Postictal blindness.

Transient loss of vision occasionally follows an epileptic seizure. This rare phenomenon is seen chiefly in children and may be related to the relative electrical instability of the occipital cerebral cortex. Occipital foci are more common in the juvenile electroencephalogram and, with maturity, tend to be seen more rostrally in the temporal areas. We have seen three cases of postictal blindness in children; all have cleared within 24 hours.