Health A-Z

Medical Content Created by the Faculty of the
Harvard Medical School

Absence Seizures (Petit Mal Seizures)

When to Call A Doctor

Call your child's doctor if you notice that your child has:

• Staring spells

• Brief periods of deep daydreaming

• Other behaviors that may be symptoms of absence seizures

If your child's teacher complains that your child is not paying attention, tunes out or always daydreams, ask the teacher whether your child shows other symptoms of absence seizures. For example, does your child:

• Stare straight ahead at the chalkboard

• Blink repeatedly

• Twitch while daydreaming

Request that the teacher write down a detailed description of your child's symptoms. Have the teacher estimate how long each episode lasts and the number of episodes per day.

Once you have this description, check to see whether you notice any of these same behaviors at home. Then call your doctor to discuss the situation.