Son moving eyes and head at random.

[8eyes8]

My 8 year old son has started to randomly move his eyes to look left or right at nothing in particular and also will move his head over and back. Then he might blink and give his head a little shake. He doesn't really mention it and it doesn't seem to bother him.

We have him booked for an optician next week. To me it doesn't seem to be a nervous thing but I don't know. Does anyone know any causes of this or what it may be?

[Prudie]

I have no experience but sounds like he has developed a tic.

[karenmac60]

Absence seizures?

http://www.patient.co...-Absence-Seizures.htm

[Eve]

Could be a tic in certain muscle groups. Best to get him checked over generally though, check it's nothing that needs looking into or treating or could be helped, especially if he becomes more conscious of it of it being pointed out by others.

[daffy654]

My son went through a similar thing but was a lot younger. He had an EEG in hospital because epilepsy was suspected, thankfully that and all other tests for it were negative and he grew out of it.

[8eyes8]

Yes, I've asked him about it a few times but I am wary of making him paranoid about it jenna. karen he doesn't lose consciousness or anything he just does it like a "tic" as was suggested and indeed it may be something like this. With any luck it will be something he will grow out of too daffy.

[tinkerbell23]

Im sure when i was younger i used to "open & stretch my mouth" randomly buy it was a habit!

I still think i twitch my nose alot but iv always got a cold or hayfever- again habit....hopefully doc will put ur mind at restxxxx

[Eve]

Is it more just a movement or does he seem to zone out when he does it? Has anything come back from his school or similar like him losing concentration or zoning out (depending on how long it's been)?

[erin-x]

I used to do this thing and sort of flick my head back.. Almost as if I were flicking my hair. I never really noticed it until my English teacher pointed out to me in front of the class that it was a distraction during my presentation. She marked me down for it and I became that self concious about that I made myself stop.

[8eyes8]

No there is no zoning out or anything and no one has mentioned it from school. My wife noticed it a few weeks back and obviously now I be on the lookout so maybe we're making more of it because we are watching for it. Sometimes I thinks it's a focus thing when he's looking at something but I find he does it when not in particularly focussing on anything.

[Prudie]

A friend of my daughter's did exactly that erin when they were at school. I admit I found it alarming to watch but my daughter said she really didn't notice it that much. This girl also grew out of it.

[Sqad]

If he were my son, I wouldn't bother with the Optician, I would make a routine non urgent appt with my GP.

I agree totallybwith karenmac as they do sound like a mild form of epilepsy which he will grow out of almost certainly without treatment.
He may need an EEG as in the case of daffy's son.

It was at one time called Petit Mal........you could try Googling it.

No big deal.

[bravejordy]

Are your son's movements anything like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgdmNxH8Q3E

[Mosaic]

Just a lateral thought - my son at a similar age took to acting like his favourite cartoon character, which included striking what looked like some very odd poses. It was disconcerting enough to need to be explained, as it sometimes looked very like he was about to fit.
He grew out of it quickly - could your lad be 'acting out' a character?

[foodluva]

My husband has Tourettes. Contrary to public preception, most cases of Tourettes do not involve shouting swearing but instead small tics. My hubbie blinks, nods and shakes his head. He developed symptoms at about 7 or 8. He's got very good at hiding it though! Just food for thought!

[Brinjal]

Probably a tic. See the optician. My daughter did something similar. She now wears glasses and has stopped doing it.

[8eyes8]

Thanks for all the replies. I noticed a couple of things in that video that were similar but my son has no arm movements in conjunction with the eyes and head. To be honest I think if I watched that video a month ago and didn't know what it was about I don't think I would have guessed what it was showing, I would have just thought it was a normal home movie.

I'm a bit afraid the optician is going to suggest glasses just on a whim because I don't feel he needs them. I think maybe we'll go to the optician, take their suggestion onboard, than as sqad suggests, go to see a doctor. It's something that I would not like to see progress into more pronounced movements.

[bednobs]

my husband does this (and others) his started around 8 years old and he is now 44. he finds it embarrassing at times, but most times does not even notice it. His certainly gets a lot worse with stress, but eevn when he is perfectly relaxed it happens. I used to get a little annoyed at him (he just can't sit still for any length of time), but tbh it doesn't bother me any more (since i found out he is actually aware of it and embarrassed). he has never been foramlly diagnosed with anything

[mandimoo]

Every now and again I hear a noise in my ears that makes me feel dizzy. Dont know what it is, but it makes me tilt my head, blink and shake my head to make it stop.

[flobadob]

maybe he'll grow out of it

[kaoldt]

No but you might also want to check with a neurologist as well. It could also be a seizure.