Tourette Syndrome is named after Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette, a French neurologist who first described a woman with the disease. Tourette Syndrome affects people of all ethnic groups. Symptoms usually appear before the individual is 18 years old. The first symptoms are usually facial tics, such as an eye blinking frequently. Facial tics also include nose twiching or grimaces.
Motor tics are also symptoms.
A motor tic may consist of head jerking, neck stretching, foot stoping, or body bending and twisting. Other symptoms are uttering stange and unacceptable sounds, words or phrases. Sometimes individuals with Tourette Syndrome may involuntarily shout or constantly repeat bad words. In severe cases, the individual may practice lip and cheek biting and head banging. Symptoms may disappear for weeks or months at a time.