What are Absence or Petit Mal Seizures?
Occurring most often in children, absence seizures (formerly called petit mal) are very brief staring spells. During this generalized (whole brain) type of seizure, the child loses awareness for a few seconds and becomes unresponsive. These staring spells begin and end abruptly, usually lasting less than 10 seconds. The child appears “glazed”, “spaced out” or “blank.” Sometimes the eyes roll back during the seizure, and the eyelids flutter briefly. Movements of the mouth, hands and head may also accompany the staring, especially if the seizure lasts more than 10 seconds. Afterward, the child is immediately back to normal alertness and usually unaware that a seizure has occurred. Absence seizures are often overlooked, or mistaken for daydreaming. A child may have many such seizures over the course of a day, causing frequent interruptions in the continuity of their experience. The brain produces a characteristic electrical discharge during an absence seizure: the 3-per-second spike-and-w
