Motor tics in a 10 year old boy

[Scotty73]

Hi, I'm new to this site and am hoping someone can help me. My son has just turned 10 but has suffered from what I now realise are motor tics since the age of 4-5. It took a while to get to this realisation as it started with his eyes burning and itching following a nasty pseudomonas eye infection to which he would then respond by eye rolling and excessive hard blinks. He was checked out by ophthalmology and they could find nothing else wrong once the infection was cleared. This went on for a few years and then some other tics appeared. He also has been under ENT as he had sinus issues and had pus aspirated from one of his maxillary sinuses. We thought some of the eye irritation was due to that.

 

In hindsight I think most of these were tics all along with the sensory feelings of itching and burning being part of it. He now has a nose twitching tic and opens his mouth wide as well as still odd eye tics. He says his nose itches (he has no allergys) and his jaw feels 'funny' so he has to move it to make it feel right again! I do try not to mention them but he does talk to me about them sometimes especially when a new or particularly bothersome one appears. I just reassure him it's ok and he's perfectly normal whilst inside I feel so sad about it all. In every other way he is fine, no OCD or anything like that and is doing well at school although other kids are starting to notice it. My biggest fear is he will be bullied for it - you know how cruel kids are. Apparently his dad had some tics growing up as his mum remembers him touching his nose all the time.

 

I am in the UK and just wondered if anyone has any advice? He sees a neurologist next Friday just to rule out any underlying reason for the tics and to hopefully confirm what we think is happening. I am so worried he will always be like this as it's been going on so long with no respite from them, they never go away not even for a few days. They do wax and wane though and he is bad at the moment. I haven't known him to have any obvious vocal tics so am hoping he may not get those as they will be even harder for him to live with. I guess I just want someone to say it'll be ok and he will grow out of them! Any advice will be much appreciated 😊

[Chemar]

Hi

sorry to hear your son is dealing with these tics.

 

As they seem to have started after an infection, even though their is no noticeable OCD etc...I would still suggest looking into PANS

Our PANS forum is here http://latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=17

There are some parents there from the UK as well

 

The absence of any vocal tics, and the onset process really does seem to suggest this is not likely to be TS, but the fact that his dad had childhood tics may indicate some genetic component?

 

It may well be just transitory tics, and will pass....as many kids do get these and have no lasting impact.

 

But it is always good to fully check things out.

Do also take a look at our pinned "helpful" thread. Nomatter what is causing these tics, following some simple adaptations like checking for food and environmental allergies, no artificial food coloring or other chemical additives, clean environment and removing other potential triggers etc etc can often help tremendously!

[msimon3]

You may want to consider seeing a doctor who will order a blood test to look at immunological activity, and will repeat that test over time to look for a pattern of chronic infection. For example, we found the level of neutrophils and lymphocytes to be abnormal over time, which helped confirm we were dealing with an infectious process rather than a neurochemical process.

Also note when your son has any clinical symptoms, such as a low grade fever, joint pain, numbness, or anything out of the ordinary. Too often a doctor will focus only on data or symptoms that relate to their field of expertise and fail to seek a comprehensive assessment of health. Keeping a log of those symptoms will not only aid you and your doctor when looking at the clinical history.