How to Diagnose Petit Mal Seizures

Petit mal seizures (often called absence seizures) are a brief lapse of conscious activity. Unlike other types of seizures, petit mal seizures are mild conditions. From the outside, it can look like a person is just suddenly staring off into space for a couple of seconds. The causes are largely unknown and most people grow out of them within a few month or years. There is no one test to diagnose petit mal seizures. Your doctor must make a clinical diagnosis, meaning he has to use medical tests and observations to rule out other medical conditions.

Instructions

• 1

  Recognize the symptoms of petit mal seizures. These types of seizures are pauses in brain activity. You may be walking or talking and suddenly be unable to continue. Your eyelids may flutter and your mouth and hands may move uncontrollably. Each petit mal seizure may not last more than a few seconds. Immediately after, you will be fully functional and thinking clearly. Many times, you will have no memory of a petit mal seizure. You usually do not fall or shake the way most people think seizures occur.

• 2

  See your doctor about your seizure experiences. He will ask you to describe your seizure experiences in detail. He will also perform a thorough physical exam to rule out any underlying medical conditions that can cause seizures or mimic the symptoms of a seizure.

• 3

  Consult with your doctor about tests that will help determine the diagnosis. Your doctor will run a series of blood tests to look for anything abnormal, such as a chemical imbalance or toxic substances.
  Your doctor may then suggest an electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the electrical activity in your brain. The technician attaches electrodes to your scalp and takes a reading. Then he tries to make you have a seizure by having you hyperventilate or flash lights into your eyes. If you have a seizure, the EEG machine takes a reading of the brain activity during the event.
  The doctor usually runs a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT) scan. These scans work in the same way an X-ray would but provide higher resolution so that the tissue in your brain can be examined. This helps the doctor rule out conditions like strokes, brain tumors or blood clots.