My 4 years old daughter complained about headaches a good half dozen times last month. Last night she said there were "flying things" bothering her and she could not sleep. This morning she was wheezing and coughing (she has asthma) so I went to give her a breathing treatment. It was then she told me that she thinks it might be the sparkles that is making her cough. I asked her what sparkles and she said "those sparkles, over there" (she pointed to the ceiling where the receased lights are and to the wall accross the room). She said they are slow moving, in all different colors. It was the same things that she saw last night that was keeping her awake.
I gave her a breathing treatment and some tylenol since I noticed that she was starting a low fever. 1/2 hour later, coughing, wheezing, fever and "flying sparkles" gone.
I'm thinking this maybe a neuro issue and want to take her to see someone. I was only able to find two doctors in my network, neither taking new pts. Any suggestions?
We took her to see her pediatrician, he told us that the "sparkles" are just "spots" bought on from all the coughing and should go away once the coughing stops. However, the "sparkles" did not go away. We bought her back to see her doctor and was told that it was just "spots" that may appear if she is having trouble breathing and that it was normal. I was not satisfied with his answer so I took my daughter to see another pediatrician who told me that she isn't sure what could be causing the "flying sparkles" and suggested we start by having her eyes checked out by an ophthalmologist.
It turns out she has a condition called Refractive Amblyopia. Amblyopia is a decrease in the child’s vision that can happen even when there is no problem with the structure of the eye. The decrease in vision results when one or both eyes send a blurry image to the brain. The brain then “learns” to only see blurry with that eye, even when glasses are used. Only children can get amblyopia. If it is not treated, it can cause permanent loss of vision.
She was given glasses to help the weak eye "relearn" to see. Since we discovered this we took our younger son to be checked out as well and it turns out he has the same condition. We were very lucky to find out early and get them both treatment.
Have you thought about retinal detachment/tears or vitreous degeneration? Seeing sparkles is common with these eye problems. I suggest you try an eye doctor. If all else fails and the sparkles continue, take her to the ER.
This happened to my dd. It was diagnosed as an ocular migraine. You might begin by taking her to an eye doctor who can then tell you if she needs to see a neurologist.
Here's a site that might help:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ocular-migraine/AN01681
Perhaps you can start with her family dr and see what they say/and or can refer you to.
If you can't find a neurologist quickly enough, try taking her to an opthamologist. I'll bet you could get an emergency appointment. I'd rule out her eyes in addition to what the neurologist checks.
So sorry and I hope it's not serious!
Dawn
Sparkles sound like occular migraines to me too. A neurologist is a good call to diagnose migraines.
I would start the process NOW because I got a referral for a pediatric neuro yesterday and if I'm lucky my 12 month old can see one in September, they'll let me know in a few weeks when we can get in. You probably need a referral anyway, so call her pediatrician to get in and get it started. Sparkles can be very distracting and scary. I get them when I move too fast from low blood pressure and from migraines as well, but that doesn't mean it isn't something more major.
Pediatrician for general health, opthomoligist for eyes. Then if THEY don't find something, get a referral to a specialist. Sounds like multiple things are going on and you don't want to jump to the worst if it's something else that is more easily corrected with less invasive testing (potentially).
I might also guess ocular migraines. Sometimes you can get migraines that show up in the eyes without headaches. I wouldn't go straight to the neurologist. Look for either a pediatric optometrist or ophthalmologist. They can dilate her and will be able to tell if there are any issues with her retina, which I kind of doubt based on her description. If she needs an additional assessment, they can refer her to a neurologist if necessary and if you have to, you can go out of network. It might also be the other way around...that she is coughing so hard she is seeing the sparkles. Hope she is feeling better soon!
I could think of a few things that might be going on. A migraine aura comes to mind but if might not be that. The wheezing and asthma sounds like it might be related to that. It sounds a bit like what has happened to me during a coughing fit when sick or like positional low blood pressure. It seems like a good idea to ask the regular doctor first. Also if she sees a specialist for the asthma maybe call that doctor and ask if this symptom is something that ever happens with asthma.
As for finding a specialist. I would try one of the Newark hopsitals that have children's specialists. My daughter sees a pediatric ENT at UMDNJ and I have heard good things about Beth Israel. Hackensack University Hospital and St. Joseph's children's hospital might be worth checking out too. My kids were in the NICU at St. Joseph's and we felt they did will with the care there. If you need something more local Christ Hosptial in Jersey City used to have a physician's referral phone line but I haven't checked in a few years.
As for finding a
Start with your pediatrician - those sparkly things can be an eye problem (detached retina, very rare and not likely) but are probably related to migraine headaches. Of course your pedi will want to figure out why she is having migraines if that's what they are, but you don't necessarily need a neurologist for that.
FWIW I get the sparkles when I'm pregnant from being very tired and low on electrolytes. My SD gets them but without a headache or any discernible trigger and we have no idea why but they don't cause any problems for her.
i agree with everyone about getting an emergency appt to the opthamoloist (sp). my daughter had eye isues at 3 and they scheduled her in with 30 minutes because they said that they wanted to make sure everything behind her eyes was alright as well. If you cant get an appt, i'd do the er
Sounds like migraines to me. I've had them since I was young. Seeing "sparkles" can be part of the aura that tells me that I'm getting a headache soon. I think it's pretty common if you want to Google it. I don't know what to do about the neurologist though - maybe your pediatrician can diagnose migraines?
Seeing flashes of light can mean detached retinas. It's unlikely in a child so young, but worth keeping in mind if it continues. Detached retinas need to be treated quickly. Both my grandfather and father had to have emergency surgery for it and it saved their vision.
My guess is that she is getting migraines. I get the 'sparkles' and it is from aural migraines. Sometimes I get a headache too and sometimes not.
Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey has an excellent neurology department. They are part of Atlantic Health: www.atlantichealth.org.
I
