Tootsie Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 My good friend has a little girl who is 4 years old. She just started this weird habit of going through periods of blinking her eyes repeatedly. Nothing seems to cause it or trigger it she just does it often throughout the day. Its been a couple months now. She just turned 4 in January. My friend started looking online adn is freaking herself out with all the WebMD diagnoses. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krisperry Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 It could be a focal dystonia - blepharospasm http://www.dystonia-foundation.org/pages/more_info___blepharospasm/44.php I have it. It is most pronounced when I'm tired or have been looking at screens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I have a friend with a similar problem. Her step son was diagnosed with some sort of tick and she wonders if it could be generic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 It could be the start of a tic disorder, but it could also be something as simple as dry eyes. I know several people who deal with that, and they all have had success with Omega 3 oils. My eye doctor suggests taking Nordic Naturals products for that - cod liver oil or one of their other fish oils that's been tested for mercury and pcbs. Another possibility is magnesium deficiency. Bananas, potatoes, peanuts, and black beans are all rich in magnesium, if she wants to try increasing the amount through foods to see if it makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssavings Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Can indicate an absence seizure.... might be worth an EEG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) Excessive blinking is a common childhood tic.. It could be allergies too though.. My son starts having the eye-blinking tic a lot if he eats or drinks anything with sodium benzoate. But gluten also affects him.. All four of my children have experienced tics at one point or another.. One of them has a Tourette's diagnosis, but is asymptomatic at this time due to dietary interventions. Edited April 4, 2012 by Misty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhg Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 (edited) My (then) 4 year old son went through a period of time where he did this. It started in August and ended around October. It was very upsetting to me. I thought it was his vision. Took him to optometrist who said eyes normal and who scared me to death about blephorospasm (however you spell it) and he referred me to pediatrician. My son never blinked AT ALL during the entire visit/exam with this optometrist; he simply told me it was blepherospasm based solely on my description. We went to his pediatrician who said it was liking a passing temporary tic and to not make a deal out of it/don't draw attention to it but if it kept up for several months to bring him back; she did a CBC (complete blood count) and that was all. I took him to a pediatric opthalmologist the same day that he saw pediatrician for a second opinion (my choice/my pediatrician didn't refer me to her/I had made this appointment myself the week before we saw the pediatrician); (keep in mind, that optometrist scared me to death talking about the blepherospasm being possibly secondary to a brain tumor). We saw the pediatric opthalmologist who said that she sees at least 2 patients a day who are brought in for the chief complaint of excessive blinking and 99.9% of the time it turns out to be a passing phenomenon. She said she wouldn't even call it a tic. She also said that in her 11 year opthalmology career, she had seen only 2 blepherospasm (however you spell it) turn out to be from a tumor/cancer so don't get on the internet as I did, read the list of all the causes of that and go freaking out and not eating and crying for a week like I did borrowing a ton of trouble needlessly. She also said that that first optometrist shouldn't have even mentioned that to me. It passed on its on about 8 weeks later. For what it's worth, we did know that the blinking coincided with our starting membership at an indoor (highly chloreinated) pool at a gym. He had gone daily the week before the blinking started. I noted that in floaties, his face was inches above the chlorine smell (chlorine's a gas). Also, he had been watching an unusually increase in TV that month. The rule is no more than an hour a day and he had been watching 3/day that week (since my neices were here on a visit). We did quit the pool and the TV until it went away. Resumed the pool that November and he began a bit of blinking, but not nearly as bad (we made a point to not turn on the "warm pool's bubble machine." to decrease the bubbly chlorine next to his face). So....consider the pool thing and rule out TV excess. Ours turned out to be nothing. It passed. We did ignore it and didn't talk to him/each other about it to avoid making it an issue. Your child's is very likely nothing. It'll likely pass, if not, call your doc. Edited April 4, 2012 by mhg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tootsie Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thnx for all the info and sharing your experiences. I will be meting with my friend later today and will share your insight. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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