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Your baby suddenly cursed? Nervously repeating certain words or doing the same activity all the time? Don’t blame it for turbulent maturation. Perhaps your child has Tourette’s syndrome.
My baby is naughty, is it Tourettea syndrome?
Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome is a tic disease. It appears suddenly between the ages of 2 and 15 – most often in children aged 7. The child becomes motor hyperactive, has tics. He often repeats words (this symptom is the so-called perseveration), or expresses profanity (coprolalia). The little one is not able to control it. However – due to the specificity of the symptoms – parents often think that the child is simply wayward and rude. They do not suspect that these are symptoms of the disease.
Typical symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome: smacking and grunting
Initially, the symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome are limited to simple tics: eye blinking, arm or head movements, grimacing, grunting or smacking. Complex tics occur in severe disease. The sick person jumps up, touches himself or other people, turns in circles, may utter words that are meaningless. The symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome can sometimes make it impossible to lead a normal lifestyle. Among the symptoms occurring in children (most often around the age of 10) there is coprolalia – uttering vulgar words. Scientists explain that children swear because they repeat words they hear from other people or, for example, on television. This phenomenon is called echolalia. Tics very often occur in series that can be considered attacks of the disease. If these symptoms persist for at least a year, Tourette’s syndrome can be diagnosed.
For every parent, the health of their child is the most important, so it is worth regularly carrying out preventive examinations, taking into account blood counts, TSH, glucose, and CRP.
Boys are more likely to suffer from Tourette’s syndrome
Sometimes Tourette’s syndrome runs in families. However, the genetic changes underlying this disease have yet to be identified. It is three times more common in boys than in girls. Tourette’s syndrome usually affects people for the rest of their lives. Sometimes there are short periods of remission (recovery from disease symptoms).
Where to go for help?
In the event of any disturbances in the child’s behavior that may indicate Tourette’s syndrome, it is worth visiting a pediatric neurologist with him.
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Tourette’s syndrome is incurable, but …
Currently, the following treatments are used to treat Tourette’s syndrome:
• pharmacotherapy – indications for such treatment are chronic tics of high intensity; the most commonly used preparations from the group of neuroleptics, calcium channel blockers,
• psychotherapy – focuses on learning to control and replace inappropriate behavior with more socially acceptable behavior.
In addition, there is an organization in our country that helps children and families suffering from Tourette’s syndrome – the Polish Association of Tourette’s Syndrome.
Text: lek. med. Matylda Mazur
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