He has been to an occupational therapist and they did not find anything? He doesn't complain about the clothes bothering him just feels more comfortable walking around with just underwear. I think it is a sensory problem.
Posted by beths (Member # 18864) on :
Could be. Do they complain about clothing tags? Prefer soft fabrics? My daughter loves to walk around without pants-says "it's just more comfortable"
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- In addition to various vestibular (inner/middle ear) diagnoses, one is "severe sensory dysfunction" -- I suspect a lot of this goes with lyme & co. for myself but when my brain or skin just can't do it, it just can't.
Clothes really irritate me. I wonder if he might be too embarrassed to say so (but that would seem less embarrassing than just underwear).
I get all cotton, no tags when possible (cutting out tags can also produce a sticky seam so I wear them inside out when I'm home). It's easy, though, to just sew up the seam where the tag was removed - and a skill any 13 year old can learn even without a sewing machine.
A knit shirt is usually softer than a woven cotton one.
Even 1 % of any other fiber other than cotton and I just can't stand the fabric as it's like plastic wrap and I get so hot I nearly pass out.
Dyes in some also really hurt my skin, literally.
FABRIC
Rather than underwear, though, perhaps some comfortable, presentable shorts & shirts, etc.?
It is best to encourage dressing appropriately. There are certainly kind fabrics out there.
LL Bean has the best cotton clothes (Lands' End quality has suffered greatly over the years) but some of LLBean's clothes now are srinkle treated with teflon. So, talk with their customer support staff. They would be glad to help and they take returns, like, forever.
VERMONT COUNTRY STORE also carries some cotton clothes that were made years before we started adding chemicals to everything.
Organic cotton is best but very spendy but try to get fabrics that don't have any chemical treatments, if possible. Just Google and then move through the choices to find a good quality one.
A lot depends on the KIND of COTTON used, how it's processed in all the stages. Who knew? Not I, until I had to learn.
Still ANY fabric, no matter how kind, is just too distracting to me and I just have a very hard time tracking all those signals.
My hair has to be very short, too, for this reason. Just can't tolerate all the neuro signals from hair brusing near my face or neck.
INNER EAR invovlement?
Things that can help: get assessed for vestibular involvement (by ONLY a LL neurotologist) - maybe. When the inner ear is off kilter, any signals coming in can just be too much from any of our senses.
GINGER CAPSULES & MAGNESIUM can help here.
Consider certain vitamin or nutrient deficiencies. Magnesium deficiency can cause this. If vegan or vegetarian, taurine deficiency, too. As def. in either can affect nerve endings and the neuro systems are just stimilated.
Liver / kidney support may not be enough (even if he does not have lyme). the skin is a major detox organ. If the liver and kidneys (or lungs) are stressed and can't pull their weight, the skin gets overloaded.
Food allergies, for additive sensitivies, too much caffeine (best for no teen to consume caffeine, though).
Avoid any soaps in laundry or shower that contain petroleum or chemicals. For safe products, Google: Environmental Working Group -
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
If he doesn't have a physical reason, tell him to put some clothes on. Seems reasonable to me.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Autism parents' groups would likely have some good sources regarding fabrics that are the least irritating.
Those who are (just about anywhere) on the autism spectrum can be irritated by common fabrics. And just about anyone with neuro lyme falls within that spectrum, to some degree.
If lyme is involved, also the LIA (Lyme Induced Autism Foundation) should have some good ideas.
I mentioned how lyme & co. inner ear or even liver / kidney stress can be involved but so can parasites or heavy metals.
Still, I am sure there are some items of clothing that should work out okay.
For girls who have this issue, loose skirts are much easier than slacks. Thank goodness for skirts, I say. There is no way I could wear slacks.
I'd start with a call to LL Bean. -
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
Shower: Avalon Organics, lemom or peppermint -
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- One more thought: beverages he consumes could be causing this, too. So many are just so neuroexcitatory. If he's a typical teen out and about with his buddies (hmmm, but not in his underwear, I'd assume) . . . well many teens put all kinds of stuff in their bodies can cause the skin to rebel.
School lunches could also be a culprit, with MSG, etc.
Any of these can be from lyme but just take a look at all the sensory influences and it's easy to understand that if there's an overload, something's got to be taken off (and that could be clothes).
I wonder if you have low-energy lights in your home. If so, you might try trading them all out for the regular kind. For many with sensory issues, this helps tremendously. This time of year, just not using artificial light can be a nice relief, too. -
Posted by GiGi (Member # 259) on :
I know how he feels - I felt that way for years until I detoxed Lyme and toxins, etc. and treated parasites -- very common especially in children. Restlessness. Soft cottons - no plastic fabrics/polyesters. And a good doctor who can address the sensitivities that are very common - (eye, ear, nose, skin -- temperatures). I also removed all tags from clothing because they often contain metallic threads that scratch and cause electric sensations on the neck and skin.
"He doesn't complain about the clothes bothering him just feels more comfortable walking around with just underwear."
This is why I said what I did.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
Ummm now y'all i've never had kids but I'm with tu on this. Nobody goes around in my house with no clothes or in underwear and that includes me and hubbie. He always puts on t shirt and pants. Sorry but if you're bedbound and stay in bed thats one thing but just saying oh I dont like clothes ummm no....
Posted by philly78 (Member # 31069) on :
My 13 year old does the same thing and he doesn't complain either. But...he doesn't complain because he doesn't really know what to complain about or shall I say how to word things. Like instead of him saying...such and such is bothering me he will just say well I'm more comfortable this way.
He doesn't communicate very well and to be honest, I don't think he even knows what "normal" feels like so it is hard for him to have that "normal" to compare to.
Posted by lax mom (Member # 38743) on :
Maybe he feels overheated?
Posted by Hoops123 (Member # 18333) on :
philly78 - hit the nail on the head. I didn't mean for this issue to be trivialized (sp ?). This is a very serious issue and not a normal behavior.
Prior to lyme, he was a normal active boy that wore clothes all day and would go out and play. Now, he is homebound and socially withdrawn.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I certainly didn't intend to trivialize it. You never said he had Lyme or that this was unusual behavior for him.
Sounds quite serious to me.
Posted by surprise (Member # 34987) on :
What I thought was sensory processing with clothing issues for my daughter (and we went through 10 months of Occupational therapy for sensory issues years back)
turned out to be OCD around clothing issues. I could write pages here, I won't. Anyway, she is now 8, and while she very
much prefers underwear only, I have put my foot down. Hard. She must wear a shirt. So, we picked out tank tops
(in her OCD colors) and if she takes it off, everything stops (including food, playing, etc.) until we put a shirt or tank top on.
I find it too inappropriate. It's working. Oh yes, my work is cut out with this child, but at this age now, as a female, other people live here, etc.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- OCD can be caused by PANDAS, chronic strep - or other chronic stealth infections, etc.
Occupational therapy for sensory issues may not be as inclusive as needed IF chronic stealth infections are at the root of it. Most therapists are not lyme literate, as well most are not literate about other chronic stealth infections such as strep.
Most know nothing about PANDAS.
Now, of course not every child or teen with OCD has PANDAS or other chronic stealth infection but it can certainly be the underlying cause of OCD and many (if not most) medical professionals are either are unaware, uneducated or dismissive.
On another note, the OCD "feeling" can be the a sort of seizure - or at least on the seizure threshold "barometer" so to speak.
Some things that help calm seizures - or over activity that can irritate that threshold (for lack of better way to explain it) - for those with chronic stealth infections can also help calm the excitatory neuro stuff on various levels:
Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections
- by Kathryn Seraphin
The Pennsylvania State University - College of Medicine - June 2003
Introduction: There has been a subset of young children who have been noted to abruptly develop Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and/or tic disorders, such as Tourette�s Disorder, in association to a recently documented Group A Beta-hemolytic Streptococcal (GABHS) infection. . .
which has unique criteria and characteristics differentiating it from classic childhood OCD or tic disorders. . . . -
Posted by ktkdommer (Member # 29020) on :
My son runs hot all the time. He ran around in underwear also, looking back to when he was young. It sort of fit his personality so we didn't think much of it and he hadn't been diagnosed yet.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Another question for those who have trouble with wearing clothing:
Do they sweat?
My guess is that can be an issue. Right now (probably just topped about 85 here today and about 72 now, not hot at all, really but the building's heat does seem to hit in evening), windows all open, in a tank top and my body is just burning up but I cannot sweat to cool myself down. It matters.
I know that some with chronic stealth infections have trouble sweating for various reasons. There have been threads about that here and some LLMDs have written about it (various nervous systems dysfunction, low grade fever, etc.).
I have just never had the energy to explore that for myself. I just try to stay cool enough to not pass out. -
Posted by surprise (Member # 34987) on :
Thanks Keebler- my daughter does have PANDAS/PANS- long history. Multiple treatments. Some OCD still remains.
And yes, she runs hot. That's why I went for light, soft easy tank tops.