Read up on Absence seizures in children treatment options at Consumer Reports Health.

Absence seizures in children

Key points about treatments

Treatments can't cure epilepsy. But they will probably cut down the number of absence seizures your child has, or stop them altogether. Drug treatments can cause side effects.

Key messages about treatments for absence seizures

It can take your doctor a few tries to find the right drug treatment for your child.
Some children need two epilepsy medications.
All epilepsy medications have side effects, so you and your child's doctor must decide whether the benefits of a treatment are worth the problems it might cause.

Source:
National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
Newer drugs for epilepsy in children.
April 2004. Technology appraisal 79. Available at http://www.nice.org.uk/ta079 (accessed on 15 January 2009).

¹
Some medications that are used to treat other types of epilepsy can actually make absence seizures worse.

Source:
Panayiotopoulos CP.
Treatment of typical absence seizures and related epileptic syndromes.
Paediatric Drugs. 2001; 3: 379-403.

²

Source:
Panayiotopoulos CP.
Idiopathic generalized epilepsies.
In: Panayiotopoulos CP (editor). The epilepsies: seizures, syndromes and management. Bladon Medical Publishing, Oxford, UK. 2005; 469-474.

³ So it's important to get the right diagnosis.

Sources for the information on this page:

National Institute for Clinical Excellence.Newer drugs for epilepsy in children.April 2004. Technology appraisal 79. Available at http://www.nice.org.uk/ta079 (accessed on 15 January 2009).

Panayiotopoulos CP.Treatment of typical absence seizures and related epileptic syndromes.Paediatric Drugs. 2001; 3: 379-403.

Panayiotopoulos CP.Idiopathic generalized epilepsies.In: Panayiotopoulos CP (editor). The epilepsies: seizures, syndromes and management. Bladon Medical Publishing, Oxford, UK. 2005; 469-474.

This information was last updated on Feb 05, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
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