About 50 cases of epileptic seizures caused by video games have been reported around the world. About two thirds of those were first attacks.
Only about 5 per cent of all epileptics are sensitive to the type of light patterns created by video games, television, flickering sunlight and disco lights. The condition, called intermittent photic stimulation, mainly affects girls from the ages of 10 to 14. It is very rare after the age of 25.
The average age of the video games attacks was 13, and happened mainly among boys.
Parents with children at danger from an attack from flickering lights, and who want to avoid giving them drugs such as valproate, can take other action.
Doctors at Heemstede in the Netherlands suggest keeping children at least two metres from the television set. Most attacks occur when the child sits within one metre of the screen. As this is not always practical, a 100 hz television could be watched, and the child could also wear sunglasses or close one eye.