Transient tic disorder

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Central nervous system

Tic - transient tic disorder

The child may have facial tics or tics involving movement of the arms, legs, or other areas.

Tics may involve:

• Movements that occur again and again and don't have a rhythm
• An overwhelming urge to make the movement
• Brief and jerky movements that include the following:
  • Blinking
  • Clenching the fists
  • Curling the toes
  • Flaring the nostrils
  • Grimacing
  • Jerking the arms
  • Kicking
  • Opening the mouth
  • Raising the eyebrows
  • Shrugging the shoulders
  • Sticking out the tongue

The tics often look like nervous behavior. Tics appear to get worse with stress and do not occur during sleep.

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Sounds may also occur, such as:

• Clicking
• Grunting
• Hissing
• Moaning
• Sniffing
• Snorting
• Squealing
• Throat clearing

The health care provider should consider physical causes of transient tic disorder before making a diagnosis.

In order to be diagnosed with transient tic disorder, the child must have had tics almost every day for at least 4 weeks, but less than a year.

Other disorders such as anxiety, attention deficit disorder, myoclonus, obsessive-compulsive disorder, epilepsy, and focal dystonia, may need to be ruled out.

Review Date: 03/28/2011
Reviewed By: Joseph V. Campellone, M.D., Division of Neurology, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).