3 year old multiple tics

[foreverhopeful1uk]

Last year, at the age of two, my son developed a blinking tic. It wasn't all the time, and it went after three weeks, and I put this down to him having COVID. However, a year on, he had another illness. It was croup, and I also believe he may have had COVID after that. And from that, he developed a sort of throat clearing noise that he would make through his nose. And that has gone on for nearly two weeks, and I started to think perhaps this is more of a habit, a tic. He's now evolved from that to touching his nose and sniffing with his nose. So he's always touching his nose as if he has a runny nose, but he doesn't. It's been checked by ent and there is nothing wrong. last week, I noticed that he was starting to look down as if it was a blink, but not quite a blink. That's evolved now to him extending his neck frequently and doing a grimace on his face at the same time, which is clearly a tic. I spoke to the doctor, being referred to neurology, and also she's given us some antibiotics to take in case it could be PANS. It's only been a day, and as of yet, I've not seen any change. I just want to know if anyone's had any experience with the child being around about the age of three and developing multiple tics over a very short space of time, and any advice, and if they've gone away, because I'm very worried. Thank you.

There were signs of ASD that became noticeable when he started nursery, which then have become more obvious as he’s got older. Not the case for everyone tho, they could just be stand alone tics. (*My last post should have read that the hospital said tics are not unusual to see in children, and that they normally outgrow them)

Thanks for replying...I don't see anything currently, so will keep an eye out in the future. Im just sort of trying to ride out this new flare up, I'm hoping as it's passed previously this will be the same in this case but I'm super nervous of screen time, being tired, not eating the right food etc is exhausting x

Me again 🤪 how long does your son's flare ups usually last? X

DS1 developed tics when school anxiety was too much to manage. So much so he had a Tourette’s diagnosis. Mostly motor tics, shrugging, blinking, throat clearing, snorting etc rather than verbal. He is also autistic. Wasn’t officially diagnosed til 11 though which may have been why he was selectively mute, ticing and had sensory issues in younger years. It has to come out somewhere when no support is available. I’d take it as an indicator of overwhelming stress rather than nutritional deficit.

DS1 had tics which waxed and waned depending how stressed he was. He doesn’t have them as an adult.
Unfortunately, his nephew also has them, they’ve been noticeable since he was 3; he’s now a teen. He has learnt to control most of them when he’s out but when he arrives home they are very prominent! Like pp have said he can go a few months without any but this is rare at the moment; puberty is not helping.

Thanks for your replies...I'm constantly watching him and feel super worried when I see him blinking or opening his mouth 😩

before the magnesium they used to last on average between 2-3 months and then either change to a different tic or take a break (breaks could last a few days to a month) Since the magnesium he can go months with no tics at all then just mild ones that only last a short time. I stopped the magnesium a couple of times but they just came back, so just keep him on it all the time now.

That's incredible about the magnesium which ones do u use and how much do you give?

Yes my now 15 year old as well. He was diagnosed with autism at 3 and ADHD at 12, around the same time he was diagnosed with Tourettes also.

Akways worth checking out with HCPs to rule out any health issue that may be causing it.

Just to say- you said upthread you are frightened it is tourettes. Don't be scared. It might be a fairly transient thing related to anxiety or illness as you say. Ds has usually mild tics that become more severe when he is anxious- or after a period of stress (such as the exam period, when over he ticced hard for a few days). There are some brilliant resources online and there is a young man on youtube called Caspar who does loads of videos about Tourette's and tics.

When DS started with noticeable tics he did a sort of facial grimace and neck spasm and it scared me. It looked painful (it was not that painful, just uncomfortable he said) and I was terrified about bullying (and there was also a sense of 'what NOW?' as he has a number of issues going on with him from neurodiversity to severe health issues). But he lives quite well with it and after it was explained to his class (and he's not the only child in the school with Tourettes by a long way) his class are quite protective of him.

Also- tics at this age are very common and often they subside, perhaps only coming back at times of stress.

As they have been linked to illnesses, I would definitely look at PANDAS. The NHS only recently acknowledged PANS/PANDAS so you might have a battle to get a diagnosis. My child has to regularly take Ibuprofen for a few days and antibiotics if ill with a Strep infection, but clearly don’t do that without medical advice.

panspandasuk.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21986507947&gbraid=0AAAAA-hDt9110sQTHtsyjQbXpZf4-jTaI&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjdTCBhCLARIsAEu8bpLbRkrsAi3u4t-b4qzGXmqDADL8FgYRldnH-DyiGSwLsunrjFghEMUaAh73EALw_wcB

I’d it’s PANS or PANDAS then you should give him nurofen and antihistamines too for the two weeks he’s on the antibiotics as it all helps reduce the autoimmune encephalitis that’s causing the tics. Have you been on the PANS/PANDAS website.

We did do antibotics the 1st time he had them and it did reduce after 3 days but they still continued for a while. I will speak to the dr and see if we should go back on the antibotics. Shall I give ibuprofen for a few days to see if that helps reduce?

Novomins kids magnesium - They are little strawberry chewy bears (£9.99 on Amazon, not sure if they are cheaper anywhere else) He has one before bed.

Me again- he has now developed an eye roll which he only seems to do when he's in the car or if he's watching the TV usually when he is tired. But it's happening everyday. I'm a little nervous it could be something a bit more serious or just given his background with tics if this is just another tic developed. He started this phase of his mouth tic that then went to a blinking tic that's now a blink and an eye roll over 9 weeks ago? Any advice or experience x

Check out PANS / PANDAS asap.
try to get antibiotics from the doc if you can (esp if he tests positive for strep)
nurofen and antihistamines can also help (if it’s PANS/PANDAS)
joint the P/P Facebook group and there’s a P/P charity with more info.
it can be triggered by mould / strep / Lyme amongst other things.
wishing him well
xx

I don't think it's this as he's been seen by a dr and he doesn't have any other signs and it hasn't presented quickly it's been a slow and gradual thing x

Along with the antibiotics you can take brown as an anti inflammatory and antihistamines. If it’s PANS there’s a protocol that reduces brain inflammation. It’s great your doc has even heard of it. Give nurofen every few hours for a few days, you can’t do it long term as it can harm their stomachs but short term will be ok to ascertain whether it helps. Also certrazene antihistamines the combination of all three will let you know if it’s PANDAS or PANS

Thanks for this- he had the last phase of tics for around 10 weeks and then they stoped for around 2 weeks and now they are back AGAIN 🙄 if he has these for 8 more weeks then it will have been a full year. Do you think these can still be transient if they have gone on that long? X