Absence Seizure

Absence seizures involve brief, sudden lapses of consciousness. They're more common in children than adults. Someone having an absence seizure may look like he or she is staring into space for a few seconds. This type of seizure usually doesn't lead to physical injury.

Typically, this type of seizure lasts between 10 and 30 seconds. The person, most often a child aged 5 to 15, abruptly stops whatever he's doing (talking, walking) and appears to "stare into space." Absence seizures rarely cause a true convulsion in which the person falls down or collapses. About a quarter of people who have absence seizures will develop another type of generalized seizure called tonic-clonic seizures (formerly called ''grand mal'' seizures). The vast majority of children, however, will outgrow them.

Studies reports a high prevalence in male as compared to female, in rural areas in contrast to urban areas and in peak age group is ranged from 10-20 years. The prevalence studies conducted shows a high proportion of patients have a generalized seizure as compared to other types of epilepsies. The epilepsy incidence rates reported from is low which is ranging from 28.8 per 100 000 per year to 35.0 per 100 000 per year.