[PopsiclePeach]

Hi,

I am posting here for more traffic....

In the last few days, my 7yo DS has been excessively blinking/squinting his eyes - like a sort of tic.

He says his eyes are not sore/itchy, he doesn't have any vision issues and it seems completely involuntary. It happens whether he is watching TV, playing outside, driving in the car etc. He also was doing it in his sleep last night.

He has had a few funny little quirks before like opening his mouth and scrunching his nose but the mouth one especially I had put down to trying to itch his lips without touching them as he sometimes gets a rash and I am forever telling him not to touch it. These have gone away by themselves. I guess as this one is really obvious it is making me worry.

He has no other involuntary arm/leg movements or vocal tics.

So I have been doing some googling, as you do and have come across both 'transient tics' and Tourette's syndrome.

He has no other behavioural issues or other health issues such as ADHD, OCD etc which is sometimes linked to Tourettes however he is a bit of an anxious child I guess. No problems academically or socially however. He is a bright, happy NT child that just sometimes gets a bit worried about things. He's not worried about anything in particular now (so he tells me) and it's school holidays so it can't be school etc. He is a good student with lots of friends and I think I would know if it was school related.

Anyway, I took him to the Dr this morning and she doesn't seem overly concerned and has asked me to come back in 2-3 weeks if it's still there and she can refer me to a paediatrician and an optician (or some kind of eye doctor). She also said that it is very difficult to diagnose Tourettes.

I asked her about a possible magnesium deficiency as I had read this may cause tics but she said this more causes the eyelid 'twitches' rather than the hard blinking/squeezing that he is doing.

I guess I am just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar or has any advice?

Thanks

PP

This post has been edited by PopsiclePeach: 12/04/2012, 12:27 PM

[itsaboysworld]

For TS to be dx'd a person needs to display constant tics for over 12 months.

There are many tic disorders and I'd probably follow up with a paed. I wouldnt get too concerned just yet.

[PopsiclePeach]

Thank you itsaboys world, I know I am probably working myself up over this, hopefully unnecessarily. I tend to overthink things!

[*LucyE*]

DS started an eye blink twitch thing at the start of the year. He wasn't complaining about pain or itchiness so I left it initially to see if it would go away on it's own.

A few weeks on, I took him to our GP who thought it may be allergies. A week of eye drops and nothing changed. Back to the GP and a referral to an ophthalmologist.

Turns out, it is a viral infection. We're treating with medicated eye drops ATM. If it doesn't clear once the corse is completed, we will go back.

[itsaboysworld]

Hmmm that probably seemed a bit dismissive. It wasnt meant to be, I was just getting up to make lunch, sorry.

If you are concerned it is anxiety related, maybe start making notes of when it happens and what is going on around him and probably even take note of when it is NOT hapenning, see if there is something you can notice from that point of view.

[scooty]

My DS did this when he was about 2 1/2. It lasted a while (say a month or two) but has now gone away of it own accord. I was also a little distrurbed and people asked why he started doing it. I worked out he did it when he was tired, so aybe he just had sore eyes. He no longer does this, but I still look out for it incase it really is something else. Good Luck.

[PopsiclePeach]

Haha itsaboysworld, no, I didn't take it as dismissive at all - merely sensible!

Yeah I am not sure re: the anxiety thing but I will definitely watch to see if there are any triggers etc, thank you.

LucyE, that is interesting re: the viral infection, I have read that strep throat can sometimes cause this type of thing too. Would be interested to see if your DS's clear up with the drops.

[PopsiclePeach]

Thanks Scooty, yes he has been having later nights as it is school hols so he could be tired too I suppose. He has always had quite 'light sensitive' eyes i.e. get really watery in bright lights etc.

[decisionsdecisio...]

Same was happening to my son between 3 and 4 years of age. Visit to a paediatric opthalmologist to test eye-sight and turns out he is long sighted. He was blinking excessively and squinting to try to focus - especially when watching tv. When asked he never said it was difficult to see (as he simply didn't know any differently to how he had always seen). Now fitted with glasses and the blinking or squinting has disappeared.

[PopsiclePeach]

Thanks decisionsdecisions, yes, I think if it hasn't improved in a few weeks we will go to an opthamologist