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Infant son having staring spells

My son is a year and a half and having up to five staring spells a day that last up to five minutes, his doctor said it could be absence seizures but it is also accompanied by extreme sleepiness for the rest of the day,confusion,does not want to play stops talking  and he is unable to eat or drink,got EEG done results came back good,everything I read does not point to just absence seizure,could it be something else.Please help,I don't know if this is real medical persons answering questions,but anything will help.Thank you!
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Avatar universal
Your description is toward complex partial seizure and not absence seizure.  But still let a pediatric neurologist evaluate him and try to Video tape the events to show them to him/her
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144586 tn?1284666164
This is a situation where we have an elephant, and people grab different parts of the elephant to describe the animal.

Everybody is "right" here.

My point is, that in my observations, if a parent goes in to request a child "be treated", and goes in long and often enough, that child will recieve medication of some sort. Millions of children go into a pediatrician's office, for example, with an obvious viral infection, and walk out with "a shot" or a prescription for antibiotics.

Siezures can develop due to one of more of dozens of malfunctions in the human body.

The first step, to my way of thinking, is to step back and see if we can find out the reasons for the brain malfunction.

In the case of pilots, there is apparently a genetic susceptibility to "flicker induced siezures", which have been implicated in a number of crashes. This type of siezure is ocasionally seen in helicopter pilots who view the sun through the rotor blades. The pilot simply "stares" and momentarily loses track of time and situational awareness.

I do not know the reason for this child's apparent (the symptoms seem to fit) petit mal seizures.

Often there is a so-called "threshold of irritability" for parts of the brain, and medications lower this threshold. There is no "free-lunch", however and all the anti-siezure medications affect learning and thought.

We come to a "risk-benefit" decision. That decision revolves around whether of not the side-effects of the medications outweigh the damage taking place if the medications are not prescribed.

We have further complication. If started on such medications, and then the medications are withdrawn, siezures can result due to a brain addiction to the medications. So we have a "catch-22" situation. This does not always happen, but it is something to consider.

One of the first things to consider is whether or not the brain is sensitive to certain substances that have been demonstrated to sometimes cause siezures.

Thus, before medication I suggested a rigorous careful diet of natural foods free from any dyes whatsoever. No sodas. No artificial sweeteners. And no monosodium glutamate, which has dozens of variants, and is common in almost every variety of canned soup.

The other suggestion is to shield the optic nerve from flicker. Get rid of all flourescent lights. Television and video games also fall within this category. The screen flickers.

During this period carefully log the frequency, duration and intensity of the symptoms. This is a labor-intensive effort, but it will be worth it.

The question of whether or not these symptoms will proceed to more dangerous siezures is not that clear. Pilots who have experienced and have a tendency to experience petit mal siezures generally never progress to a "more dangerous type of siezure".

Medications may, in fact be necessary, and if so, do not hesitate to have them prescribed.

On the other hand, sometimes a period of "watchful waiting", combined with an attempt to eliminate common causes of such siezures, may bear fruit.
Helpful - 0
924532 tn?1244257444
the most important thing is to control these seizures before the abscence seizures progress to different type of seizure and he becomes developmentally delayed he needs a good nuerologist  specialist in epilepsy i know because i have gone through it for over 20 yrs. i have juvenile myoclonic seizures and my baby had infantile spasms which are seizures.
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You can always go conservative till the child has no observable symptoms due to the seizures. If the child is normal even after these short seizures then you may try every thing, it is fine. But once the child becomes irritable, sleep disturbances, gross problems with his/her milestones then i would advice for medications. The choice is always based on what is best for the child.
My advice was based on the symptoms mentioned "extreme sleepiness for the rest of the day,confusion,does not want to play stops talking  and he is unable to eat or drink"
Take care and come back to us for further queries.
Helpful - 0
144586 tn?1284666164
Whoa, Dr Vinod. We have not yet clearly established that these events represent petit mal seizures, and my personal opinion is that starting a child of this age on anti-siezure medication without substantive justification is "plan stupid".

During a grand mal siezure there is often a deficiency of oxygen, but even then the evidence of cumulative damage is not always conclusive. With petit mal siezures, we have a diffferent situation. One cannot make the statement that during a petit mal siezure "the brain is being deprived of oxygen".

Among the alternatives for a person of that age "giving medications regularly" should be choice number 897.

Neither would I rely on the advice of a "pediatrician/neurologist". I would get additional opinions.

As we know petit mal seizures can be precipitated by something as simple as exposure to the flicker of a television set or flourescent light. I would look closely at the circumstances when the periods of "inattentiveness" started. Especially the lighting. "Flicker" siezures can often be prevented by simply wearing dark polarized glasses.

There is also the possibility of extreme sensitivity to a food substance, three of which come immediately to mind, aspartame, monosodium glutamate, and red dye number three.

Square one would be to keep him under close observation and provide a controlled diet, free from food dyes or additives. Square one involved keeping a daily log of the episodes. Duration, intensity, level of responsiveness to command, and get a child's blood pressure cuff and take his blood pressure and pulse during these periods.

If possible, have him observed at a medical facility specializing in pediatrics, preferably a teaching hospital, where he can be seen by a team of physicians.
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Normal EEG does not rule out any problem. During seizures there is less of oxygen supply to his brain and this may be problem in the future. So follow your paediatician/neurologist and give him medicines regularly and see that the seizures decrease. Sometimes the symptoms overlap between Seizures. With time the neurologist will come to proper diagnosis. Take care!
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