A dialeptic seizure is a type of seizure in which an individual loses awareness, stops responding, and simply stares into space. It lasts for a few seconds and usually does not involve physical shaking as seen in other seizures. Since the major symptom is a loss of consciousness, many who experience a dialeptic seizure do not remember the event after it ends. Knowing about this health issue’s signs and causes can help individuals better manage it.

Dialeptic seizure symptoms

To understand what a dialeptic seizure is and detect it quickly, individuals must look at the signs. Subtle shifts in an individual’s presence or their interaction with the surroundings usually signal the start of the episode.

Staring spells

The individual having the seizure appears to be staring at something at a distance while being completely motionless. They may not react or speak even when someone calls their name or touches their arm. This symptom is sometimes easily mistaken for daydreaming or inattention, especially in quiet environments.

Loss of awareness

An individual affected by this type of seizure may not be aware of their surroundings. They may feel as if they are in a dream, checked out of reality. Since the brain does not process external information during the episode, they cannot talk or interact with others. Because of this reason, dialeptic seizures are also called absence seizures.

Post-seizure amnesia

After a dialeptic seizure, it is common for an individual to have no memory of what just happened. They may feel a bit confused, not realizing that time has passed and that they were unresponsive. This lack of awareness of the episode itself is an important sign that doctors use for diagnosis. It is a key difference between dialeptic and other seizure types, as other seizures do not have disruption of awareness as a symptom.

Remember that most dialeptic seizures are short, often lasting from about 5–20 seconds to about a minute. Since they begin and end so quickly, they can be easy to miss if someone is not directly looking at the affected person. After the episode, the individual usually returns to their previous activity almost immediately.

Dialeptic seizure causes and triggers

The main reason why seizures happen is not known. What is known is that the episodes have something to do with how brain cells communicate through electrical signals. To understand why seizures occur, identifying the specific patterns of triggers can be helpful.

Brain changes

The brain may undergo changes for several reasons, which can disrupt electrical signals and cause seizures. Brain injuries, for example, can damage the brain. If the organ does not heal properly, the electrical signals passing through it can be affected, leading to seizures. Similarly, specific conditions that affect the brain can disrupt electrical signals, triggering seizures. There are also cases where structural changes in the brain are present from birth due to genetic factors, affecting brain development and increasing seizure risk. 

Environmental factors

Certain surroundings and lifestyle habits can also increase the chances of dialeptic seizures. In many cases, constant high levels of emotional stress act as a trigger. Similarly, prolonged lack of proper sleep can be a cause. Sometimes, specific external stimuli, such as flickering lights, intense visual patterns, or loud noises, trigger these episodes. 

Internal changes

Certain changes happening outside the brain but inside the body can cause dialeptic seizures. A sudden but sharp increase in body temperature, for example, can lead to seizure activity. This is mostly observed in young children. Significant changes in blood sugar levels can disrupt the normal electrical communication between brain cells, leading to seizure episodes.