My son is 7 1/2. He has developed a habit of licking his pointer fingers and wetting the corner of his eyes. Again and again. He says they're dry and he can't help it. He also will do this some with his nose (at the opening). It seems to be a "nervous"-type habit...but he's not a nervous kid. I'm just wondering "what is this?" Is it a sign of something else? Is it really just an allergy thing? It's odd. I want to help him but don't want to continually bring attention to it and make it worse or cause him to feel badly about it. Has anyone heard of such a thing or have any idea what this behavior could be?
I would get him some visine or eye wetting drops and see if that helps. If not maybe it is a nervous habit or something. Put some chap stick or soenmthing on his nose you have to be careful with nasal drops there very addictive.
I would start off by taking your son to an eye doctor. His eyes are very dry, so he probably needs eye drops.
I don't think it sounds like Tourette's... my son has Asperger's and has some Tourette-ish behaviors (swearing is not one of them) and they aren't like that... he's almost not aware of the things he does do. It's like his hands have a mind of their own. It doesn't look deliberate.
If your son is aware an is doing it on purpose it may be a habit, but it could be due to allergies.
I'd take him to the doctor. He is old enough that they should be able to figure it out.
At that age, he may be able to come up with a "reason" for doing it. Example: allergies
I would definitely at least CALL the pediatrician.
It does sound like Turrets to me too.
Some people do NOT spout curse words (especially kids who are not exposed to them).
It may be nothing, but it's better to rule it out. If you can, video him playing when he doesn't know it and show the pediatrician (while he is not in the room).
Good luck.
Blessings,
P. <><
funny, my eyes and nose have been really dry lately also. I just use chapstick or carmex and put it in the corner's of my eyes and in the opening of my nose. I'd try that and give it a couple of wks and see how it goes. My oldest; now 3yrs go thru stages so maybe just a "season" of his life. Pray for God to give you peace and guidance and your son some relief:)
More than likely it is a tic. Not a terrible thing, boys have them quite a bit (much more than girls). It will prob go away after a while. You can talk about it at the next check up with the doctor. Don't worry.
B.
This is a long shot but I worked for a guy once who played with his nose all the time. We worked with pro football players so I almost thought he had a drug problem. Come to find out he had Touret's syndrome. I would have never known other than him playing with his nose. He didn't spout off curse words like most people associate with Touret's. Just a thought.
I think that if he has a reason why he does it, it may really be allergies or some type of eye thing. You may ask his ped if there are some moisture drops he can use to relieve the dryness. Usually if it is a nervous thing, they do not know they do and do not have a reason for doing it.
If he will let you, try putting eye drops in his eyes.
I would definitely take him to the doctor because I agree that I think it is a "Dryness" issue. The main thing is he is seriously transmitting germs to his eyes if he is licking his finger and touching the corner of his eye. He could end up with an eye infection.
I actually caught myself doing the same thing as your son, and I went to the ophthalmologist and ended up having chronic dry eye. From what I understand there are tear ducts right there (you have two sets) and those would irritate me the most. I would send him to the eye dr.
Hope this helps,
S.
Hi C., my son had a terrible time with dry eyes in first grade. The dr said it is a combination of allergies and the strain from so much school work. We started using eye drops (generic brand, plain lubricating) twice a day along with his zyrtec and the problem cleared up completely.
When I was little, I had this problem also. It was allergies that dried out my sinuses and eyes. try chapstick on the nose and make sure he drinks water and stays hydrated. It would be better to get an eyewash and let him cary it instead of possibly infecting his eyes with his seliva.
Hope this helps.
J.
Ideas -
1. Look into pinworms. I know it's gross and we didn't have them as kids, but it's part of living in a warm climate, especially if your boys play outdoors a lot. It's easy enough to fix.
2. Not enough fluid - push sno cones, slushies, popsicles, juice, flavored water, plain old water, broth, whatever you can.
3. Too much computer use - we don't blink enough when we look at the computer screen.
4. Allergies.
5. Your home is too dry. Maybe you need a humidifier.
I think it could be allergies, but you should see a Dr.
