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6 year old with throat clearing habit

(56 Posts)
Grannyjacq1 Sun 13-Sep-20 19:20:46

6 year old grandson has recently developed a habit of constantly throat clearing - not quite a cough. Otherwise healthy. I noticed it when he came to see us recently, and his father said he has been doing this for a few weeks. I'm not sure if my grandson is aware that he's doing this, and we didn't make any comment. He recently returned to school post-Covid closure, but the 'cough' developed before this. Is it a nevous 'tic' caused by anxiety? Is it best to ignore this or draw his attention to it? I need to find out if he continues to do this in school - I can imagine others in the class finding it annoying. It will probably stop just as suddenly as it started, but just wondered if anyone else had had experience of this in children, and the best way of responding to it. Thank you.

Oopsadaisy4 Mon 14-Sep-20 16:17:26

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.

Nagmad2016 Mon 14-Sep-20 19:30:36

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'.

p1nkpr1ncess Mon 14-Sep-20 19:33:48

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!

RosesAreRed21 Mon 14-Sep-20 20:36:10

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

Rhinestone Tue 15-Sep-20 03:15:35

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