Repetitive, involuntary movements and vocalizations are the factors which characterize Tourette syndrome. It is a neurological disorder whose early symptoms become noticeable in children between the age of 3 to 9 years. It can occur to anyone, but men are more likely to be affected than women. This chronic condition lasts for a lifetime, and people experience the worst symptoms in their early teens. Patients may experience improvement in their condition from their late teens, which may continue into adulthood.

It is a disorder that involves several physical tics and at least one vocal tic. A tic is an atypical movement or sound that a person has little or no control over. This may include eye blinking, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing, facial movements, head movements, or limb movements with unusual and unpredictable sounds.

The tics that produce movement are called motor tics, and the tics which produce sound are called vocal tics. During early adulthood, the tics usually become less severe; but, this may get worse as the person moves into adulthood. The intensity of both minor and major tics tends to fluctuate. When a person is facing physical, emotional, or mental stress, the tics become more frequent. The main thing to understand about tics associated with Tourette syndrome is that they are the result of a neuropsychiatric condition. The sounds and behaviors of the patient are unintentional as they have no control over it.

Symptoms
Tics can be mild or severe enough to make daily life challenging. Eye blinking may be the first facial tic that patients face.

• Physical: Physical signs include blinking or jerking the head or any other part of the body. The examples of complex physical tics may include copropraxia, obscene gestures, echopraxia, flapping, head shaking, hitting things, jumping or hopping, kicking things, shaking, smelling or touching objects.
• Phonic tics: The symptoms may include sounds like squeaks, and words or phrases. The examples of simple phonic tics may include barking sounds, blowing, clearing the throat, coughing, grunting, hiccupping, sniffing, squeaking, yelling, and screaming.
• Simple tics: Symptoms involve moving one muscle or uttering a single sound. The movements are often sudden and repetitive. Few examples of simple physical tics may include eye blinking, head jerking, darting and grinding the teeth, neck twisting, rolling the eyes, nose twitching, and rotating or shrugging the shoulders.
• Complex tics: The physical movements are more complex, and they may include long phrases and may involve several muscle groups. The examples of complex phonic tics are varying voice intonation, echolalia (repeating what other people say), periphrasis (saying the same phrase over and over again), and coprolalia (uttering obscene words or phrases).

Some signs that a patient is about to experience a tic are:

• Increasing tension in the muscles
• A dry throat
• Itching in a limb or joint
• Anxiety or stress
• Tiredness
• Illness, particularly a streptococcal infection
• Excitement
• A recent head injury
• Fatigue