A brief lapse: What you need to know about absences
This is a regular topic of discussion in paediatricians’ surgeries, but the immediate trigger for this tip from the doctor was actually an adult: Jamal Musiala, a professional footballer at FC Bayern, caused quite a stir when he slumped to the ground, looking dazed, twice in quick succession during a match. The diagnosis: absence seizures. Here’s a brief summary of what you need to know about this from a paediatrician’s perspective.
In paediatrics, absence seizures are not an uncommon phenomenon. They are a specific type of seizure that occurs mainly in children aged between 4 and 14. And let’s start with the good news: in well over half of all cases, they stop of their own accord in children.
But what exactly are absence seizures? They manifest as a child briefly zoning out, as if they’ve switched off. However, they do not experience convulsions as in an epileptic seizure, nor do they collapse or lose consciousness. For example, a child might appear to switch off for two or three seconds whilst playing Ludo, but then carry on playing as normal. Sometimes you can also spot clues in their school exercise books: the child is writing and suddenly there’s a small gap because they had a brief lapse – and then they carried on as normal.
It can be very helpful to us paediatricians if parents who suspect that something is wrong with their child try to film such episodes. This allows us to make a fairly good initial assessment. However, an EEG – an electroencephalogram – must then definitely be carried out in the paediatric neurology department.
Usually, the children are then given medication which makes these seizures disappear again. And, as already mentioned, the chances of a spontaneous recovery are very good.
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