What are absence or reduction of reflexes?

When your body doesn't react to something as it normally does, that’s called absence or reduction of reflexes.

Imagine you're playing with a toy car, and it zooms up behind you, suddenly, you jump! That quick reaction is like a reflex, which is how your body automatically responds to something unexpected. But if you don’t jump, or only move slowly, that’s when absence or reduction of reflexes happens.

Sometimes, after a long day at school and playing outside, your legs feel wobbly, and you might not catch yourself as quickly when you trip. That's like having less reflexes, your body still knows what to do, but it takes a little longer or doesn’t happen at all.

If you’re sick, maybe your reflexes get slower too, just like how sometimes you can't catch your favorite ball as quickly when you're not feeling great. Your brain is still working, it's just taking a little extra time to send the message from your body to your feet or hands.

So absence or reduction of reflexes is like your body saying, “I’m going to react, but I might need a second to get there!”