Fainting

Causes:

Fainting (syncope) can be caused by many different things and sometimes a cause is not found.

Fainting usually happens when not enough oxygen gets to your brain. You go unconscious or "pass out" for a few minutes. Your blood pressure (BP) drops all of a sudden and your heart rate and blood vessels cannot react fast enough to get enough blood to your brain. It is often seen in older people. Some things that can cause your BP to drop include:

• Standing up too fast
• Working or playing too hard, especially when the air temperature is hot
• Breathing too fast (hyperventilating)
• Stress
• Medications for BP
• Coughing
• Stretching

If you faint one time while doing one of these things, it probably is not serious, but if you faint more than once you should see your doctor about it.

Other causes of fainting:

• If you faint after turning your head to the side, you should see your doctor. It could be caused by a bone (s) in your neck pinching one of the blood vessels that carry oxygen to your brain.
• Low blood sugar. Maybe you are a diabetic or you have not eaten for a long time.
• Some medications other than ones to control your BP. Alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana can also cause fainting.
• more serious causes: seizures, heart problems or problems with the blood vessels that carry oxygen to your brain.

It is important to try to remember what you were doing just before you fainted, how you felt just before and just after fainting.

Things you can do if you think you are going to faint:

You should lie down. If you cannot lie down, sit and bend forward with your head between your knees. This helps to get the blood flowing to your brain. When you get up, try to do it slowly.

Return to the Emergency Department or see your doctor right away IF:

You faint and have any of the things below:

• Your pulse (feel it at your wrist near your thumb) is irregular. You may have trouble counting it.
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Fainting comes on suddenly
• You cannot see very well because things look blurry
• Hard time to talk
• Confusion
• Faint when you turn your head
• Fainting more than once a mouth