Whats the difference between petit mal and grand mal seizures?
The second comment is untrue, petit mal seizures are less severe but school age children can have upwards of 100 petit mal seizures a day. Petit mal seizures usually last less than 10 seconds, and are noted for making the patient dizzy, light headed, and confused. The patient may also exhibit a blank or empty stare. The patient does not lose consciousness. Most of the time no one but the patient knows they had a seizure. Grand mal or tonic-clonic seizures have 2 phases, these two phases usually begin with an “aura” and end with the postictal phase. The two phases of grand mal seizures are the tonic and clonic phase. Tonic phase- the patient loses consciousness and their skeletal muscles tense causing them to fall to the ground. This is the shorter phase of the 2 and can last up to 20 seconds. Clonic phase- the patient will begin to convulse. this phase can last up to 5 minutes.
