Photosensitive Self-Induced Seizures Since Childhood

Abstract

A 15-year-old girl was admitted to the emergency room because of a bilateral tonic-clonic seizure. The family reported that the episode began with rapid hand movements in front of the patient’s eyes while staring at the sun. The patient has a history of multiple admissions in the emergency department due to similar events since the age of eight. Most occurrences were associated with episodes of frustration. The review of the literature has shown that this type of phenomenon, designated in some studies by sunflower syndrome, may be overlooked in patients with photosensitive epilepsy. Despite the unknown etiology, there are several reasons why patients experience this type of behavior, and thus a multidisciplinary approach is needed.