confused mum of a 4 year pld with tics

[mummyof2]

hi,my 4 year old boy has recently been to the doctors as he has a blinking tic,he blinks continuously and excessively. a good few month back,he started sniffin but i took no notice of it at this point as i assumed it was jus a silly little habbit. after a while,the sniffing stopped and the blinking started. when i noticed the blinkin getting worse i rang the doctors. she told me to ignore it and it'l go away. no need to take him in. so i left it,ignored it.....it got worse. so i demanded to see a doctor. this doctor was better,she straight away wanted to see him anyway and seemed concerned for him,especialy when i mentioned about his school teacher questioning me about it. anyway,she said its a definate tic but shes gonna get his eyes tested just so its ruled out. whilst i was there i asked about the habbit he has of biting his top lip. she said he probably just got chapped lips and wont have anything to do with a tic. since then his lip bitings continued and got worse and now hes bitin top and bottom lip,and has now ended up with sore lips. the last thing is,iv always known my son to be a little whistler,he loves it. but his teacher brought it up at parents evening,she said she's continuously telling him to stop whistling. since her bringing it up,iv now noticed he does do it quite alot....where as before,i got that used to it,i stopped noticing it...if that makes any sense. im just after any advise of any sort really....could they all be linked?? and also any information about tics...iv read alot on the internet but im just wondering if this could be something short term or does it sound like something long term? thanx xxxx

[Chemar]

Hi and welcome

 

The doctor is missing that lip licking/biting and even whistling can be tics as well. So yes, it sounds like your son is having tics. But these may be what are known as "transient" tics and go away on their own...or there could be something causing them...maybe Tourette but also maybe one of many other things that can trigger tics

Here is an informal survey of some common tic triggers (scroll down to see the list) http://www.latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

 

Does you son have any behavior problems that seem more intense than normal kid stuff? Any signs of OCD?

[mummyof2]

Hi and welcome

 

The doctor is missing that lip licking/biting and even whistling can be tics as well. So yes, it sounds like your son is having tics. But these may be what are known as "transient" tics and go away on their own...or there could be something causing them...maybe Tourette but also maybe one of many other things that can trigger tics

Here is an informal survey of some common tic triggers (scroll down to see the list) http://www.latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

 

Does you son have any behavior problems that seem more intense than normal kid stuff? Any signs of OCD?

he does seem to get stressed quite easily and strikes out by shouting or screaming. also he's recently started some wierd things to the family household 'i want you to die' 'i want someone to kill you' and 'i dont love you no more'.

[mummyof2]

Hi and welcome

 

The doctor is missing that lip licking/biting and even whistling can be tics as well. So yes, it sounds like your son is having tics. But these may be what are known as "transient" tics and go away on their own...or there could be something causing them...maybe Tourette but also maybe one of many other things that can trigger tics

Here is an informal survey of some common tic triggers (scroll down to see the list) http://www.latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

 

Does you son have any behavior problems that seem more intense than normal kid stuff? Any signs of OCD?

he does seem to get stressed quite easily and strikes out by shouting or screaming. also he's recently started some wierd things to the family household 'i want you to die' 'i want someone to kill you' and 'i dont love you no more'.

**started sayin some wierd things**

[Chemar]

Hi again

does he have a history of strep infections? or any other infections

 

with that kind of behavior accompanying the tics especially, I would strongly suggest you also check into possible PANDAS or PITAND (infection induced tics/neuropsychiatric autoimmune conditions)

We have a special forum here where you can ask questions

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=17

[mummyof2]

if im honest i dont actually no what strep infections are...never heard of them before?

[Chemar]

strep = streptocuccus and most often occurs as strep throat...I guess if you have not heard of it then it is unlikely a doctor has ever diagnosed your child with it...but that does not mean he has never had it!

 

Are you in the USA?

[mummyof2]

no im in the uk. i dont recall him having a sore throat to be honest,not recently anyway. when he started the sniffing at the beggining,he had just gotten over a cold. he was sniffing alot with the cold so i pressumed he just got used to it and formed a habbit,thats why i didnt think anything of it to be honest. oh and shortly after i had to take him back to the doctors with ear ache. he had me up the previous night with it and was crying hysterically. the doctor never said he had an ear infection,just that it was very angry looking and inflamed,so was given antibiotics. also iv read somewhere,cant remember what or where but it was about night terrors being a symptom. when he was about 2 he started wit bad night terrors,lasted quite a while. the older he got,he grew out of it but from round about turning 4 years old,he started them again. was every night around the same time and he used to be hysterical,his eyes would be open but e wasnt awake,he'd stare right through me,and he used to shake with them. he still does it now but its changed slightly. he wakes up crying every night around the same time each night,but he only wakes up crying because he needs a wee,once iv took him toilet and put him back in bed,he seems to settle pretty much straight away? does that sound like it could be related or just a completely irrelivent thing? thanx for all your help

[Familyof5]

sleep disorders are common co-morbid symptoms with tic disorders. You need to correct the sleep problems so the body can start to heal. My son had night terrors as well.

[mummyof2]

hi family of 5,thanx for your reply. how did you correct your childs night terrors? its just become part of my sons routine now that i dont even know where id start if i was to try correct it? tank you

[blakes_mom]

hi,my 4 year old boy has recently been to the doctors as he has a blinking tic,he blinks continuously and excessively. a good few month back,he started sniffin but i took no notice of it at this point as i assumed it was jus a silly little habbit. after a while,the sniffing stopped and the blinking started. when i noticed the blinkin getting worse i rang the doctors. she told me to ignore it and it'l go away. no need to take him in. so i left it,ignored it.....it got worse. so i demanded to see a doctor. this doctor was better,she straight away wanted to see him anyway and seemed concerned for him,especialy when i mentioned about his school teacher questioning me about it. anyway,she said its a definate tic but shes gonna get his eyes tested just so its ruled out. whilst i was there i asked about the habbit he has of biting his top lip. she said he probably just got chapped lips and wont have anything to do with a tic. since then his lip bitings continued and got worse and now hes bitin top and bottom lip,and has now ended up with sore lips. the last thing is,iv always known my son to be a little whistler,he loves it. but his teacher brought it up at parents evening,she said she's continuously telling him to stop whistling. since her bringing it up,iv now noticed he does do it quite alot....where as before,i got that used to it,i stopped noticing it...if that makes any sense. im just after any advise of any sort really....could they all be linked?? and also any information about tics...iv read alot on the internet but im just wondering if this could be something short term or does it sound like something long term? thanx xxxx

[blakes_mom]

Please look into the diagnosis of pandas.My 10 year old son had these symptoms(blinking tic and biting his upper lip) and he has been diagnosed with pandas.

[mar]

I think that u need to look into pandas also.

[mummyof2]

hi,thank you for your reply. il certainly luk into it abit further. you said your 10 year old has pandas,once he got diagnosed,what happened then...does it wear off or last forever? and do they need treatment of any sort? thanx for your response.

[Chemar]

You may want to take a look at these 2 websites for info on PANDAS

 

http://www.pandasnetwork.org

 

http://www.pandasresourcenetwork.org

 

Remember that even if your child has never had strep, other infectious agents can cause a similar condition

 

Specific antibiotics and other treatments are needed, depending on what the infection is