6 year old with throat clearing habit

I think it sounds like a post nasal drip or an allergy.

My grandson also started a tic since lockdown but with blinking his eyes. My daughter has put it down to all the changes and not being at school. She tries to limit what he see and hears about COVID but he also has to understand what’s happening for his own safety - he is 7 years old

My grandson went through a "tic" phase when he was 7, he was pulling his face, making noises etc. Apparently it is very common especially in boys. He has grown out of it, he's now 9. We mostly ignored it but sometimes his mum gently reminded him to try not to do it!

It may be worth having him checked out for ENT problems. I had many problems with my ears, mucus and sinuses as a child and apart from having my tonsils removed, I was not treated. This left me with hearing difficulties, Menieres disease and eustachian tube disfunction as an adult. It is worth investigating at this stage and not dismissed as a 'habit'.

But we are all adults aren’t we?

Children should be checked out by a GP just to make sure, I can’t think why this is turning out to be so difficult to grasp.

I'm a sniffer, so I'm told, through gritted teeth, usually.

My DH has the throat clearing habit, sometimes. It comes and goes. I haven't been able to connect it to any medical issues and he never really gets stressed about anything. So I grit my teeth and try to ignore it, irritating though it can be.

One of our sons developed a sniffing habit in his teens and he still does it, now in his thirties. He is asthmatic so it may be connected to that. When they stay with us it drives me nuts and I remark on it sometimes. He's been doing it for so long he doesn't realise he's doing it now!

I wonder if I have any annoying habits? Will have to ask him indoors. Or maybe not!

I have no advice to offer about the child, other than to say that if the throat-clearing is pervasive and occurring at school they will certainly be aware, and will probably suggest referral to a GP sooner rather than later.

I was interested in Doug1's information about the son with the very mild form of Tourette's; this would apply to my neighbour ( in her 70s) who does the throat clearing and other tics all the time, is aware of it but claims it is apparently medically un-diagnosable. We have all heard her violently abusive temper tantrums at her very supportive husband for using the wrong tea towel and other mild transgressions.

PS I am asthmatic too..

I had this problem for a very long time and it turned out it was a dairy allergy. I eliminated dairy products and it went away immediately. After a few years I was able to include sheep’s cheese in my diet, which was great, but I still can’t have anything related to cows or goats as my tubes fur up instantly.

Apparently I do it! Had no idea until one day my lovely caring daughter told me to stop it as it was driving her mad! She actually had to record me doing it, I was clueless about it all - can't stop it though I am more aware of my 'grunting' now!

My DH does this all the time. It is like a stress thermometer and is so annoying! Can't say anything to him about it as it just makes it worse. So the rest of us are silently stressing as a result of his noisily stressing. In fact he is doing it right now as he has a problem with his emails. If possible find a way of breaking the habit before it becomes too entrenched. Believe me when I say it is an absolute nightmare living with a throat clearer!

GS3 drove us all mad last winter with throat clearing and coughing. After seeing an ENT specialist he was booked for Tonsils and adenoids removal but of course that's on hold indefinitely now.

Poor little lamb. It sounds very much like anxiety to me. Very young children such as your grandson pick up on the anxiety around them, and it was impossible for them to not realise the severity of anxiety of the adults in their lives, not to mention the way their whole lives were thrown into confusion by the lockdown. Every single aspect of children’s lives was thrown suddenly into disarray last March, they may have seen the appalling pictures of ICU on television, and they will have overheard parents discussing the situation and picked up on their fear. Their parents may have been key workers and faced increased risks, and the children will have been aware, but unable to make sense of the awful situation. On the other hand some children are only children and didn’t get sight nor sound of another child for three solid months.
I’m sure over time your grandson will settle back into his normal routine and his anxieties will gradually disperse.

My daughter did that and it was caused by a dust allergy. We only found out because she made an odd noise in her sleep too which we had investigated.

Presumably his parents are every bit as aware of this as you are? I would gently comment on it, perhaps on the phone, to find out what their take on it is. Obviously never when the child is within earshot.

Quick question, if the GS has a potentially medical problem, why aren’t the parents looking into it?
Anything medical in a young child should be investigated, at least if everything checks out they will know it’s an anxiety problem and hopefully will get advice on how to treat it.
Nothing should be ignored.

I don't think anything should be ignored where young children are concerned.

Better to err on the side of caution and hopefully be reassured.

Minor tics in children are much more common than people think. If he is otherwise in good health, just ignore it and it will most likely just fade away. Complex tics are another matter: a series of actions, 'imitating' dogs barking, facial grimacing etc., should be looked into by a paediatrician. Don't let yourself be irritated by it. As a speech and language therapist, I used to get referrals for children with vocal tics (coughing, sniffing, humming, repeating a phrase or jingle). Parents were worried this might be the start of Tourettes, but that was very unusual indeed. A very tiny proportion had a longer term problem, but with most, it disappeared in the space of a year. The hardest thing was to persuade families to ignore it. I used to ask parents what 'habits' they'd had as children, e.g. biting nails, sucking thumb, twirling hair etc. Most of them could identify something of that nature, and agree that they had grown out of it. Incidentally, adults can often develop a throat-clearing habit after an infection, to the great irritation of their nearest and dearest, and they also sometimes get referred to an SLT!

Best ignored. Certainly don’t bring attention to it.

Just be confident that there is nothing that he is worried about.

My son was constantly blinking and sniffing which was also noted by his teacher. After many referrals to our GP and the child health service he was diagnosed with a very, very mild form of Tourette's. Not the shouting and swearing kid although the fiery temper would manifest occasionally. He was given medication when he was a child but grew out if it during his teenage years

Like someone said, get him checked for allergy first. Is he asthmatic and on steroid preventer? They can cause throat irritation. If nothing physical, then ignore it.

merlotgran

^With me it's throat feeling thick, and then progressing to a niggling cough.^

They were DD's symptoms as well. That's why I mentioned asthma.

And that's why I agreed with you.

With me it's throat feeling thick, and then progressing to a niggling cough.

They were DD's symptoms as well. That's why I mentioned asthma.

BlueBelle

*Sparkle fizz* it’s nothing to do with grannyjacqi So why are you telling her to get him checked she’s not his guardian
Asthma in a child is different from an adult if he is a normal boy he’s running around most of the day and nothing in the original posts suggests he is breathless or coughing

Ok, BlueBelle keep calm - I didn't re-check the original post. My humble apologies to all concerned.

I know plenty about asthma, thanks, in both childhood and as an adult as I've had it since I was six. Breathlessness or wheezing is not always an early sign in everybody. With me it's throat feeling thick, and then progressing to a niggling cough.