Absence Seizures

The abnormal and intense electrical activity of the brain causes absence seizures in about 2 per 1000 individuals. The brain's nerve cells tend to communicate with each other by giving out electrical signals. When these tiny signals turn abnormal, they lead to seizures. During a seizure, some parts or the entire brain may get affected. When the brain gets affected with these abnormal brain impulse pattern, it is called generalized seizures. Absence seizures are one of the forms of generalized seizures.

What are Absence Seizures
Absence seizures also known as petit mal seizures generally affect children in the age group of 5 to 18 years. Absence seizures in infants, that is, children below 2 years of age is a very rare condition. It also very rarely occurs after adolescence. Absence seizures cause a person to appear as if staring into space. This may or may not be accompanied with a slight jerk or twitching movement of the eye muscles. These seizures happen just for a few seconds and are gone before one even knows they occurred. Absence seizures are very mild as compared to other seizures like the grand mal seizures. However, one should not take them lightly as they may be prove to be dangerous as they can occur when a person is swimming or driving.

Absence Seizures Symptoms
Absence seizures in children is more common than in adults. During an absence seizure, the person temporarily loses consciousness. The individual is not aware of what is going on around him or what he is doing. He may just stare straight ahead and not respond when spoken to. Sometimes, during a seizure, the eyes may blink or flicker quickly and even an arm or leg may twitch or jerk. Once the seizure ends, the individual has no memory of the entire seizure episode. He will begin his activities again as if nothing happened. This is a very common symptom as compared to other different types of seizures, where the individual is neither confused nor disoriented after an absence seizure episode.

Absence seizures in adults may also have similar symptoms. The person may suddenly stop talking when in a middle of a conversation or stop doing what he was doing. There may be an automatism, that is, repetitive movement like lip smacking, chewing or picking on clothes. In some cases, the individual may walk around aimlessly. You might feel as if the person is mentally somewhere else. Within a few moments the person gets back to normal as if nothing ever happened. Most of the time, complex partial seizures are misdiagnosed as absence seizures in adults. Absence seizures in children in more common than in adults. However, either of the seizures can affect adults as well as children.

The absence seizure symptoms may occur many times in a day, sometimes up to 50 to 100 times. They cause a brief interruption in the activities of the person. These spells last for just 10 seconds and at the most 20 seconds. Most of the time, a child with absence seizures fails to cope up with the school activities as he does not get a link of what is being taught. The child is generally thought as a day dreamer or having short attention span, until diagnosed with absence seizures.

Absence Seizures Causes
The causes of absence seizures includes inherited idiopathic seizure disorder. The other absence seizures causes includes secondary seizure disorder that includes vascular malformation, infectious diseases, neoplasm and toxic brain disease.

Absence Seizures Treatment
Absence seizures tend to occur in people under the age of 20. When one is diagnosed with absence seizures, the doctor may prescribe some medications that help reduce the number of episodes of absence seizures. The dose and medication related to absence seizures treatment, is decided by trial and error method beginning with the lowest possible dose initially. The absence seizures medication includes ethosuximide, lamotrigine or valproic acid.

The absence seizures prognosis is generally very good with most of the children out growing the condition. Proper treatment will ensure that the child has a normal life as well as complication free health. Most of the children have no long-term brain development or functioning impairment. Speak to an epilepsy specialist to find a remedy for someone you know with this rare condition.

Disclaimer
The information in this article is intended as a supplement to, not as a substitute for, the expert and professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a healthcare professional. The reader is advised to consult with a medical consultant before taking any home remedies, supplements or following any treatment advised. A medical consultant will be able to provide the reader with advice that is safe and effective for an individual's specific needs and diagnose a particular health problem based on their personal medical history.