Struggles Before Success in Treating a Tic Disorder

My son, Jun De, has had allergic symptoms for nine years. I spent four of those years trying to reduce his tics before finding the answers I needed.

The child’s father and I both have allergic constitutions. While pregnant with my first child, I did not understand the importance of diet and nutrition; I ate what I wanted and did not take any nutritional supplements, except for folic acid intermittently.

Allergy symptoms surfaced early. I gave birth by cesarean section. My milk supply was insufficient, and we had to supplement with formula.

Jun De soon developed eczema. When I took him for his first vaccine, the doctor said his eczema was so severe that he could not be vaccinated, and I was told to come back after the eczema improved. Meanwhile, the doctor prescribed an ointment and asked us to apply it at home. The eczema improved with the ointment, but it would recur a few days after stopping the treatment. We knew traditional medicine would not be sufficient, but we lived in the country, and I didn’t have a doctor or even friends who were aware of integrative or alternative approaches.

At this point, we did not know that allergies or food intolerance could impact eczema. Not long after this, I ate some seafood. After breastfeeding Jun De, I noticed his eczema flared up immediately. His body was swollen, and his skin was red. We had to rush him to the hospital. Once more, the doctor’s advice was limited to using the ointment. He did not suggest a connection to food, and I now realize some doctors don’t accept the concept of a food-eczema connection at all.

Yet, out of common sense, I began to avoid seafood while breastfeeding, and later, we eliminated it from his diet. Symptoms improved, but eczema persisted at night, especially in hot weather. I would have to gently rub his skin to relieve the itch. Sometimes I had to do this for one to two hours to get him to fall asleep.

For the next few years, Jun De had repeated respiratory infections and was treated each time with intravenous fluids, intramuscular injections, antibiotics, and antiviral drugs. We had so many doctor visits and medical crises! We were frustrated and concerned. During this time, our boy had a brief bout of eye tics that resolved quickly, but they resurfaced at age seven.

Tics at age seven

One day, I noticed Jun De was blinking and making frequent shoulder shrugs. My heart skipped a beat, wondering what was wrong. What would make him shrug his shoulders like this? When I searched online, I kept coming across the term Tourette syndrome.

I consulted a doctor who later diagnosed his ongoing throat clearing and motor tics as Tourette’s. With time, I was referred to another expert in the field, but we would have to travel to a large city for the evaluation.

Meanwhile, I had learned that some families were exploring how tics might be related to allergies, and that food allergy and intolerance tests might be helpful. I was told that kids with tics should avoid spicy foods, food additives, eggs, dairy, and wheat. I was skeptical, but I also recalled how my child has been prone to allergies since childhood. I wanted food testing to help me make decisions. I requested food allergy and food intolerance tests. I also stopped giving Jun De unhealthy junky snacks and spicy foods.

Four days after this, noticing his first tics, we arrived in Qingdao for the evaluation. By this time, Jun De’s shoulder-shrugging symptoms were calm. When the doctor asked about his condition, I showed him a video of Jun De blinking and shrugging his shoulders from a week prior. He confirmed the relationship between food and tics, and suggested we limit snacks, spicy and irritating foods, beverages, chocolate, and caffeine-containing foods.  Testing later showed that he was moderately allergic to eggs. I immediately avoided eggs in addition to the other restrictions, and saw a big improvement. Then we learned more!

Guess what the biggest culprit was!?

When Christmas time came, Jun De’s father felt sorry for our son because he couldn’t enjoy the holiday snacks and treats our family was used to having. So, he bought him three pounds of beautiful, imported cherries.

Who would have imagined that these cherries would trigger an uncontrollable, major tic outbreak? Our son ate all of the fruit over the weekend. The next day, his eyes had unbearable itchiness, conjunctival congestion, and even minor bleeding when the corners of the eyes were touched! Previous eye-blinking now manifested as squinting, as if trying to squeeze his face together. He had throat-clearing, shoulder-shrugging, wrist-turning, body-trembling, and lower-body twitching.

Finding the groundbreaking work of Hui Xhao

It was shocking and frightening! It was now impossible to deny the association between his food and his tics! We scoured the internet for more information and, fortunately, learned about the groundbreaking work of Hui Zhao in Beijing. Through his online social media resources (offered for free), Mr. Hui generously taught hundreds of us families about nutritional supplements and gave us an understanding of dietary and environmental restrictions that could help reduce tics.

Our new lifestyle pays off

The cherries opened our eyes and gave us impetus to search for more triggers. By keeping careful records, we found that Jun De’s throat-clearing worsened after drinking milk, and I learned about the possible harmful effects of gluten on some children with tics. So, I started avoiding dairy and gluten for him. In this way, by gradually implementing additional dietary restrictions, we tackled the root cause of his problems.

After adding appropriate supplements and nutritional support, his metabolism was better regulated. He started to thrive, had a growth spurt, and his allergic attacks and tics became fewer and fewer. It’s been wonderful to observe his healing, and it has been such a relief for all of us.

I share this experience with the hope that other mothers will not be like me! I had no understanding of how tics, allergies, and food intolerances could be connected. This delayed the approaches and treatments we needed. Early intervention leads to early recovery. May all children grow up healthy and happy!

For this report the child’s name was changed and a stock image from Deposit Photos was used.