I just noticed a facial tic on my son

[JoyG]

He was fine this morning and now he is blinking his eyes "hard" about 10 times a minute. He's aware he's doing it but can't stop it and says there's nothing in his eyes.

I'm really concerned! I just did a google search and it says up to 25% of kids experience facial tics at some point.

I've never heard of this before. Does anyone have any experience with this? Did it go away and never come back again or did it turn into a lifetime condition?

I'm so worried.

Thanks.

 

[GJM]

My DS did this when he was 5 (I think that was his age at the time). At lst. I didn't think anything of it, then I took him to the Dr. and she said it was normal for that to happen and that it should just stop. One day it did just stop, he is now 8 and it has never happen again.

 

[poohandwendy]

My younger sister had a facial twitch when she was young, but I have no idea what caused it. She would do this hard blinking thing too. She did outgrow it before her teens, I know that much. Sorry I can't be of more help.

 

[kejoda]

My son has a coughing sound he makes. It comes and goes. Sometimes a cold will trigger it.

I would think the number should be higher I know quite a few people whose kids have had this happen. Some for no reason and some during stressful times. Is he experiencing any kind of stress?

 

[punkin]

Usually tics will just go away. Unfortunately sometimes they don't. My DD15 was diagnosed with Tourettes in 1st grade. It has been fairly mild until this year, when it has started to interfere with things. Go get it checked out if you are worried.

 

[JoyG]

Some for no reason and some during stressful times. Is he experiencing any kind of stress?

Recently he's been arguing with his brother and I've noticed the fights are more intense. Maybe I should switch the bedroom arrangements.

 

[Sinderelli]

My son also has the blinking hard tic occassionally- he's almost 9, and this has come and gone for the past couple of years. Now, DS has epilepsy and is also on ADHD meds, so I was worried it was either of the two. I talked to his neurologist, and he assured me this is very common in young children, to try not to draw attention to it, and it will stop. I've noticed he does it more often when he's tired.

 

[crazee4mickey]

I wouldn't be too concerned if he just started doing it.

Sometimes kids will do little facial things without even noticing such as the blinking, scrunching up their nose, twitching the mouth, etc.

His eyes could just maybe feel dry to him and he doesn't realize it. You know what it feels like when your eyes are dry, you blink without really even knowing it trying to keep them moist.

I also believe that if you point something out that a child is doing that they are unaware of at first then the symptoms will "worsen"---not that the child is trying to do it on purpose, it just sometimes happens this way!

It stresses children to have something pointed out to them (my son used to stutter and we were told never to mention it to him or point out that he is doing it as the stress he will feel will make it worsen)

Also, never look up symptoms on the internet!

Yikes...it will give you much more to worry about then necessary---if you are really that concerned and it continues take him to see the doctor (family or optometrist).

 

[kejoda]

Recently he's been arguing with his brother and I've noticed the fights are more intense. Maybe I should switch the bedroom arrangements.

trust me separate rooms won't stop the fighting. Maybe different houses but who wants to go that far.

I would wait and see if it stops on its own.

 

[paigevz]

Usually tics will just go away. Unfortunately sometimes they don't. My DD15 was diagnosed with Tourettes in 1st grade. It has been fairly mild until this year, when it has started to interfere with things. Go get it checked out if you are worried.

Yes, I taught a boy in Pre-K who did that, blink his eyes a lot. His mother used to tell him to stop, but of course he had no control. He moved before Kinder. By the time I saw him again in 2nd grade, he'd been diagnosed with Tourette's.

 

[GJM]

I also did not point it out to him when he did it. In the begining I asked if his eyes bother him and he said no, but when I took him to the Dr. and she told me not to worry that it should go away it did.

I didn't want to bring attention to it and make it worse.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

It stresses children to have something pointed out to them (my son used to stutter and we were told never to mention it to him or point out that he is doing it as the stress he will feel will make it worsen)

This is very true. I have a slight slur when I talk, and my sixth grade teacher pointed it out to me and my parents, and not until then is when I was more self conscience about it. I had no idea I had it. My parents said they didn't know either, but who knows if that's true..

 

[Liberty Belle]

My son had a tic for about a week. It went away. Unless there's an underlying problem (add, tourettes, etc) they usually do go away.

 

[JoyG]

He got up this morning and it's less noticable than before.

Just bumping for the morning crowd...

 

[tmarquez]

My son has a coughing sound he makes. It comes and goes. Sometimes a cold will trigger it.

I would think the number should be higher I know quite a few people whose kids have had this happen. Some for no reason and some during stressful times. Is he experiencing any kind of stress?

My stepson had this too. It went on for a long time. He was around 6 and went for his yearly checkup and did it in front of the DR...turns out he had asthma. He outgrew it.

 

[kejoda]

My stepson had this too. It went on for a long time. He was around 6 and went for his yearly checkup and did it in front of the DR...turns out he had asthma. He outgrew it.

We did check him for asthma. I much prefer the tic.

Joy I'm glad to hear the update. Let us know when it stops.

 

[JoyG]

n/m

 

[JoyG]

Ok, I have been watching him all day and he only really tics when the tv is on. When he's watching tv, it's almost constant.

During the day today without tv on, I barely noticed it. If I hadn't literally been staring at him the entire day, I wouldn't have noticed a thing. As it was I only noticed the occasional tic.

If you have experienced tics with your children, did you notice them more during television watching?

I put a call into the doctor and they said they don't usually do anything about them unless they're bothering the child.

Meanwhile, I'm pacing a path in the carpeting.

I would make him turn off the tv, but he's watching Star Wars and he's been looking forward to it all day. The dr. said he could keep watching it, that having tics won't hurt him or anything.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

It's not uncommon for a child to have a tic. They usually go away and it's not an ongoing problem. To be diagnosed with TS a child needs to have, at the very least, a motor and a vocal tic and some sort of tic needs to be going on for at least a year. My 17yo does have TS, but it's not common and I would forget that it's even going on at this point. The odds are it will clear up and if not, you can have him checked out.