Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Children's health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Odd blinking

13 replies

Watto1 · 24/12/2013 09:02

I'm posting on behalf of my friend.

Her dd blinks really obviously IYKWIM. Every time she blinks, she screws her eyes up really tightly. Is this just a habit she will grow out of or a sign of something else? She's just 5.

TIA

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
Sparklingbrook · 24/12/2013 09:19

Watto DS1 did this about the same age. Worried me a lot. Turned out to be a phase, it went on for a few months but stopped as suddenly as it started. One thing I did do though was take him for an eye test just to rule anything out. It was fine.

MadeOfStarDust · 24/12/2013 09:22

it could just be a phase - my dd did this - we took her to the doc and he said it was stress/tiredness related, nothing to worry about, so we used the placebo effect and told her that her hay fever medication would get rid of it Blush - and it did....

TanteRose · 24/12/2013 09:25

My DD did this - ignore it and she'll grow out of it

Original poster
Watto1 · 24/12/2013 10:48

Thanks all.Thanks I thought it was probably just a phase. I'll pass this on to my friend.

OP posts:
girlynut · 29/12/2013 09:19

My 8yo DS started doing something very similar a couple of months ago. An eye test showed no problems with his eyes. We went to our GP who asked him about how he was getting on at his new middle school and he told her he'd found it tough to settle in but was better now.

Her advice was that he had a transient facial tic which may well resolve by itself. She said to not draw attention to it but to come back immediately if at any time it becomes associated with a severe headache or pain in the eyes. We're going back in Jan if it's not resolved.

I think it is worse when he is stressed or tired so we are trying to make sure he gets to bed on time (bit hard over xmas!) and keep things at home calm.

MadameJ · 30/12/2013 10:52

My dd did this and lots of people told me it was a phase etc but it turned out to be astigmatism in both eye's so I would get it ruled out for your own peace of mind.

incywincyspideragain · 30/12/2013 23:25

Ds1 (7) started doing this couple of months ago,took him to opticians today,told he has blepharitis and have to clean around his eyes with a solution twice a day,he describes his eyes as dry and sore. Might be a fase for lo you describe but worth checking if carries on for a while

babypup · 02/01/2014 12:20

I just posted a similar thread. My 4 year old did this for 4 months during the summer. It stopped but started again at Xmas. Always worse when he is watching TV but eye test was fine in summer. I'm concerned it has come back as most people seem to have a one off experience of this from what I have read

incywincyspideragain · 02/01/2014 13:39

babypup ask optician about blepharitis as I'd never heard about it before and it describes ds's eyes to a tee, we've been to the opticians for 3 sight tests in 6 months as he was adamant his eyes were sore when reading, hoping the solution will stop them being sore now - optician described it like eczema so not serious if eyes are kept clean

babypup · 02/01/2014 15:55

Thanks for flagging the possibility of blepharitis. Did your son have red/sore eyes? My little boy's eyes look fine, but he blinks a lot, looks to be squinting (looking through his eyes whilst they are partially closed) and he does rub them a fair bit. Just wondered if you saw something more physical in your son that alerted you to this possibility? x

bobkate · 02/01/2014 17:00

My daughter had similar, squinting, blinking really obviously - when I took her to the opticians they asked if she had been poorly. She did come down with a nasty cold about 2 weeks after the blinking started. Turns out ( in our case ) that it was the first signs of this cold. Optician said the tear ducts are often the first to go - the body tries to use it's resources to fight the infection. So she had very dry eyes and the blinking/squinting was her eyes trying to encourage more fluid into them. Don't know if that helps? It all stopped fairly soon after the cold had finished Smile

incywincyspideragain · 02/01/2014 19:44

babypup no nothing like that,he would say his eyes were sore,no visible redness or inflamation,when he had been concentrating on something for a few minutes - reading,Lego,tv - he would rub them lots and complain. Optician did a sight test then put some yellow dye in ds's eyes,ds said that really stung and optician said that confirmed he had it as the dye shouldn't sting,there was nothing visible or any history of eye problems ie infections

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread