To go to the GP over this re: 4 year old...

[Cosyhusky]

My youngest is 4 and for the last few weeks she's been doing this weird snorting, grunting, coughing/ clearing throat thing. But almost continuously every few seconds/minutes. At first I thought she had a blocked nose or a sore throat, but I don't think it's either of those.

As I type this she's just chilling on the sofa and she will do a small cough then a sniff. Or clear her throat then a snort and a cough like in a pattern.. 🤷‍♀️

I don't think she's ill or anything, but wondering if there's something else going on like a tic or something. It's become almost compulsive in the last few days...

If you're worried about this you should make an appointment to see the doctor.

Go to GP, it may well be something simple like hayfever.

If it is a developing 'tic' type thing, then it's good to have it on her GP records and for you to get advice.

Hopefully just something simple like hayfever or croup though. :)

Hay fever?

Make an appointment with your GP. It could be anything from a minor respiratory tract infection to hay fever or asthma. Or nothing.

Could you video her doing it in case she stops/won't do it at the appointment?

Might she have something physically stuck up her nose? My friend noticed a weird smell around her preschool aged daughter. Turned out she'd shoved a bit of sponge from a painting activity up her nose and it had started to go mouldy! Can you have a peek with a torch? If nothing then see GP.

Has she ever had reflux?

It sound like a tic to me. Whilst it might be a good idea to go to your GP, in general with tics in children it is recommended not to draw attention to them as they resolve quicker when the child is less conscious of them.
Perhaps you could write down what you have said here and pass it to the doctor rather than discuss openly in front of your child.

I would also try to record it on your phone (just sound or video) - just in case it doesn't happen at the appointment.

As the mum of a DS with Tourette’s, go now to the GP to get your concerns noted. She is young enough that she will not be too affected by a doctors visit now, but if it is allowed to go on for months or years then the initial visit will be much more worrying for both her and you.

With my DS, the motor tics started when he was 8, but the verbal tics were a snorting noise he would make after everything he said when he was 3. He went to speech therapy for it, and we were told it was a habit he would eventually grow out of, but it was helpful to have that noise recorded by the GP when the motor tics came up later.

Echoing everyone else, go to GP for advise. Record it if you can on a phone, so you can show them exactly what she does.

DS1 has had occasional tics in the past but not for a couple of years. They have ranged from throat clearing, to blinking to head nodding but generally pass after a few weeks.

Dd(5) does the exact same thing. We first noticed it when she was about to start school but it went away after a couple of weeks. It resurfaces at times of stress or change, it started happening again in the last couple of weeks of term this year but has stopped again now she's finished school. I think it's a stress thing for dd, a nervous tic but because it goes away again I'm not too concerned. I would ignore it but if it doesn't go away I would see GP.

My son used to do similar from about age 3 to age 5.5 - had him checked and whilst he does have hay fever, he has stopped doing it in the last few months so now I think it was a tic.

I would get it checked out to be sure but if it is a tic don’t draw attention to it and she’ll likely grow out of it.