Comments on: Nervous Tics in a Nine Year Old Boy http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/ parenting tips, tricks and commentary Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:32:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Jen P http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-26524 Jen P Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:33:59 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-26524 My 6 year old son has blinking tics where his eyes actualy roll back into his head. It started when he was about two with "blinking" that has come and gone for years. Over the years he also had the grunting and clearing the throat tics as well. He also shows many signs of OCD and unofficially diagnosed with ADHD. Long story short, we were living with toxic mold behind the walls of our home. There was NO sign of it at all and our house did not smell like mold. There was a slow leak in the roof and the moisture had been accumulating behind the wall for years before we saw any sign of it. We moved to AZ to get to a drier climate, and now we are dealing with pesticides! Everywhere! the tics are worse than ever. Please look for toxic triggers...VOCs from new cars or new construction can trigger tics, or pesticide/ herbicide exposure can as well. So many things can trigger this! Kids, especially some more than others, may have a genetic predisposition for environmental illness manifesting as tics and learning disabilities. I believe in finding the cause and removing it. Kids with tics probably have a high toxic load and meds will just add to that toxic load and make things worse or cause other problems. There is a vacuum test called ERMI (google it) which is pretty inexpensive and accurate, which will give you an idea of how many and what types of mold spores are in your home. If all checks out ok, then look into other possible toxic cause. We are trying to deal with this ourselves, It is tough! If things don't improve, we will be trying the GAPS diet. We already eat organic and pretty healthy - no caffeine, no tuna (my kids don't like it)! My 6 year old son has blinking tics where his eyes actualy roll back into his head. It started when he was about two with “blinking” that has come and gone for years.

Over the years he also had the grunting and clearing the throat tics as well. He also shows many signs of OCD and unofficially diagnosed with ADHD.

Long story short, we were living with toxic mold behind the walls of our home. There was NO sign of it at all and our house did not smell like mold. There was a slow leak in the roof and the moisture had been accumulating behind the wall for years before we saw any sign of it.

We moved to AZ to get to a drier climate, and now we are dealing with pesticides! Everywhere! the tics are worse than ever.

Please look for toxic triggers…VOCs from new cars or new construction can trigger tics, or pesticide/ herbicide exposure can as well. So many things can trigger this! Kids, especially some more than others, may have a genetic predisposition for environmental illness manifesting as tics and learning disabilities. I believe in finding the cause and removing it. Kids with tics probably have a high toxic load and meds will just add to that toxic load and make things worse or cause other problems.

There is a vacuum test called ERMI (google it) which is pretty inexpensive and accurate, which will give you an idea of how many and what types of mold spores are in your home. If all checks out ok, then look into other possible toxic cause.

We are trying to deal with this ourselves, It is tough! If things don’t improve, we will be trying the GAPS diet. We already eat organic and pretty healthy – no caffeine, no tuna (my kids don’t like it)!

]]> By: Aleesha http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-26424 Aleesha Wed, 15 Jun 2011 07:54:08 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-26424 Thanks Bonnie for the reply. Your advice of not drawing attention to it is great advice and your reason behind it really hit home. I would hate for him to worry about it to. For now I plan to remove caffeine and any tuna from his diet and see of this helps. I do plan on still seeing the eye specialists to have other conditions ruled out. Thanks again! Thanks Bonnie for the reply. Your advice of not drawing attention to it is great advice and your reason behind it really hit home. I would hate for him to worry about it to. For now I plan to remove caffeine and any tuna from his diet and see of this helps. I do plan on still seeing the eye specialists to have other conditions ruled out. Thanks again!

]]> By: Bonnie C. http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-26423 Bonnie C. Wed, 15 Jun 2011 04:44:26 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-26423 To Aleesha-- I remember how stressed I was when my son had tics, and how frightened. Back then a friend told me boys often got tics and it would most likely go away on its own, but looking back I firmly believe it was the canned tuna. We had been eating LOTS of the albacore, believing to be a healthy, low cal, heart-smart choice, when it is unfortunately laden with the potent neurotoxin mercury: http://www.epa.gov/mercury/health.htm Back then I read a study online that talked about a connection between mercury exposure in kids, and tics. It took a couple of months off the tuna, and my son gradually stopped jerking his head and blinking his eyes. I don't think it was a coincidence. I haven't served tuna in over a decade, and don't plan to. I used Costco's canned chicken to make chicken salad sandwiches instead. My advice? Don't draw attention to it. No reason for your son to be worried, too. Best wished. To Aleesha– I remember how stressed I was when my son had tics, and how frightened. Back then a friend told me boys often got tics and it would most likely go away on its own, but looking back I firmly believe it was the canned tuna. We had been eating LOTS of the albacore, believing to be a healthy, low cal, heart-smart choice, when it is unfortunately laden with the potent neurotoxin mercury: http://www.epa.gov/mercury/health.htm
Back then I read a study online that talked about a connection between mercury exposure in kids, and tics.
It took a couple of months off the tuna, and my son gradually stopped jerking his head and blinking his eyes. I don’t think it was a coincidence. I haven’t served tuna in over a decade, and don’t plan to. I used Costco’s canned chicken to make chicken salad sandwiches instead. My advice? Don’t draw attention to it. No reason for your son to be worried, too. Best wished.

]]> By: Aleesha http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-26422 Aleesha Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:05:44 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-26422 Hi everyone I am in the same boat as you all. I have a four year old son who first started having the blinking eye TiC in March of 2010. It usually only occured in the evening or when he was watching television. I took him to his doctor thinking he was having a hard time seeing.... that was not the case and I was sent home being told he has a tick, it is common in boys, and it will pass. Now over the last year it seems as though all is normal, besides the fact that he is a very high strung child at times, and needs structure. At one point he did do the throat clearing thing and that passed to and than just this week the blinking returned. I honestly though it was allergies since he cleared his throat at one point and now is blinking a lot and it was more noticable after being out at the zoo all day. I took him to the doctor today hoping to get allergy testing done and she told me is alittle OCD and that this is a tick. She said that it may go away or it may linger and he may have mild trets. I am so saddened by the news.... I was just hoping it was allergies but to be honest the way he blinks looks odd and deep down I had a bad feeling about it and kind of thought it probably wasn't allergies. Now it is a waiting game to see if and when it leaves. I talked to my grandma and she said that she had a two different ticks when growing up and that they went away. I had no idea of this! I noticed that some of the postings say stress and diet can bring on the ticks and this weekend we made chocolate chip cookies so maybe the caffeine in the cookies brought it on again??? And he had the stress of his dad being home for the weekend and leaving for two weeks for work. But he always has that stress because my husband is always traveling for work. It is so hard for me to watch him do the blinking and sometimes nodding his head with it... it looks so aggresive and painful to me. I was told to not point it out. So parents is there really nothing I can do? Just ignore it and act like all is normal? Would seeing a neurologist be beneficial? This site has been really helpful because I did feel all alone experiencing this with my son. Hi everyone I am in the same boat as you all. I have a four year old son who first started having the blinking eye TiC in March of 2010. It usually only occured in the evening or when he was watching television. I took him to his doctor thinking he was having a hard time seeing…. that was not the case and I was sent home being told he has a tick, it is common in boys, and it will pass. Now over the last year it seems as though all is normal, besides the fact that he is a very high strung child at times, and needs structure. At one point he did do the throat clearing thing and that passed to and than just this week the blinking returned. I honestly though it was allergies since he cleared his throat at one point and now is blinking a lot and it was more noticable after being out at the zoo all day. I took him to the doctor today hoping to get allergy testing done and she told me is alittle OCD and that this is a tick. She said that it may go away or it may linger and he may have mild trets. I am so saddened by the news…. I was just hoping it was allergies but to be honest the way he blinks looks odd and deep down I had a bad feeling about it and kind of thought it probably wasn’t allergies. Now it is a waiting game to see if and when it leaves. I talked to my grandma and she said that she had a two different ticks when growing up and that they went away. I had no idea of this! I noticed that some of the postings say stress and diet can bring on the ticks and this weekend we made chocolate chip cookies so maybe the caffeine in the cookies brought it on again??? And he had the stress of his dad being home for the weekend and leaving for two weeks for work. But he always has that stress because my husband is always traveling for work. It is so hard for me to watch him do the blinking and sometimes nodding his head with it… it looks so aggresive and painful to me. I was told to not point it out. So parents is there really nothing I can do? Just ignore it and act like all is normal? Would seeing a neurologist be beneficial?
This site has been really helpful because I did feel all alone experiencing this with my son.

]]> By: April http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-26398 April Wed, 11 May 2011 21:24:00 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-26398 Hi everyone, I ran across this website while researching blinking tics. My daughter is 5 and she just started a few months ago. She blinks rapildy and when she opens her eyes her right eye looks like it shoots from the lower left side to the upper right side of her eye. It made my stomach hurt the first time I saw it happen. Everyone (including my mom and husband) told me to hold off on a Dr. visit because it was allergy season and her eyes are probably dry. The only problem is that I know my child and I know if her eyes were dry that she would come tell me and or complain about it at least once...and nothing not even one complaint about her eyes itching or being dry. So I took their advice and waited it out. The blinking went away, but soon returned and seems to come and go and sometimes for just a few minutes or so. I am concerned and will be making an appointment with the peditrician just to ease my mind. I did not realize how common the blinking is until I started googling it. I have never heard of it and she is my only child so I have never experienced it. Hoping that the Dr. can ease my mind. It is nice to know that I am not the only one going through this. Good luck to all of you and your children. Hi everyone,

I ran across this website while researching blinking tics. My daughter is 5 and she just started a few months ago. She blinks rapildy and when she opens her eyes her right eye looks like it shoots from the lower left side to the upper right side of her eye. It made my stomach hurt the first time I saw it happen. Everyone (including my mom and husband) told me to hold off on a Dr. visit because it was allergy season and her eyes are probably dry. The only problem is that I know my child and I know if her eyes were dry that she would come tell me and or complain about it at least once…and nothing not even one complaint about her eyes itching or being dry. So I took their advice and waited it out. The blinking went away, but soon returned and seems to come and go and sometimes for just a few minutes or so. I am concerned and will be making an appointment with the peditrician just to ease my mind. I did not realize how common the blinking is until I started googling it. I have never heard of it and she is my only child so I have never experienced it. Hoping that the Dr. can ease my mind. It is nice to know that I am not the only one going through this. Good luck to all of you and your children.

]]> By: Heidi http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-26152 Heidi Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:38:55 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-26152 My 7 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5 years old. He was put on a stimulant and last year he started to TIC. First, it was eye blinking, then neck jerking, and now some grunting. We immediately took him off of the stimulant as it can make them worse. He's now on Intuniv. It comes and goes. That is the most important thing to know about TICs. They can come and go for no apparent reason. However, our doctor told us that growth spurts in children can play a large factor as well as stress and diet. That's why the TICs are generally worse during childhood and puberty. In 60% of cases, they resolve themself by the time they are 18-20 years old. We have found a good neurologist in our area that monitors my son and we keep his TIC's and ADHD in check with Intuniv and Risperidone. Some kids with TIC's don't need medication because they are mild enough that they don't interfere too much. If it gets to the point where they are too much for your child, I would suggest taking him to someone who specializes in Tourette's, TICs, or ADHD. Most psychiatrists know enough to help or a neurologist can be extremely helpful. The hardest thing for me is to watch is my son's self esteem going downhill. Kids and even adults can be cruel so knowing what I'm dealing with is key. Now that we know how to handle it better, it's much easier to reassure him that everything is going to be ok. TIC's can be very hereditary. ADHD, TIC's, Tourettes, and OCD are very closely related. If anyone in your family has any of these things, it can very easily be passed down. I had a few TIC's growing up, but they resolved themselves in a few years. Hang in there and enjoy the good days. I know that my son is finally learning how to cope this more as he gets older and i hope he will be stronger for it. My 7 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5 years old. He was put on a stimulant and last year he started to TIC. First, it was eye blinking, then neck jerking, and now some grunting. We immediately took him off of the stimulant as it can make them worse. He’s now on Intuniv. It comes and goes. That is the most important thing to know about TICs. They can come and go for no apparent reason. However, our doctor told us that growth spurts in children can play a large factor as well as stress and diet. That’s why the TICs are generally worse during childhood and puberty. In 60% of cases, they resolve themself by the time they are 18-20 years old. We have found a good neurologist in our area that monitors my son and we keep his TIC’s and ADHD in check with Intuniv and Risperidone. Some kids with TIC’s don’t need medication because they are mild enough that they don’t interfere too much. If it gets to the point where they are too much for your child, I would suggest taking him to someone who specializes in Tourette’s, TICs, or ADHD. Most psychiatrists know enough to help or a neurologist can be extremely helpful. The hardest thing for me is to watch is my son’s self esteem going downhill. Kids and even adults can be cruel so knowing what I’m dealing with is key. Now that we know how to handle it better, it’s much easier to reassure him that everything is going to be ok. TIC’s can be very hereditary. ADHD, TIC’s, Tourettes, and OCD are very closely related. If anyone in your family has any of these things, it can very easily be passed down. I had a few TIC’s growing up, but they resolved themselves in a few years. Hang in there and enjoy the good days. I know that my son is finally learning how to cope this more as he gets older and i hope he will be stronger for it.

]]> By: chris http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-26029 chris Sun, 02 May 2010 03:43:39 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-26029 carole, my 10 year old daughter has had mild eye blinking off and on for several years. She has recently been diagnosed with ADD and has been taking medication which has triggered more complex tics. What is the doctors name in california ? I want to take her to him. carole,
my 10 year old daughter has had mild eye blinking off and on for several years. She has recently been diagnosed with ADD and has been taking medication which has triggered more complex tics. What is the doctors name in california ? I want to take her to him.

]]> By: Jackie http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-25852 Jackie Sat, 08 Aug 2009 04:23:20 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-25852 My son has ADD. When he was 3, he blinked his eye alot. I thought his eyes were tired. It stopped after a week. It started this year that he was daignosed with ADD. He stop taking the meds, cause he had lost 3 lbs for less than a month. I noticed for the last 3 months his he kept opening his mouth in a wierd way. He is about to start school soon and I am afraid that this won't go away. My son has ADD. When he was 3, he blinked his eye alot. I thought his eyes were tired. It stopped after a week. It started this year that he was daignosed with ADD. He stop taking the meds, cause he had lost 3 lbs for less than a month. I noticed for the last 3 months his he kept opening his mouth in a wierd way. He is about to start school soon and I am afraid that this won’t go away.

]]> By: Bonnie C. http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-25836 Bonnie C. Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:18:43 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-25836 At about age 12 my son developed tics including involuntary head twitching and blinking. After combing the Internet, I came upon something mentioning tuna and mercury with regard to the muscle twitching thing. My son (at that time) ate tons of tuna. At least a can a day, but often much more. We completely cut out the tuna and the symptoms got better and then eventually disappeared. According to the EPA and the FDA kids should only be eating tuna once ever few weeks: http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/tuna.asp I am not saying this will cure all children of tics, but hey, it certainly can't hurt to stop poisoning kids with mercury! At about age 12 my son developed tics including involuntary head twitching and blinking. After combing the Internet, I came upon something mentioning tuna and mercury with regard to the muscle twitching thing. My son (at that time) ate tons of tuna. At least a can a day, but often much more. We completely cut out the tuna and the symptoms got better and then eventually disappeared. According to the EPA and the FDA kids should only be eating tuna once ever few weeks: http://www.nrdc.org/health/eff.....y/tuna.asp
I am not saying this will cure all children of tics, but hey, it certainly can’t hurt to stop poisoning kids with mercury!

]]> By: trish http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/comment-page-1/#comment-25826 trish Tue, 12 May 2009 20:05:21 +0000 http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/06/15/nervous-tics-in-a-nine-year-old-boy/#comment-25826 thanku 4 that.. my son has now stoped the throat clearing, it lasted bout 4weeks.. he woke up 1 morning and the grunting had gone.. its been weeks now.. i hope it wont cum bk.. good luk with ur wee girl.. trish x thanku 4 that.. my son has now stoped the throat clearing, it lasted bout 4weeks.. he woke up 1 morning and the grunting had gone.. its been weeks now.. i hope it wont cum bk.. good luk with ur wee girl.. trish x

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