Related Experiment Videos
Functional blinking in childhood
T R Vrabec1, A V Levin, L B Nelson
1Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Insights
Excessive eye blinking in children is often a benign, self-limited condition. This functional disorder typically resolves on its own without specific treatment, even after stressful events.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Intermittent excessive blinking is a common pediatric concern.
- Referrals to pediatric ophthalmology often stem from this symptom.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize excessive eye blinking in children.
- To determine if this symptom is associated with underlying ocular or systemic disease.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of 17 children aged 18 months to 10 years.
- Evaluation included ophthalmologic examination and parental history.
- Correlation with stressful events and symptom duration was assessed.
Main Results:
- All 17 children were in excellent health with no signs of systemic or ocular disease.
- Stressful events preceded blinking onset in 41% of cases.
- Spontaneous resolution occurred in all patients within 5 months, with one recurrence.
Conclusions:
- Excessive eye blinking in children, when isolated, is a medically benign and self-limited functional disorder.
- No underlying pathology was identified in the studied cohort.
- The condition typically resolves spontaneously without intervention.
Abstract:
At the Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Wills Eye Hospital, 17 children, 18 months to 10 years of age, were seen with a chief complaint of intermittent excessive blinking. Eight (47%) of the patients had been referred for ophthalmologic examination by their pediatrician for evaluation of this symptom. All were in excellent health with no associated symptoms or signs of systemic or ocular disease. None of the children were taking topical ocular or systemic medications. The parents of seven (41%) of these children were able to identify a temporally related stressful event that coincided with the onset of blinking. Durations of the symptom prior to examination ranged from 1 week to 4 months. Spontaneous resolution occurred from one day to 5 months after the first ophthalmologic examination. Recurrence occurred in only one child, but resolution was still completed within 5 months. Excessive eye blinking unassociated with other systemic or ocular findings appears to be a medically benign, self-limited functional disorder.