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Children's health

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Original poster

baby twitching eye while feeding

12 replies

Rod64 · 30/04/2013 12:04

Hi my 4 month old twitches his left superior eyelidwhile breastfeeding or sucking his fingers. Has anyone seen this with their babies?
Thanks
Rodrigo

OP posts:

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ThePortlyPinUp · 30/04/2013 12:06

My dd1 had this and it was Marcus Gunn Syndrome, obviously I'd contact your health visitor or gp as it could be something totally unrelated or nothing.

Original poster

Rod64 · 01/05/2013 16:01

Thanks. I did some research on the web following your post. May I ask how old she is now and whether you have considered surgery. I imagine children at school could be nasty to her.
Rod

OP posts:

ThePortlyPinUp · 01/05/2013 16:49

She is 11 now and it's not noticeable at all now, we were literally told she had it and that was that, she didn't need any surgery etc.

ThePortlyPinUp · 01/05/2013 16:53

She has other eye problems though still so I'm not sure if that is related, I'd say the Marcus Gunn Syndrome became less obvious by the time she was 4 or 5 by which time it was mainly when she was tired that her eyelid dropped to half mast.

barleysugar · 03/05/2013 11:22

Yes, it's caused by the nerves being misdirected. It's usually not harmful, more of a quirk really. But if it causes the eyelid to stay lower than the other one for any length of time, it's worth having regular vision checks to make sure the eye doesn't get lazy.

cheekyginger · 03/05/2013 22:19

Hi Rod64,

Def sounds like marcus gunn jaw winking.

Very rarely requires treatment. Just becomes a very cool party trick for a teenager!

Worth getting referred so that your LO can be checked properly and confirm the diagnosis.

idiot55 · 07/05/2013 18:23

was going to say the same as the others, cheekyginger Im guessing you are an orthoptist, me too!

cheekyginger · 26/05/2013 21:51

Hi idiot55,

Yes i'm an orthoptist!! Nice to find a fellow squinty person

Original poster

Rod64 · 08/08/2013 22:51

Thanks to all for the answers.

Over the past months my son saw eye consultants who diagnosed Marcus Gunn. He needs to be seen every three months until he's 1yo, than every 6 months, to make sure that the vision is developing normally.

Rod.

OP posts:

Mou1991 · 21/10/2018 20:33

Hi Rod64

Hope you are doing good. I have noticed same happening with my 9 months son's right eye. Your son must be 5 years by now. Could you please share if this has stopped or is it something serious. I am much tensed about it. Any detail would realy be helpful for me. Thanks.

Rodders92 · 21/10/2018 22:37

Marcus Gunn tends to be noticed more when younger as babies do a lot more sucking than older children. It is due to a connection between the nerve supplying the muscle moving the eyelid and the nerve supplying the muscles that move the jaw that isn’t normally there. (another orthoptist)

LittleLlamaMay · 13/08/2020 13:39

Hiya, this thread is super old I know but just wanted to post for anyone searching. I'm 26 and have marcus gunn jaw winking myself. I just want to reassure some mums that A. It was never a problem at school B. I dont have any eye problems that relate C. It really just is a cool party trick.

I've just had a baby girl 7 weeks ago and noticed she has it too, but in the opposite eye :) it's an adorable quirk and nothing I would be worried about.

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