mybaby]

can you help me? My daughter is only 3.5 month and has started showing the tic. The ped adviced MRI rather than EEG. I don't why but I don't want the MRI b/c of the anesthesia. Does any of you know if MRI is ok for such a young baby? I am so terrified and worried. Please help. The tic on her face is so frequent. When it happens, it could be every 1-2 minute. She won't have it when she sleep or feed. Thanks much for your help!!!

[flowerstar]

My boy will be 7months soon and he started having facial spasms (tic, cramping - his mouth goes all crazy, one eyebrow lifts really high, sometimes his shoulders will tense up) couple of days ago. We got so freaked out that we went to an ER (showed them a video where our baby does that thing) - they said it doesn't look that bad, it probably is just a phase that baby goes through but advised to see a pediatrician. Yesterday i went to our clinic and some physician took a look at him (our pedi couldn't see us until today) and said that he'll be fine and i don't have to worry. How can i not worry if my son is having facial spasms - each one lasts about 3sec and it happens more than 10times a day? So we are seeing our pedi later today, will see what she has to say.
His facial spasms happens only when he's moving around and smiling. If he's sitting in his car seat, eating or just laying in his stroller - he's fine and i haven't seen the cramping to happen during those times.
What freaks me out the most - no one has ever seen this to happen with a baby! No one - i have talked and emailed the video to a bunch of people and all of them have never experienced such thing!

[littlepiggyemm]

We just returned from the EEG with our 7-month old son. He was experiencing the same thing as the others above have mentioned, with the facial grimacing that lasted 1-2 seconds. The first time we saw it we thought he was trying to poop. The spasms returned the following day and increased in frequency in subsequent days, up to about 25 times about 5 days after the first 'event'. But since his EEG was normal - and everything about him and his development have been normal with the exception of the facial twitches that started around when he cut his first tooth - we got sent home from the hospital. My wife and I are really happy to find this thread as it helped to FINALLY provided an explanation that didn't include infantile spasms or complex motor stereotypes (both not so happy diagnoses) and it fit in with the common doctor (pediatrician, ER doctor, pediatric neurologist) response that this wasn't anything major to worry about. Naturally, if you're a parent, go the doctor route in order to make sure that your baby is fine - but remember that this might really truly be something that is common and not dangerous. Thanks for this thread!

[Clair1972]

My daughter is 12 weeks old and in the last few days has started having these facial spasms too.  It looks like she is doing a very serious pout.  They only last a second or two, but she does seem to throw her neck back as well.  I have tried to arouse her when this happens and she comes back to me... although it could just been that the spasm has finished. She seems healthy in all other regards. Has anyone else experienced this.  I'm worried out of my mind. I have tried to ignore it, hoping it was just a one off, but it has happened for three days now, in clusters of 4 or 5 episodes. She is my third child and I have not seen this in any of the others.  I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow morning, but don't think i'll be getting any sleep.

[margypops]

Try not to worry as you will see on this thread that its considered a normal pattern at this age some think it is a tic, ,but disappears before long I understand your concern and be good when you have her checked out, let us know what the doctor  says ..good luck

[River2012]

My five month old just started doing the same thing.  Her mouth pulls back on the sides and her neck stiffens up.  It is clear that she isn't in control over this, but it doesn't seem to bother her either??  We had an EEG done last week, which came back with abnormal brain activity, but they couldn't tell us it was seizure activity for sure. We have an appointment in the morning with a pediatric neurologist and are hoping (and praying) for the best.

[River2012]

My five month old just started doing the same thing.  Her mouth pulls back on the sides and her neck stiffens up.  It is clear that she isn't in control over this, but it doesn't seem to bother her either??  We had an EEG done last week, which came back with abnormal brain activity, but they couldn't tell us it was seizure activity for sure. We have an appointment in the morning with a pediatric neurologist and are hoping (and praying) for the best.

[connam06]

Our 7.5 month old baby girl is showing the same symptoms as many others have posted about. Its almost like shes making a funny face, and occurs normally when shes irritated or eating. It lasts about 1-2 seconds and doesnt appear to bother her. She's been the best baby anyone could ask for and is developing right along. At first we thought the faces were the funniest thing ever until it kept repeating and we noticed it doesnt seem voluntary. It happens a few times a day and we are beyond worried but this thread brought a little peace of mind. I've got an appointment with the Pediatrician in 3 days but I don't have much hope for any relief as it seems doctors are about clueless these days (Judging by the experiences in the thread and my own personal experiences with doctors). I hope with time this proves to be a phase but i'm a worry freak and wont be right until it stops. Thank you all for the encouraging words and I am happy it seems most people who have followed up turned out everything to be OK.

[connam06]

Our 7.5 month old baby girl is showing the same symptoms as many others have posted about. Its almost like shes making a funny face, and occurs normally when shes irritated or eating. It lasts about 1-2 seconds and doesnt appear to bother her. She's been the best baby anyone could ask for and is developing right along. At first we thought the faces were the funniest thing ever until it kept repeating and we noticed it doesnt seem voluntary. It happens a few times a day and we are beyond worried but this thread brought a little peace of mind. I've got an appointment with the Pediatrician in 3 days but I don't have much hope for any relief as it seems doctors are about clueless these days (Judging by the experiences in the thread and my own personal experiences with doctors). I hope with time this proves to be a phase but i'm a worry freak and wont be right until it stops. Thank you all for the encouraging words and I am happy it seems most people who have followed up turned out everything to be OK.

[Kome_Lika]

Connam06, I get a PM once in a while that brings me back to this thread. I'm amazed by how many people have posted with similar symptoms. I remember being terrified and unable to find anything other than bad news. A thread like this would have saved me and my wife many sleepless nights. I'm really glad that I asked the question back in 07' and the responses have been encouraging for so many people.

I remember the first time I saw Makenna do it. I was bathing her and I, too, thought it was the cutest thing. Once I realized it wasn't voluntary is when my mind went into hyperdrive destruct mode and I scared the hell out of myself and my wife. Rough days!

Funny, almost immediately after the MRI when the neurologist told us to relax and that it was normal for a developing brain to sort of outpace itself and miswire some neurons (my words, not his; he probably had a more medical sounding explanation), Makenna's tics subsided and the fear just passed. Don't worry, your kid is fine. Enjoy the baby phase! It goes by so fast! Makenna is 8 now and I can hear her riding her bike outside while her 4 year old brother is yelling after her. Life is good!

[beck1313]

Hello-  I also was a very worried parent like all of you (the worry never goes away though!). My son started with eye twitching at 6 months, then one side of face, then it became a seizure- like on whole side of face, including mouth from 7- 11 months. We took him to our dr, then pediatric neurologist, and did MRI, EEG, etc- all of it. They didn't know what caused it, and put him on meds. We only did one week of meds because it was REALLY bad on him. On the advice of a trusted family friend, we took him to a chiropractor. His c1, c2 and sacrum were adjusted (very gently). Seizures lessened, and we went twice a week for a few months, then weekly, then now monthly. We haven't seen any more seizures since he was 11 months, and he is now 20 months. The neurologist couldn't find a cause. Since then, we have also figured out he is allergic to all dairy, as well as some other things. So you might consider taking your kid to a chiropractor, or figuring out allergies! (Until now, never visited a chiro before.) Best of luck to all you you!

[FutureW81801]

Hello I know this is an old post, but I have a 4mo old that was born with all the symptoms u have posted. She was diagnosed with seizures as well. On multiple meds that are really hard on her. Can u tell me how the C4 etc played a role in her healing?