Absence seizures cause a lapse in consciousness. These seizures happen suddenly, without warning, usually lasting fewer than 20 seconds, and are more common in children than adults. Absence seizures are often mistaken for daydreaming. Anticonvulsant medications are the main treatment. Most children outgrow absence seizures during their teen years.
Absence seizures are brief seizures that cause a lapse in awareness. They typically start suddenly, without warning, and last a few seconds. They are common in children and are sometimes mistaken for daydreaming or not paying attention. Recovery is immediate.
These seizures are also known by an older term, petit mal seizures. This name is no longer encouraged by the medical community. Most childhood absence seizures can be controlled with medication.
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
If your child experiences an absence seizure:
Most seizures last between five seconds and 30 seconds, but they can last for a few minutes, although this is less common. The longer the seizure lasts, the more likely it’ll be noticed by others.
Absence seizures may be frequent, 10 to more than 30 times a day. Some children can have hundreds of absence seizures a day.
Your child usually continues whatever they were doing before the seizure. They’re usually able to think clearly and are wide awake. However, if more than one seizure happens close together, your child may look or act confused and lose their place in what’s going on around them. For example, during the seizure, they may miss hearing instructions from teachers or what has been said in a conversation.
Although anyone can have absence seizures, they’re more common in children. They’re usually seen in children between 2 and 12 years of age, and most commonly occur in children of early elementary school age, between the ages of 5 and 7.
Absence seizures occur in about 5 people in every 100,000 of all ages, and in 6 to 8 in every 100,000 children younger than 15 years of age. About 10% of all childhood epilepsies and seizures are absence seizures.
There’s a high chance (up to75%) your child will grow out of absence seizures by adolescence. Children who have only absence seizures and not absence seizures combined with other seizure types have the best chance of outgrowing them.
The triggers for absence seizures are the same as for other types of epilepsy.
Triggers include:
Absence seizure symptoms include:
Researchers believe genetics plays a role in all generalized epilepsy types, which includes absence seizures. Several genes are thought to be involved. Specific details about inheritance still aren’t known.
There are two main groups of seizures: generalized seizures and focal seizures. Absence seizures are a type of generalized seizure. These seizures begin with brief abnormal electrical activity that involves both sides of the brain at the same time.
Your healthcare provider makes the diagnosis of absence epilepsy based on symptoms, a hyperventilation test and results of an electroencephalogram (EEG) test.
Be prepared to describe your child’s symptoms, including what happened before, during and after the event. This information may come from you or other family members or school staff.
Hyperventilating can trigger an absence seizure. To help make the diagnosis, your healthcare provider may want your child to perform this test. If so, your child will be asked to blow repeatedly for more than two minutes.
Your healthcare provider will order an electroencephalogram test. During this test, the electrical activity of their brain is monitored through sensors placed on your child’s scalp. Absence seizures are diagnosed by a particular type of brain wave pattern.
Healthcare providers define absence seizures as typical or atypical. Atypical seizures are recognized by their own unique EEG pattern and can occur at any age. This seizure type usually starts and ends more slowly and lasts longer (20 seconds or more) than typical absence seizures. Atypical absence seizures also usually cause more muscle movement in a person, such as smacking lips or chewing movements, more eye blinking and rubbing fingers together or other hand motions. Atypical absence seizures usually occur with other seizure types and more often affect children who have a learning disability and severe epilepsy.
Absence seizures are treated with antiseizure medications. Ethosuximide (Zarontin®) is the preferred medication to treat absence seizures. Other medications that your healthcare provider might try include valproate (Depakene®), lamotrigine (Lamictal®) and topiramate (Topamax®).
Certain types of antiseizure medications, such as phenytoin, carbamazepine, gabapentin, pregabalin and vigabatrin, aren’t usually used to treat absence seizures. These drugs can worsen seizures.
A ketogenic diet may be considered, but good evidence to support its use is lacking. A ketogenic diet may be considered if your child’s absence seizures don’t respond to medication.
A team of healthcare specialists usually manages individuals with epilepsy. Team members may include a neurologist/child neurologist, primary care provider, pharmacist, nurse, dietitian and mental health professional.
Be sure to let your doctors or pharmacist know if your child’s symptoms aren’t controlled or if they experience any adverse reactions. A change in drug dose or type may need to be made. Your neurologist or primary care doctor will monitor blood levels and liver function (depending on the medication used) with occasional blood tests. A dietitian may be consulted if a ketogenic diet is recommended. If your child develops anxiety, depression or stress, a mental health professional may become involved.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to prevent absence seizures, since genetics are thought to play a role in their cause.
Your child shouldn’t swim, dive or rock climb without supervision. Your child also shouldn’t drive unless seizures are controlled with medication.
Most children respond to treatment with anticonvulsant medication. In most children — up to 75% — absence seizures goes away by their teen years and medications are no longer needed.
Even though absence seizures occur for a very short period of time, they are not harmless. Your child is experiencing seizure episodes that alter their consciousness. Seizures can interfere with learning (for example, missing what is being taught during seizure episodes), which can impact school performance. Seizures also affect your child’s physical safety, increasing the risk of accidents.
If your child is daydreaming, attention can be regained immediately when your child is spoken to by you, or a teacher or a friend. Daydreaming usually is brought on by boredom and comes on slowly.
If your child is having an absence seizure, the inattention comes on suddenly, can’t be interrupted and can happen anytime – including during a physical activity. It ends on its own, usually within 20 seconds.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Absence seizures cause a short-term lapse in awareness. Because they typically last fewer than 20 seconds per episode, and because they’re more common in elementary school-aged children, they may be difficult to detect. In fact, they’re often first discovered by your child’s teachers, by not responding when called upon or by slipping academic performance. The good news is that up to 75% of children who have absence seizures alone outgrow their seizures during their teenage years and no longer require medication.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 12/15/2021.
Learn more about our editorial process.
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy