Petit mal seizures also known as absence – seizures involve a temporary disturbance in the brain function due to an abnormal electronic activity in the brain. The striking characteristic of petit mal seizure is a short-term, abrupt lack of conscious activity or any other noted abnormal change in the behavior. It is mostly seen in children and they may also occur in combination with other type of seizures.
Typically this type of seizure lasts only for a few seconds and can be mild in nature, but it definitely needs a treatment as it interferes with learning or may result in some kind of injury. Consult a specialist for the medications (antiseizure) as the main goal of the treatment is to decrease the number and frequency of the seizures and any side effects caused by the medication. It would be very important to take the medications on a particular time of a day to keep the level of drugs in the body balanced and thus avoid seizures. Special care of children should be taken while swimming or bathing as the chances of drowning might be there if they get a seizure during these activities. It would be wise to let the teachers at school or coaches know about the seizure so they can handle the child accordingly. Petit mal seizure generally tend to fade with medications as a child grows, however if it persists then some restriction for driving or operating heavy machineries can be faced as adults.
answered by Dr S