# Petite mal seizure
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petite-mal-seizure/197177
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 23, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petite-mal-seizure/197177 "2003-08-23T16:53:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petite-mal-seizure/197177/1 "2003-08-23T16:53:31Z")
What are the symptoms of a petite mal seizure? Is it a potentially life-threatening condition? If a medical professional witnessed the seizure, how long would it take them to realize what it was, as opposed to just “spacing out”?
(BTW these are hypothetical questions, actually it’s for a story I’m writing. Oh, and a Google search on “petite mal seizure” brought up page after page of PORN links…WTF?!?)
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### Author:  [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petite-mal-seizure/197177/2 "2003-08-23T17:15:51Z")
You would have had better luck if you had spelled it “petit” instead of “petite.”
I know a little about this topic, but not enough to be confident in myself. A good place to look would be the Epliepsy Foundation.
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### Author:  [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petite-mal-seizure/197177/3 "2003-08-23T17:18:41Z")
Here is a link:http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org
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### Author:  [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petite-mal-seizure/197177/4 "2003-08-23T17:21:50Z")
Unfortunately, there are so many different types of seizure disorders that it is very difficult to determine just what occurs.
Some trained doctors might not recognize a petit mal seizure because the symptoms can be very subtle.
The only seizures I’ve had have been grand mal (and thankfully only three in my lifetime.) Those are hard to miss.