excessive eye blinking?

Hawa - posted on 09/29/2012

my son has been having excessive blinking since he was 1yr. we have done series of eye tests and all seems normal according to the doctor. Recently he starts to clear his throat all the time. just booked for an appointment with a doctor .

Lyudmila - posted on 09/14/2012

Hi, I have a 8 year old and just a few weeks ago noticed her excessive eye blinking. What i noticed is that whenever she tries to concentrate or gets nervous or worried she would do it more. I think that it has to do with some type of stress, cause other wise she is a healthy normal child. She does have seseonal allergies, during that time she also has this problem. I have been giving her a little dose of valerian root and that seem to help. I give one at bed time and one before she goes to school. I knoticed possitive changes. I think that it is maybe one of the symptoms of stress.

Koho - posted on 01/12/2012

I know it's been awhile since you asked about your son's blinking. I wanted to let you know, just in case he's still doing it, that I did that as a child and still do once and awhile. Did he see something traumatic or was he stressed out for some reason? I got a nervous tic because something had really scared me. It would get worse if I was stressed, tired or even when I was watching some sort of action movie. It still happens to me when I'm tired or stressed out. Hopefully your son's tic has stopped by now.

Anne - posted on 06/27/2011

My son who is 2 1/2 is doing the same thing and i would constantly check his eyes but nothing was there. I believe that is because of his allergies and the fact that we have the air conditioning on that is making his eyes dryer than normal.

Neha - posted on 06/27/2011

Y son at 2 and a half started to blink excessively. We took him to the doc to get his eyes tested, there was nothing wrong. It was just a phase he went through he stopped a few months down the line.
I realized there was a kid he played with who wore glasses and blinked excessively and it was just a behavior my little one was copying.
If you have tested him for allergies and taken him to an eye doctor and all is clear, then it could probably be a behavioral pattern he has picked up from someone. It shall soon pass

Andrea - posted on 06/27/2011

My oldest son has bi-lateral retinoblastoma, which equates to cancerous tumors in both eyes. He lost his left eye at 3 months, but we saved the right one. When it comes to eyes, I always suggest that you see an Opthamologist and especially have a retinal exam. It can uncover a number of issues, and if nothing else assure you that he has healthy eyes. Don't mean to scare you, this is just not something that pediatricians look for or notice until it is too late. My son did have excessive eye blinking at the time, but he was 3 months old. Can't hurt to get it checked out.

Tami - posted on 06/27/2011

My nephew started with excessive blinking and it became a tick that he could not stop. When asked why he was doing it, he would say Because I Have To. He was eventually diagnosed with Terrets Syndrome (I'm not sure if I spelled that right). He is on anti-anxiety medication and the ticks have stopped. My sister just recently tried to reduce the medication, and it came back, so he will likely be on anti anxiety medication for life. I hope, as others have said, this is just a phase and not something more serious. Please keep us informed.

Sarah - posted on 06/27/2011

My daughter does this. I had her checked out at the optician and doctor and apparently children can just do this out of habit. I even took her to the hairdresser thinking her hair was bothering her. There is absolutely nothing wrong with my daughter and the optitian says she will grow out of it. Try not to worry too much, it could just be nothing.

Shannon - posted on 06/27/2011

Sounds likes a tic disorder to me also, my 4 1/2 yr old started that maybe 6 months ago, i took him to his ped in march and he referred him to a child neurologist for a tic disorder, now he has stopped but has moved onto sniffling all the time, and before that he was doing a weird sound with his throat all the time. his appointment for the neuro isnt until sept, there is a 6 month wait. although he seems better now I am still taking him just incase. doctor also told me to put him in gluten free, i was told that should stop it since its not a bad case, but i havent done that yet since he seems to be better

Sarahi - posted on 06/26/2011

My daughter was 9 yrs old when she starting blinking excessively. I found that she was emotionally stressed from my divorce to her father. i would comment to her about it and she would say she couldnt help it. So i just stop making a big deal about it and it finally stop after six months or so.

Stephanie - posted on 06/25/2011

His dr is not sure if it is part of his ADHD. He is taking Vyvanse now and seems to help better than the stratera and concerta. The dr has also mentioned to us that his brain is not relaying the info quickly enough for him and the blinking is his way of dealing with it until the brain cathces up. he has had his eyes check multiple times and he has perfect vision. He does struggle in school and is very behind in reading. We have been referred to a child development center for more testing and he also has speech therapy he has been in for 2 years now.
One other thing that we noticed along with the eye blinking was that when he is spoken to he automatically starts shaking his head like he's agreeing or saying uh-huh until we stop talking. that along with him not being able to focus or concentrate is what made his dr feel that his brain is not responding fast enough. It is almost as if he has learned to just say yes to everything but he is not understanding what is being said. We also had his hearing checked. I hope this helps I know how scary and yet sometimes frustrating it can be!

Elfrieda - posted on 06/25/2011

My cousin did this, along with making little clearing-the-throat noises. Finally his parents went and had all his fillings replaced to be those ceramic ones instead of the mercury ones, and he stopped doing it. They think he was being poisoned by them.

Narine - posted on 06/25/2011

Maybe dry eyes ... I would take him to a pediatric ophthomologist

Leslie - posted on 06/25/2011

My son did some excessive blinking about the same age. It went away after about six months or so. He is an allergic kind of person so I shrugged it off. We now are dealing with some speech cluttering that comes from some neurological disorganization. This is two years later. My brother has Tourette's and has eye blinking tics. His doc about 35 years ago told my parents he was doing it for attention. It got really ugly when my parents followed the advice of "break him down.". He now has no trust in docs and receives no help or guidance for his Tourette's.

We are now working with my son on some organizational techniques by cleaning up his him and removing deep clutter. The main thing for him is sorting. Sorting blue blocks from red, sorting his cars and transformers. Legos are great for sorting. I even get him to help me sort laundry. I wouldn't freak out thinking your child has a serious type neuro disorder, but I would research neurological disorganization. I can look in my sons eyes and face and see when he just has too much going on in there. He also has a HUGE imagination. He may have something serious going on or he may just fall on the gifted side of life. Crawling is one of the main developers for neuro organization. Physical exercises focusing on cross patterns of the body help the brain left side and right side communicate. I will stop there. Long story short, don't freak, but don't ignore. It can be simple or complicated. If you have access to a speech therapist or occupational therapist, I would visit with them for safe measure. Mainly observe. Message me if you want more info. Also google Linda Kane with Hope and a future.org. Your son is probably just fine. Mine is, but just needs a little leg up. I look at it as training for my daughter who has Down's. Also cut way back on TV.

Katie - posted on 06/25/2011

thats more how his is. It seems to me anyways that he does it a whole lot more if he is watching a movie or talking to us or looking at books and very little if he is biss playing or something. What does your childs dr think is the reason that he does that when he is trying to focus like that? Does your child need glasses or anything when he is focusing ? I don't know if they have the same condition or not realy but they seem to match up thats why I am questioning your childs condition a little - so I can maybe tell the dr more of what I would like her to test him for. Thanks

Stephanie - posted on 06/24/2011

I have an 8 yr old that does the same thing, He has ADHD and his Dr seems to think that he does it when he is trying to focus on something. We notice it more when he is reading or talking with someone.

Keri - posted on 06/24/2011

I've never heard of excessive blinking. My doctor (I'm 30 mind you and wear contacts) says I don't blink enough. The reason you blink is to re-moisten and clear your eyes. Not to bash the cleanliness of your house, but maybe his eyes are being extra aggrivated by dust or dirt particles.

Katie - posted on 06/24/2011

he does not even know that he is blinking. His eyes are not itchy,dry, irritated, there is no pain - Just excessive amounts of blinking

Anne - posted on 06/24/2011

Maybe your son knows why he's blinking. Are his eyes sore or itchy?

Bridget - posted on 06/24/2011

I used to have excessive blinking i would be driving or just sitting doing nothing and i would blink i couldn't control it. Come to find out i was having seizures. I didn't think anything of it until one day i was driving down the interstate thank God my husband was with me and i had a full blown seizure behind the wheel. We went to see a neorologist and i was told that the blinking was seizures i also suffered from muscles ticks and staring off into space for long periods of time and those were considered seizures too, I am on medication now and everything is ok. I don't mean to scare i just figured i would tell you what my experience was with this.

Katie - posted on 06/24/2011

We had him tested about a yr ago for a gluteen intolerance, and he passed that. So what would gluteen have to do with the blinking excessivly / tic just curious

Janeene Arendsen - posted on 06/23/2011

Sounds like a tic. I'd take him off all gluten for at least a month.

Ivy - posted on 06/23/2011

My son does this when he feels bad or has a fever.

Amanda - posted on 06/22/2011

I was going to suggest the eye doctor too. It might be low tear production or if there is a small stye under the lid that the Dr. didn't catch or think to look for. If it doesn't involve squinting as well then I wouldn't think it is a sight thing.

Katie - posted on 06/22/2011

thanks... hopefully it is just nothing.

Chrystal - posted on 06/22/2011

I remember when I was his age I did the same thing. I would excessively eye blink for no reason at all. My mom took me to the dr. and there was nothing wrong with me. I honestly think it was just a little phase or nervous habit that I was going through. I eventually stopped. I would maybe take your child to the eye dr. just to make sure nothing serious is going on with your child's eyes. If not, it's probably just a phase. Good luck:)