Tourettes is an often misunderstood disorder. It is most identifiable as a disorder that causes uncontrollable vocal out bursts. To find out more about the Tourettes disorder then read on at this hub.

Tourette's syndrome (TS) is an inherited neurological disorder characterized by repeated involuntary movements and uncontrollable vocal sounds called tics. In a few cases, such tics can include inappropriate words and phrases. Symptoms generally appear before the individual is 18 years old.

It is estimated that 100,000 Americans have full-blown TS, and that perhaps as many as 1 in 200 show a partial expression of the disorder, such as chronic multiple tics or transient childhood tics. TS affects people of all ethnic groups, and males are affected 3 to 4 times more often than females.

The natural course of TS varies from patient to patient. Although TS symptoms range from very mild to quite severe, the majority of cases fall in the mild category.

The first symptoms of TS are usually facial tics commonly eye blinking. However, facial tics can also include nose twitching or grimaces. With time, other motor tics may appear such as head jerking, neck stretching, foot stamping, or body twisting and bending. TS patients may utter strange sounds, words, or phrases. It is not uncommon for a person with TS to continuously clear his or her throat, cough, sniff, grunt, yelp, bark, or shout.

Some people with TS may involuntarily shout obscenities or constantly repeat the words of other people. They may touch other people excessively or repeat actions obsessively and unnecessarily. A few patients with severe TS demonstrate self-harming behaviors such as lip and cheek biting and head banging against hard objects, however, these behaviors are extremely rare.

It's possible for some people with Tourette's to suppress their tics for a short time, but the effort is similar to that of holding back a sneeze. Eventually tension mounts to the point where the tic escapes. Tics worsen in stressful situations; however they improve when the person is relaxed or absorbed in an activity. In most cases tics decrease markedly during sleep.

Tics alternately increase and decrease in severity, and periodically change in number, frequency, type and location. Symptoms may subside for weeks or months at a time and recur later.