What are the symptoms of tics in children?

Children are lively and active, and often do things to attract the attention of their parents or people around them. If you find that your child frequently makes faces and shakes his head, parents must pay attention. If a child frequently exhibits such phenomena, it is not because the child is naughty, but because the child suffers from Tourette syndrome. At this time, parents must pay attention and take the child to the hospital for examination and treatment.

1. Children with tics may often grin, pout, shrink their noses, make weird faces, etc. These are all caused by twitching of the facial muscles.

2. When a child suffers from tics, his eye muscles may also twitch. Eye muscle twitches often cause the child to raise his eyebrows, frown, blink, squint, roll his eyes, stare, etc.

3. The child's laryngeal vocal tics can often manifest as abnormal sounds, such as dry coughs, throat clearing, roaring, or constant spitting, or stuttering, improper syllables, improper stress, involuntary obscenities, swearing, and dirty talk.

4. Childhood tics can also cause muscle twitching in the limbs of the child. Twitching in the upper limbs may manifest as hand shaking, arm raising, arm twisting, finger rubbing, and fist clenching. Twitching in the lower limbs may manifest as leg shaking, kicking, tiptoeing, spinning, walking in a precarious posture, and abnormal gait.

1. Drug treatment

(1) Haloperidol

The effectiveness rate is 60% to 90%. Take 1 to 2 times a day, and observe for 3 to 7 days. If the side effects are not obvious, increase the dosage. During the dosage increase process, the dosage should be adjusted according to the therapeutic effect and side effects. The main side effects of the drugs are sedation and extrapyramidal side effects.

(2) Tiapride

The effective rate is 76% to 87%. Its characteristic is fewer extrapyramidal side effects and it is suitable for patients over 7 years old. 2 to 3 times a day. Common side effects include drowsiness, fatigue, dizziness, gastrointestinal discomfort, excitement, insomnia, etc.

(3) Clonidine

It can improve tic symptoms, with an effectiveness rate of 50% to 86%. This drug can also improve symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity, and is the first choice for those with comorbid ADHD or those who develop tic symptoms due to the use of central nervous system stimulants to treat ADHD. Currently, the main domestic products are transdermal patches. Side effects include drowsiness, hypotension, dizziness, dry mouth, etc.

(4) Risperidone: Reports have confirmed that risperidone is effective in treating this disease. The main side effects of the drugs are sedation and extrapyramidal side effects.

The main ones include psychological support therapy, cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. The purpose of psychological support and cognitive therapy is to adjust the family system, enable patients and their families to understand the nature of the disease and the reasons for symptom fluctuations, eliminate adverse factors in the school and family environment that may contribute to the generation or maintenance of symptoms, reduce the anxiety and depression secondary to tic symptoms, and improve the patient's social function. There is evidence to support that behavioral therapies such as habit reversal training are effective in correcting tic symptoms.