Question
What is a seizure disorder? My child suddenly turned pale and stared without moving while playing. He hasn’t fallen or shaken. This happened twice within the same day, and he is 5 years old with no similar situations before. Online sources say this is a seizure disorder. What is it?
Answer
Seizure disorders can be categorized into variant minor seizures and atypical minor seizures. Variant minor seizures include myoclonic seizures and involuntary weakness seizures. Myoclonic seizures are characterized by bilateral rhythmic myoclonic twitching of the head and upper limb muscles, which can occur alone or multiple times without loss of consciousness. Involuntary weakness seizures manifest as a sudden loss of muscle tone, leading to an inability to maintain posture, possibly causing the head to drop suddenly and the knees to buckle, resulting in a fall. These episodes usually come with a brief loss of consciousness or impairment, but the individual will immediately regain consciousness after the seizure.