Absence seizures in children - What is it?

If your child has absence seizures it means they 'shut off' for a few seconds. They appear to stare blankly into space and don't know what's going on around them. They might fidget with their hands, and their eyes might flutter.

Absence seizures usually last less than 10 seconds, but they can happen many times in one day. There are two main types of absence seizure: typical and atypical. The two types are treated differently. Here we cover the typical absence seizures. These seizures used to be called petit mal seizures.

During an absence seizure, a child loses consciousness for a short time. Seizures usually last less than 10 seconds. But:[1] [2]

A child can have lots of absence seizures
Some children have dozens of absence seizures in a day
A few children have 100 absence seizures a day.

It can be hard to tell if your child has absence seizures. Before the seizures are diagnosed, children are sometimes told off for being careless or not paying attention. Teachers are often the people who notice that something is wrong.

If your child gets absence seizures and is between the ages of 4 and 10 years old, your doctor might say they have childhood absence epilepsy.[3] [4] This is a type of epilepsy.

Older children and adults can also get absence seizures, but they'll usually get other seizures or symptoms as well. They might have a different type of epilepsy, such as juvenile absence syndrome or myoclonic absence epilepsy.[4] [5] To learn more, see our articles on Epilepsy.

All types of epilepsy seizures happen because the brain's electrical activity is disrupted. Nerve cells in the brain become overexcited and fire signals in a disorganised way. The result is a seizure.

We don't know very much about why seizures happen. Doctors think children probably get absence seizures because of a problem with the genes that control how their brain works.[3] [4]

Because a child's brain switches off for a few seconds during an absence seizure, they might find it hard to learn, or might have more accidents.[6] Treatment can reduce the number of seizures or might stop them altogether. Children who still get seizures may need to avoid some activities, such as climbing, swimming unsupervised or riding a bike on busy roads.

References

Arzimanoglou A, Guerrini R, Aicardi J. Epilepsies with typical absence seizures. In: Aicardi's epilepsy in children (3rd edition). Philadelphia: Lippincott, 2003.
Michelucchi R, Tassinari CA. Childhood absence epilepsy. In: Wallace S (editor). Epilepsy in children. Arnold, London, UK; 2004.
Arzimanoglou A, Guerrini R, Aicardi J. Epilepsies with typical absence seizures. In: Aicardi's epilepsy in children (3rd edition). Philadelphia: Lippincott, 2003.
Michelucchi R, Tassinari CA. Childhood absence epilepsy. In: Wallace S (editor). Epilepsy in children. Arnold, London, UK; 2004.
Panayiotopoulos CP. Typical absence seizures and their treatment in children. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1999; 81: 351-355.
U.S. National Library of Medicine. Medline Plus medical encyclopedia: petit mal seizure. August 2006. Available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000696.htm (accessed on 8 January 2008).

Glossary

genes: Your genes are the parts of your cells that contain instructions for how your body works. Genes are found on chromosomes, structures that sit in the nucleus at the middle of each of your cells. You have 23 pairs of chromosomes in your normal cells, each of which has thousands of genes. You get one set of chromosomes, and all of the genes that are on them, from each of your parents.

This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.