Absence seizures in children - What will happen?
Most children grow out of absence seizures.
About 9 in 10 children who get absence seizures grow out of them by the time they are 12 years old.[1] But a few children continue to have them as adults.[1] [2]
About 1 in 10 children start to get generalised tonic clonic seizures as they get older.[1] These seizures make you fall and pass out. Children who get this type of seizure stop having absence seizures. And they have the other type of seizure only rarely. To learn more, see our articles on Epilepsy.
Drug treatments for absence seizures work well.[1] [2] [3] And most children do not need to take epilepsy medicines for the rest of their life. If your child stops having seizures after taking an epilepsy medicine for a while, your doctor might stop the treatment gradually to see if the seizures come back.[2] [3]
About one-third of children with childhood absence epilepsy have a problem with learning or behaviour. This might be because they don't know what is going on while they have absence seizures. Or, it might be because their epilepsy medicine makes them drowsy or slows down their thinking.[2]
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.
- Panayiotopoulos CP. Typical absence seizures and their treatment in children. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1999; 81: 351-355.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited ("BMJ Group") 2007. All rights reserved
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.
