​Tourette s​yndrome

Symptoms of Tourette syndrome are very diverse, and include the following types of tics:

• Simple motor tics: These involve a single muscle or group of muscles, such as blinking, sniffing, coughing, neck twitching, jerking or eye rolling.

• Complex motor tics: These involve movements that often involve multiple muscle groups and may appear as somewhat purposeful movements or behaviours. Examples of complex motor tics include touching yourself or others, hitting, jumping, shaking etc.

• Simple phonic tics: These are simple sounds such as grunting, coughing, clearing your throat, swallowing, blowing, or making sucking sounds.

• Complex phonic tics: These include words and/or complex phrases.

You are also likely to display behavioural symptoms. Children suffering from Tourette syndrome are often also diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)​

Your doctor will only make a diagnosis of Tourette syndrome after ensuring that you have had both motor and vocal tics for at least one year.  He/she will also verify the existence of other neurological or psychiatric conditions. If unusual symptoms are present, they may require more detailed diagnosis than in typical cases. Usually, there are no blood, laboratory, or imaging tests conducted but in rare cases, brain imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan or Computerized Tomography (CT) scan, or certain blood tests may be used to rule out other conditions. 

A formal diagnosis can only be obtained after symptoms have been present for some time. Symptoms, especially milder ones are considered unimportant. For instance, you may ignore constant eye blinking as consider it being related to vision problems; or similarly attribute sniffing to allergies.                         ​​

There is no single treatment available to cure Tourette syndrome. Certain medications may help to control the symptoms. Drugs can also be prescribed to alleviate the underlying condition such as ADHD or OCD (for instance anti-depressants and stimulants). However, you have to exercise caution with their use and dosage, as these medications may often have considerable side effects such as weight gain, dulling of the brain, sleepiness etc.

The risks and benefits of each case have to be weighed carefully and the drugs must only be taken if necessary. If your symptoms are harmless and not interfering with your daily life, it is not recommended that you start a heavy dose of medication as you may end up risking a lot more than you are gaining.                         ​

The Aga Khan University Hospital offers various support services to help with managing or recovering from the disease or condition. These include but are not limited to nutrition, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, specialized clinics and some patient support groups. Your doctor or nurse will advise you accordingly.

The Aga Khan University Hospital offers financial assistance to those who are in need and fulfil the eligibility criteria. For further information, you can contact the Patient Welfare Department. You can find the contact number of the Patient Welfare Department in the ‘Important Numbers’ section on the website homepage.

The financial counselling staff is available during office hours, at the main PBSD (Patient Business Services Department), to answer your financial queries on treatments’ costs and authorize admissions on partial deposit as per hospital policies allow. The financial counsellor in the emergency room is open 24/7. You can find the contact number of the Patient Business Services in the ‘Important Numbers’ section on the website homepage.                         ​