How to spot absence seizure and daydreaming in your child?
How to spot absence seizure and
daydreaming in your child?
By Dr. Suruchi Goyal, Consultant -
Paediatrics and Paediatric Endocrinology, Columbia Asia Hospital Whitefield (A
unit of Manipal Hospitals)
Aditi, a class 4 student was good at studies. She
could grasp things quickly and remember them. Her teachers and parents were
quite happy with her progress. However, as the mode of education became
virtual, her teacher observed that Aditi was on occasions
staring blankly at the screen before returning to normal. Her teacher
attributed this change in behaviour to the teaching method from offline to
online. Soon, her mother also noticed that Aditi was not paying attention to
the class and staring blankly at the wall or screen.
Although, Aditi would become normal within a few
seconds, her parents noted that she could not recall some of the lessons from
school and look confused when asked about certain things. Thinking that Aditi
is daydreaming and losing interest in studies, her parents decided to consult a
paediatrician.
After speaking to Aditi and the parents, the
Paediatrician was concerned that Aditi’s symptoms suggested more than day
dreaming, but were in fact suggestive of absence seizures. An EEG was requested
which confirmed the diagnosis and Aditi was commenced on the right medication.
Absence seizures are sudden episodes of a short
blank out which often affects children between the age of 4 to 14. Kids
suffering from absence seizure may stare at blank space and return to a normal
level of alertness within few seconds. In most cases absence seizure is
mistaken with day-dreaming or lack of attention and there is a high chance of
ignoring the symptoms. In some kids, absence seizure may take months or years
to get recognised.
Symptoms of absence
seizure
• Appearing motionless
• Staring blankly at walls or other objects
• Lip smacking
• Fluttering eyelids
• Abruptly stopping a conversation
• Sudden hand movements
Children suffering from absence seizure may show
lapse in attention for 10-20 seconds. However, once they become normal, they do
not remember the incident. Few children may face many seizure episodes on a
daily basis which may not get recognised. This will affect the learning and
daily activities of kids.
Causes of absence
seizure:
These types of seizures are caused by abnormal electrical impulses from nerve
cells in the brain. In many cases, it occurs due to the genetic
predisposition.
Differentiating
between absence seizures and daydreaming
There are many key differences between
daydreaming and absence seizures. We have listed some of the major ones below:
|
Absence seizures: |
Daydreaming: |
|
• They occur suddenly, without any warning. • Unlike daydreaming, these absence seizures
cannot be interrupted. • Episode of absence seizures end on their own in
about 10-20 seconds. • The child stares blankly and stop talking in
the middle of speech • Child’s inability to pay attention for few
seconds • The eyes may turn upwards and
eyelids flutter. |
• This is more often found when the child is
bored a lot. For instance, a child daydreams in his long class at school. • Daydreaming comes on slowly and can be
interrupted. • Daydreaming usually goes till the child is interrupted
like the teacher or his friends noticing him and calls for his attention. |
Many children grow out of Absence seizures by the
time they reach puberty whilst some may need to continue with anti-seizure
medication for longer periods whist a small number may go on to develop a
full-blown generalised tonic clonic convulsion.
Your Paediatrician along with the Neurologist
will need to follow up closely and alter the treatment as needed.
Do not mistake
absence seizures with other problems
Correct diagnosis is crucial as absence seizures
are often mistaken with other types of seizures. A specialist might suggest an
electroencephalogram (EEG) as it is one of the safe and painless ways to
diagnose absence seizures. The child will also be given anti-seizure
medications.
