Why do People Faint?
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Fainting is a temporary loss of consciousness that is spontaneously recovered after only a brief period of time. People faint because of a lack of blood flow and decreased oxygen to the brain. The cause of fainting can be related to a number of conditions or situations, some involving the heart, many not. The medical term for fainting is syncope (SIN-ko-pee).
People most often faint as the result of an abnormal circulatory reflex. Some people faint at the sight of blood, in a crowded room, or even from excessive coughing. This is referred to as situational fainting and might affect a person repeatedly, but only in a very specific situation.
People may also faint when standing up after lying down. Referred to as postural fainting, this results from a decreased flow of blood to the brain, usually as the result of a drop in blood pressure. Postural fainting can occur after significant blood loss, dehydration, or a change in cardiovascular medication, or as a side effect to other medications. Certain medical conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and migraine headaches, can also serve as a catalyst for fainting.
Most people who faint experience symptoms beforehand. These symptoms may include lightheadedness, blurred or “spotty” vision, dizziness, and weakness. People who observe someone about to faint might notice paleness, sweating, and dilation of the pupils. In most situations, people who faint regain consciousness within a moment or two.
Unless you and your healthcare provider are familiar with a condition that causes you to faint, such as with situational fainting, fainting is cause for a hospital visit. Fainting can signal a serious underlying condition and should be evaluated by a doctor. The elderly, heart patients, and people who have any other accompanying symptoms should be transported to a hospital immediately. Even if you are aware of conditions that might cause you to faint or if you are an otherwise healthy person with no prior episodes, you or a family member should still call your doctor after an episode of fainting.
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32
My friend is 15 and she's been fainting for 2 years now. The first year it wasn't very often but now it's gotten more frequent and she does it either every day or every other day.
she's had a number of scans done, including her heart and brain and stuff, and she's been tested for epilepsy and diabetes, but they said it's neither of those and there's nothing wrong with her brain or heart. when she's fainted before she usually wakes up in a panic and comes around but she fainted today and was out for ages. she came round and didn't know where she was. she then fainted again and woke up being sick and fainted again. she woke up and had lost her sight and her fingers were freezing but she was warm on her head and this paramedic guy said she needed to go to the hospital but she refused. she started going crazy and scratching the floor with her nails and it was really upsetting to watch. - anon53329
31
i fainted the first time this morning. I'm 14 and i had just woken up. i sat on the sofa for a while and watched tv then i went to get up and make breakfast as i was starving!
i stood up and felt that dizziness you get and i leaned on my dining table with my head down. the next thing i know I'm on the floor shaking with my sister slapping me in the face! i guess it was just as i had nothing to eat and i got up too fast. i hurt my arm on the way down though. - anon52588
30
I have fainting spells. At least I have learned what to do when they start to come. I must sit down and drink some water.
Usually I start to feel light headed, then my hearing goes, then I start to see spots. The last time it happened it really scared me because I lost my vision completely and saw only white. This has never happened. Normally it is black. - anon50305
29
I'm 15 years old and I fainted for the first time today.
I had a blood test and as soon as I made it out into the reception I fainted on my dad. LOL
Gah I hate needles.
The weird thing was that once I had woken up, I couldn't really hear anything, then it was like my ears had popped (And I could hear again) but then I could also hear ringing. Then I felt both really hot and really cold. :/
Thanks for the article :) - anon49309
28
My friend fainted the other day. it was really weird. It happened very quickly. She said she felt sick and she was starting to tilt backwards and forwards. Then her face went really white and her eyes started to twitch and then she just suddenly feel to the ground. But I managed to catch her arm and gently laid her down on the ground. She came round after about three or so minutes.
This article was really helpful, cause I didn't understand why this had happened to her. - anon49177
27
i fainted for the first time yesterday all i remember was my dad was asking something and i said respectful and he said that was the smartest thing he'd ever heard me say. i was upset and loads of things were racing through my head. next thing i felt dizzy like i was spinning and then just felt like i was spinning. next thing i know i blacked out and was woken up by my mum, dad and sister attending to me. they were fanning me and splashing water on me. i thought it was for like a second but it was apparently longer. - anon49150
26
I fainted last night! I was watching television with my little sister, and my grandma told me she injured her hand, she had a really huge bruise. I got up to get her some ice. We were in the kitchen, wjem all of a sudden I felt dizzy. I thought it was a normal dizziness. I've been dizzy many times before. But it was different. I got dizzier and dizzier. I fell to the ground, but stood up and sat on a chair. My sister asked me what was the matter, but all I could say was that my heart felt strange. And next thing you know, I was out. Minutes later I woke up and didn't remember a thing. My sister and Grandma were crying and my granpa was making me smell rubbing alcohol. My little sister said I wouldn't move and my eyes were still open. She thought I had died! After that I still felt dizzy and my body felt numb. - anon48741
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I fainted at my school once in my music room whilst doing choir. Apparently I fell backwards and my music teacher just caught me. The problem was that I have to start eating meat, red meat. - anon47580
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I fainted last week while taking bath and hit hard by the wall and got hurt! There injury and little blood on my left arm. Didn't feel much pain the same day but next day started feeling pain in the left side of my body (head, left arm, leg...). Then i got fever due to body pains. This is really strange to me as i am pretty much healthy!
The article is really well written. This is third time i fainted. the first time when i was 14 (had period that day), second time when i was 25 (just got married and standing in a line to visit temple for prayers) Third time last week (i am now 29 )while taking a bath! - anon46531
23
Yesterday i fainted. I was getting an industrial piercing done and when he did the first hole i started seeing dots everywhere. It filled my whole vision. I also couldn't hear anything and i felt really weak. After that i don't remember anything else, just waking up in a bed with people putting alcohol in my nose and back and making me drink a Coke. I woke up and i felt very weak; i couldn't stand up. Later i asked what had happened and they told me i stood up and started walking and i just fell unconscious and they had to carry me to the bed and that i was unconscious for about 30 seconds. I have experienced this about three times already when they take blood out but i haven't actually fainted all the way. this was a very weird experience. i have been fainting since i was about 14. now i'm 17. Could this be something serious? - anon46422
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i fainted yesterday. we were in school and i was cooking. i was washing up and then i just fainted. all i remember is waking up.
why did i faint? - anon45710
21
I pass out only when I see or hear anythng about blood. I can't even watch a movie with blood in it, in the cinema or sit in a restaurant and watch my partner eat a steak with blood juice oozing out.
it's really bad when i go to the doctor's office to have my blood pressure taken. I start getting this pressure in my stomach, then my throat feels like someone is squeezing it, I see black dots in front of my eyes, a ringing noise in my ears and then i pass out. I am normally sick afterwards too. At least I know how to avoid it, but nowadays its not that easy and it seems to be affecting my way of living quite a bit. - anon44797
20
Today i fainted at work whilst eating my lunch. i was only out for seconds but when i came round i realized after a few minutes that i had wet myself. is this a normal reacton? this is the first time i have fainted in 12 years and before it is usually when i have blood taken or if i have had an injection. - anon43201
19
does anxiety or an having an anxiety attack cause people to faint? if so, how do you keep that from happening? - anon43080
18
My daughter who is 15 fainted for the first time today. We had gone to the gym to exercise. She had nothing to eat for breakfast and nothing to drink, which I found out about later. We had worked up quite a sweat doing cardio for 45 minutes and went to work on some weight machines. We were getting ready to leave. She told me she was feeling dizzy and held onto me for support. The next thing I knew she was looking disoriented and fell to the floor. After taking her to the clinic, she was fine for the rest of the day. They said that she should not work out without eating breakfast and should be sure to bring liquids to drink when she works out. - anon42659
17
I fainted for the first time yesterday. I was in the airport in spain, standing in a queue for half an hour, very hot. all I remember was feeling light headed first and then I woke up in the floor, feeling weird, like I had been in a dream. I couldn't see and hear properly. I was very pale. Why did I faint?? - anon41327
16
i'm 16 and i fainted for the first time on holiday a few weeks back. it was very warm and i had eaten no breakfast, although drank lots of fluid. i had been on a walk that morning and then went to go stand in some shade when i started to feel sick, lost my hearing and sight. the next thing i knew i was lying on the floor with everyone surrounding me. it's a really weird feeling, like you have just woken up, but it hasn't happened since so i put it down to the heat. - anon41039
15
today i fainted for the first time it was very humid today and i remember drinking something like probably 30 minutes ago and i had nothing to eat. So me and my boyfriend went on a little stroll down to the park. again it was pretty humid. and i fainted against the wall. all i remember is getting very dizzy then everything just faded into black. my boyfriend said i bumped the back of my head pretty hard. it was like waking up from a dream. i didn't even feel him slapping me to wake up until i regained my conciousness. then afterwards i had a huge migraine. - anon40798
14
Hi i am 15 years old and i fainted for the first time today right after a class i was taking, which happened to be a trauma nurse and all her detailed pictures of people who got very hurt in car accidents. First i got a little dizzy, then lost my hearing. my sister asked if i was all right, which i could barley hear her say. Then i went to get a drink of my juice and couldn't even get it to my mouth to drink. after class just eneded I stood up to put my books away and the next thing i remember i was looking up at the ceiling. The whole time after i was wondering, if something was really wrong with me? i later went to the doctors and found out i just fainted and it happens a lot. - anon39717
13
My daughter fainted this morning. was very afraid. she is 12 she got up out of bed very quick went to the bathroom and ended up on the floor but was fine for the rest of the day. should i be worried. - anon37887
12
Today I fainted. it wasn't my first time but normally I faint when im anxious. I fainted at school in assembly which was very embarrassing. I started feeling really lightheaded, then the sound in the background muffled. When I opened my eyes I had loads of people around me. - anon35549
11
I fainted once i went to get my 11 year old jab and after it i felt sick and i was going up to tell my mum and i remember feeling all dizzy. Also i went to have a blood test and i almost fainted, i went dizzy and had to lay down. - anon34815
10
well..i fainted because my friend was telling a story about her injury...i don't know why but i suddenly felt dizzy..then..blurred eye sight..next thing i know i was lying on the floor with my friend staring at me...it was actually weird. - anon34601
9
I fainted around easter time after getting out of bed early one morning. I remember resting my hand on the wall because I felt a little bit dizzy then, the next thing i knew, i woke up on the couch downstairs with my parents and brother looking at me, i had blood all over my face, a sore back and a broken nose(i fell down the stairs). - Thor666
8
i faint all the time. i don't really understand it, but the feeling really frightens me. whenever i've been to see my gp about it they just check my blood pressure and take blood to check for anemia (low iron levels). most of the time they come back normal. the feeling i have when i start to faint is excess sweating, burred vision and a loud ringing noise in my ears, as if a life support has stopped! i then pass out and will be sick until the noise stops and i cool down.i hate it when the only way to be brought around is to sit with your head between your legs on a chair cos all i want to do is lay down and sleep it off. after, i feel really out of it and weak for a couple of days. 1 time i fainted i hit the floor face first and cut all the bridge of my nose and had black eyes from it for 2 days. - anon31634
7
I actually fainted today for the first time in my life. I came on here to look it up because it was so weird. It happened out of nowhere. I guess I had postural fainting. I went tanning in a tanning bed that was really powerful and hot. Not having anything to eat or drink (dumb I know). As soon as I got up from the tanning bed I felt very weird. I walked next door to subway and began to feel the dizziness, very pale, lips turned white, and intense blurred vision. I walked back outside and collapsed right in front of a crowd of people including my boyfriend. My boyfriend instantly picked up my head and started talking to me. But I had also experienced a weird buzzing noise in my ears. Like I couldn't hear anything except for a weird buzzing noise. Everything started to come back within like 30 seconds though. It was so weird! But also I was shaking a bit and couldn't really talk. This article was very helpful in finding out what had happened to me. Thank you! - anon31297
6
One day I was walking, it was a very hot day, and I just fainted by some traffic lights but woke up after a bit. - anon30720
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I fainted in school and hit my head a bit hard. Which caused me to feel dizzy. What should I do after I collapse? - anon29827
4
Once I was sitting in my auditorium at school, and they were having a person who came and spoke about abortion and all of a sudden I started to get this weird feeling in my stomach, and I got really dizzy, and everything in the room was sort of sparkling. I got out of the room, and blacked out and walked probably 10-15 feet before I fainted, and woke up just a few minutes later with help from no one. - anon29670
2
I was out with a friend he is 28 years old and in good health, he has been under a great deal of stress and the other day we had been out he had not been drinking or on drugs but he fainted, after he said he could feel it happening. he refused to go to the hospital - anon17909
1
very very well explained. Extremely helpful. I am very satisfied and pleased. Thank You - anon388
Editor's reply: Glad to get your feedback! Many thanks!
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Written by
J. Beam
Last Modified: 20 November 2009
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