Children with tics, what parents can do
Does your son suddenly make a weird gesture And when you call his attention, he replies that he does not know what is being said to him? Does it emit some kind of weird sound and repeat it several times? What happens to the child? Very possibly have a nervous tic that forces him to act in this way.
A problem that although in principle it is not serious, requires the attention of a pediatrician to detect if there is something more aggressive that is causing the tic. Sometimes they disappear alone, in others they require the start of a palliative treatment so that the child learns to coexist with this problem and reduces the hardness with which these symptoms occur.
What is a tic?
The Spanish Association of Pediatrics, AEP, defines tic as a movement in some part of the body, motor tics, or emission of some sound, phonatory tics, in a brief, repetitive and arrhythmic way. According to this organism they are involuntary, although they can be reproduced when requested, abrupt and without apparent purpose. Often appear from 5 to 10 years old, although there are also cases at younger ages.
Depending on the tic, it can manifest itself through different symptoms:
- Simple motor tic. It occurs only in a group of muscles and manifests through blinking, winking, grimacing, nose, mouth or eye movements, shoulder elevation.
- Complex motor tic. It occurs in several muscle groups. It is about those in which the subject needs to touch objects, to jump, to walk the steps again, to touch himself.
- Simple vocal tic. Emission of simple sounds such as cough, growl, scream, click, howl.
- Complex vocal tic. They are those in which the children repeat the last word or phrase uttered by another person (echolalia), repeat the same word or phrase repeatedly (palilalia), pronounce abruptly obscene words (coprolalia).
It is possible that in situations of more stress these tics manifest themselves in a more acute. It is also possible that they remit at certain times that require greater concentration. Its origin is primary, so it has nothing to do with any neurological cause.
How are they treated
Although they rarely prevent doing activities or cause falls, nor do they affect the quality of sleep, although tics may appear at night, it is advisable to see a pediatrician. This will interpret the better treatment from the information provided by the family: symptoms, frequency with which it occurs and duration of the same.
This way you can rule out other problems that cause these tics that need another specialist such as the presence of a tumor that presses the nerves. To get rid of doubts the doctor will make a Physical exam and will ask several questions to both the child and their parents, you may also ask for a recording of these moments.
Once there is a diagnosis by the specialist, he must decide the treatment. There is nothing that makes tics disappear forever, although there are procedures to alleviate the acuity of their symptoms. In more extreme cases will be resorted to neuroleptic medications to prevent the symptoms from affecting the children's daily lives.
Parents should take care to avoid situations of stress in children and these in turn learn relaxation techniques that make them stay calm at this time. In some cases it is possible that they disappear with time and that later they return, something that should not worry the adults since it is something normal.
Damián Montero
