The most important cause of “tic” in children

According to the report of Fars Khabargazai Health Group, in the Mother of the Child program of Sima Health Network, Shokoofeh Radfar, a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry and a member of the faculty of Baqiyatullah University of Medical Sciences, talked about tics in children.

In the definition of tic, the expert of the program said: tics are repetitive, sudden, involuntary, unbalanced and clichéd movements and sounds that are divided into two types of sound and movement, each of which is simple and complex.

He mentioned simple vocal tics, such as smoothing of the voice, repeated coughing without reason, snoring, etc., and simple movement tics such as eyelid jumping, blinking, nasal folds, gathering around the mouth, etc. ., Cited.

Shokoofeh Radfer added: These tics can be complex (sudden repetition of a phrase is called a complex vocal tic, and the involvement of more than one group of muscles is called complex motor tics, such as shoulder movements, complex head movements, and other complex movements.

This specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry said: If a person only has vocal tics or motor tics that last for more than four weeks and less than a year, it is called a transient tic, but if a person has vocal or motor tics for a period If it exists before one year (provided that it is under the age of 18 and is associated with functional impairment in the person), it is called chronic motor or vocal tic.

The university faculty member mentioned “Tourette’s tic disorder” which is very serious and chronic: people with this disease have characteristics such as multiple motor tics, along with at least one vocal tic, which is experienced intermittently over the course of a year.

He added: Tic disorder is considered a very serious disease, which causes many consequences for a person, these consequences will be different depending on what stage of life the person is at. Children suffering from this disorder, following blame and humiliation, usually have low self-confidence and face a drop in academic performance. Children may also resort to angry behavior to stay with their peers.

In response to the question of what is the cause of tics in children, the expert of the program said: The most important factor is genetics, a mother with tics is considered the highest cause of tics in children.

In response to the question of whether stress can be the cause of tics, he said: No, unless the person has a genetic predisposition to tics.

Radfer continued: Genetics is an important factor in the transmission of many diseases. It seems that during the development of a child, there is a difference in the area of ​​the brain (basal ganglia) that makes a person susceptible to various types of tics, which occur in stressful situations. he does.

He continued: Another cause of tic infection is streptococcal group A infection (purulent sore throat). He advised the families: If a child and teenager immediately after suffering from purulent sore throat, develops obsessive behaviors or types of tics, definitely See a pediatrician or a psychiatrist.

He also mentioned stressful factors as other causes of tics. If the child is exposed to stress, such as: birth of another child, change of residence, change of school and other stressful events, there is a possibility of tics.

In response to the question of whether factors before birth can also affect the occurrence of tics in a child, the expert of the program said: mother’s fever during pregnancy, mother’s stress during this period, mother’s infection with some infections, especially influenza and The conditions of childbirth and the birth of the child are also among other reasons for children suffering from tics.

In response to the question of what is the best course of action for children with tics, the expert of the program said: The first course of action is to keep the environment calm, a stress-free environment is the most important way of treatment, of course, drug and psychological treatment is also required for these children. Especially in the case of ticks that exist for a long time.

He advised the families: monitor the computer games of these children, because if these children are under stress while playing, they will face more problems.

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