Letters to the editor
Cross polarised spectacles in photosensitive epilepsy
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
EDITOR,
Photosensitive epilepsy was first reported
by Gowers in 1885 who described a girl who had attacks when going into bright sunshine, and a man who had a visual aura of bright blue lights
and subsequent fitting evoked by looking at a bright
light.1 The first report of epileptic seizures caused by
watching television was made by Livingstone in 1952, and since then
numerous cases have been documented.1
Almost 10% of newly diagnosed cases of epilepsy in 7-19 year olds demonstrate photosensitivity on electroencephalogram (EEG) and have seizures triggered by watching television or by computer games.2 Photosensitive epilepsy can usually be controlled by sodium valproate3; however, an important part of management of this condition is the avoidance of stimuli that provoke the fit.
CASE REPORT
A 9 year old boy was referred to a paediatric neurologist because of
episodes of absence seizures on watching television. This at times
progressed to
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