Who is at Risk for Seizures While Playing Video Games?
It has been determined that approximately one in every 130 to 200 people worldwide have varying degrees of epilepsy, while only 3 to 5% of those diagnosed with epilepsy are photosensitive. Photosensitive epilepsy is far more common in children than in adults. That combined with the fact that children and adolescents represent the majority of video game players, this group is at the highest risk for experiencing photosensitive seizures. The typical age at which photosensitive epilepsy emerges is between 9 and 15 years. Female children and adolescents are more affected by photosensitive epilepsy than boys. This type of photosensitivity is thought to be genetic in origin. By the age of 20, the risk for experiencing photosensitive seizures drops off dramatically. The type of photosensitive seizure experienced while playing video games seems to vary with each person; however, a tonic-clonic seizure seems to be the most common. A tonic-clonic seizure is characterized by clenching of the teet
