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Bit of an odd one!
About 1 month ago I noticed that my 7 yr old was sniffing a little more than normal. It continued for a week or so and I assumed he’d picked up a daft little habit (I had a few in my time)) and it would eventually pass.
now we’re at the point where it’s pretty much non-stop. And I mean - non stop.
We’ve talked to him about it and he says he can’t stop. His teacher has picked up on it .
It obviously upsets him when we talk about it but no matter what we say or do - it doesn’t stop.
its not pleasant for us and it surely can’t be much fun for him. I just don’t know what we can do and wondered if anybody else had had a similar experience.
We’ve tried giving him a squeezy thing to squeeze when he wants to sniff to try to distract him from it but it’s looking like a lost cause.
do we speak to the doctor?
Yes.
What is he sniffing?
Try antihistamines could be allergy to fungus that is bad at the min.
but age 7 probably needs to see a doc first to get correct dosage
Could be a tic. My daughter has had a wide variety over the years, including excessive sniffing. They can last a few weeks or even months.
Is he sniffling due to mucus in the nose?
It's not beyond the realms of possibility he's has a few mild colds back to back, or similar... or is he snifing dry like its a sort of habbit*, a bit like some people tap thier feet all the time or constanly click pens etc?
* no I don't mean that sort of habit.
Anxiety/nervous tension related, maybe? Equally it could be some kind of sinus issue or something... it could be a lot of things realy..
GP visit won't hurt.
Definitely talk to a GP, it could be down to a number of reasons but absolutely no point putting it off.
One of our kids has OCD and there were various signs that we should have read and acted upon a lot earlier.
not saying this is the same, but early diagnosis in any situation will help.
Sorry - I should clarify that this is not a mucus / blocked nose related sniff. <br /><br />
@ransos has said it could be a tic. Now that sounds more likely. Clearly I don’t know that for sure but seeing how bad this has got that could be a reasonable assumption. <br /><br />it’s been several weeks now and I had hoped it’d pass but maybe it’s time for a visit to the doctors.
Does it stop when he's concentrating on something else ?
When he’s at home there’s nothing that stops him doing it. When I say it’s gotten pretty much non stop I mean just that. 6 times just walking up the stairs! Meal times, in the car, watching TV.
i assume it continues at school but I don’t know how much. At parents evening a few nights ago we mentioned it and his teacher has noticed it. He’s going it at after school because his sister tells me he is. As I say, non stop now .
Having thought it would have died out well before now I’m now finding it quite concerning .
Aged 7 ?,that rules out the coke and hookers then. Or at least the hookers.
Could still be a physical issue with sisnuses/ears/throat or something.... you say walking up stairs, does he still do it when relaxed and watching TV or something?
But a GP visit is the first port of call, really.
GPs are specialists in this kind of thing, it could be a lingering ear infection or something... you can't just jump to a conclusion that its a tic.
@mattyfez yes he is doing it all the time.
my comment about him walking upstairs was just to make the point of just how frequent it has become.
It’s not once on 5 or 10 minutes - it’s much much more regular than that.
Looks like the doctors is the first port of call
Sounds like psychological turning into a habit.
Friend used to inhale menthol "decongestant" as a kid of 9 for cold, he is now in his 60s and still inhaling them like his "drug". Turning into a habit and addiction. He inhales them almost every few minute and carry a bottle of menthol liquid since 9.
Sorry, yes, post crossover...
It could be a mild lingering ear infection or something… or ear wax causing him to sniff to equalize the pressure...you can’t just jump to a conclusion that it's a tic or anything realy.
GP visit is the most sensible thing to do...
GP visit is the most sensible thing to do…
Yes, see GP first.
@mattyfez GPs are specialists??? Not in my experience.
More like ruling out other medical possibilities.
@mattyfez GPs are specialists??? Not in my experience.
Probably more specialist than, say, an ophthalmologist in this scenariao. 😉
You saying we are doesn't overide experience, perhaps you are but you cannot speak for the whole profession.
Or more specialised than a forum full of average mtbers
If expressing an opinion is digging then pass me the shovel
This is simply a semantics argument. You can't specialise at being a generalist, they're antonyms. The more specialised you are, the narrower your field becomes unless you're a polymath. Perhaps a better word here is "experts."
But anyway, yes. GP is the answer to the OP's question for exactly the reason Kramer suggests. Anecdotally, the last time I came across this (I think on here?) the kid was sniffing for a couple of years then had an almighty sneeze one day and fired a Lego greeblie out of his nose.
What does the G in "GP" stand for?
...
Gspecialist ?
If his nose isn’t running it’s almost certainly a tic. They tend to go away, but can take months to do so.
If it’s a tic, it’s important to realise that he’s not doing it on purpose.
One of my sons had a tic at a similar age... within the last year or two. I'd forgotten until I saw this, because it stopped. Trying to ignore it and not hassle him worked best.
What does the G in “GP” stand for?
…
Gspecialist ?
It's a highly skilled profession in its own right.
I really take issue with this kind of language....allow me to make an analogy..
IT service management/service desk/help desk are generaly frowned upon via similar platitudes.
The reality is they are the central hub for all IT services in a company, and anything they cannot fix will be routed to the appropriate niche department, it might be a networking expert, or a database expert, or....see where I'm going with this?
When done correctly It's a specialism in it's own right, it's more managerial and triage specialism than a particular technical specialism...but it requires a broad range of knowledge and expertise to do it effectivley, a very different skill set.
If everyone who presented at a GP practice with a snuffly nose and a crying baby was refered to an otolaryngologist, well I'd hope you can see how that might be a problem.
It’s a highly skilled profession in its own right.
Of course it is. Is anyone claiming otherwise? I've been subjected to watching that "GPs behind closed doors" thing on TV and the breadth of their knowledge is astonishing.
This isn't a bad thing, it's not pejorative. Heaven knows, I made a career for years out of being the technical equivalent of a GP. I know a little bit about a lot of things, as my STW output may suggest.😁 But would I consider myself a specialist? That's not a word which would leap immediately to my mind despite having "expert" in my job title.
anything they cannot fix will be routed to the appropriate niche department, it might be a networking expert, or a database expert, or….see where I’m going with this?
... actually defining what a specialist is?
… actually defining what a specialist is?
In reply to @el_boufador the person I quoted.
Probably incidental, but I note that is:
the word boufador, from the verb boufar which means "to blow".
Now now.
😁
My kid had a 'tick' - first he'd pull at his collar - then it was a weird sort of 'cough'.
His school got weirded out about it enough to get us to refer him to a Psychologist.
The psych lady said this seems like a mild form of Tourettes - are you really worried about it? - and we said - well, not really - and she said leave it to me...
Then it was never spoke of again.
Just to ^clarify - the *weird cough thing* continued - tbf it was probably the Tourettes...
What stopped was the 'we think your kid is weird' vibe at school, which was really helpful in future interactions.
it was probably the Tourettes…
What stopped was
Then it wasn't Tourettes, and this is why we shouldn't take medical advice from internet forums.
If expressing an opinion is digging then pass me the shovel
It is when the opinion is ill informed and arguing against someone who does know better than you.
@el_boufadour
What does the G in “GP” stand for?
…
Gspecialist ?
The name General Practitioner is a holdover from the days when no additional training was needed.
The job has changed almost beyond recognition since then.
Which is why it’s mostly known as Primary Care these days. The main reason that we still refer to ourselves as GPs is to avoid confusing patients.
Is anyone claiming otherwise?
Yes they are. The whole “not a specialist” thing is used to imply that we are somehow inferior to our other colleagues.
You and others on this thread may not be aware of it, but it happens.
@stox Daughter used to sniff all the time; and I mean non stop. Used to drive me mad! God knows how she put up with it.
It turned out it was a deviated septum. Quick operation and all sorted
has he lost any Lego recently? a mini fig head?
ask me how i know...
👜👜👜👜👜👜
What stopped was...
Then it wasn’t Tourettes, and this is why we shouldn’t take medical advice from internet forums.
What stopped was the school being dicks about it. Because we had a diagnosis. Of Tourettes.
U ok hun?
Sorry, this has been playing with me all day - i didn't mean to give any sort of online diagnosis, just to offer a possible line of enquiry based on my own experience of something similar.
I hope you work it out OP.