Symptoms of Fainting: Causes and Prevention

What You Need to Know About Fainting

Fainting is when you lose consciousness for a small amount of time. It can occur with or without any serious medical condition. Most of the time, the reason behind fainting is that your brain is not getting enough oxygen. It can be triggered by many reasons, like low blood sugar, dehydration, standing quickly or certain medical conditions. The medical term for fainting is “syncope,” and it is also commonly known as “ passing out.” 

Fainting generally lasts for a few seconds or sometimes a few minutes. However, it can fully recover in just a few minutes and may not need any special treatment. But if it happens as a symptom of a serious medical condition, you need to consult your doctor.  

What are the Causes of Fainting?

Fainting means temporary loss of consciousness, and it can have many reasons, including:

• Dehydration, tiredness
• Low blood sugar may be caused by some medication or health condition. 
• Heart attack, seizure or heart stroke. 
• Mental health-related issues like stress, anxiety, exposure to something unpleasant, or severe pain.
• Low blood pressure is a health condition sometimes caused by medication.
• Sometimes laughing, standing too quickly, sneezing or coughing can cause a sudden blackout for a few seconds. 
• Standing in one position for a long time in hot temperatures.
• Consuming drugs or excess amount of alcohol.

Types of Fainting

There are many types of syncope (Fainting). Here are some common types.

1. Vasovagal Syncope: 

Vasovagal syncope is one of the common causes of fainting that involves the vagus nerve. This situation occurs because the balance between chemicals like acetylcholine and adrenaline is disrupted. However, adrenaline is released when a person is happy. It makes the heart beat faster, and blood vessels narrow, which mainly results in increased blood pressure. Acetylcholine chemical does the opposite of that. 

Vagus nerve is increases the acetylcholine chemical that slower the heart rate due to which  the blood vessels dilate,  That makes it hard to pumped blood to the brain against gravity. However, the temporary decrease in blood flow to the brain can be the reason for fainting. As vasovagal can be triggered by stress, looking at heavy blood or emotional trauma, sometimes it can also get affect by standing for a long period of time.

2. Carotid Sinus Syncope: 

It mostly happens when the carotid artery in the neck becomes narrow and affects the blood supply to the brain. It usually happens after wearing a too-tight collar or suddenly turning your head in one direction. When there is pressure on the carotid artery, it can cause trusted source fainting. Activities like shaving, turning your head or wearing clothes with light collars can put pressure on the carotid artery, which can cause a person to faint or blackout for a few seconds. 

3. Situational Syncope: 

Situation syncope is a temporary loss of consciousness and is also a type of NMS (Neurally mediated syncope).  The situations that trigger the condition are physical, like fainting while passing stool or urine, coughing or sneezing. Sometimes, it can also happen due to any gastrointestinal disturbance or vomiting. Increasing water intake, consuming the proper amount of salt, and being aware of the warning symptoms can help people get back to normal easily.

What are the Symptoms of Fainting?

The most common symptom of fainting is losing consciousness, and others are followed by that. Before fainting, it is common to experience these symptoms:

•  Shortness of breath
•  Nausea, stomachache, vomiting
• Sweating, weakness, light-headedness and dizziness
• Visual changes, such as tunnel or blurred vision. 
• Change in heart rhythm, restlessness and anxiety.
• Numbness, tingling and a drop in blood pressure. 

However, when a person faints, they usually fall over or slump and look pale. They will have weak pulse, and blood pressure will be reduced.

If a person loses their consciousness for more then a minute or two, this may be a sign for emergency. The person should seek immediate medical attention.  

How Can You Prevent Fainting?

When you feel fainting try to sitting down slowly or lying down as it will help in blood to flow easily to your brain. If you have an experience of fainting in past few days, try to learn what is the reason for you to faint and avoid those things. If you see blood when you faint, consult your doctor immediately. As they can prescribe you certain medication to prevent you from fainting.    

Try not to skip your meals and if you feel dehydrated, drink plenty of liquids that can help you get hydrated and get some fresh air to prevent yourself from fainting. 

If you feel the sensation of spinning, weak or lightheaded, these are signs of fainting. When you notice all these signs, first sit down and put your head in between your knees, as this will help to get blood to your brain. If you fall down, then try to stay like that for a few minutes, and don’t stand quickly.

What to do if Someone Faints?

When you notice somebody fainting, about to faint, or has fainted, you can help them by doing things like helping them lie down on their back and checking if they have any kind of injury. You can help them encourage blood flow to their head by raising their legs above the heart level. Ensure there is enough fresh air; if there is too much crowd around the person, ask them to make some space and move away. After the person has some consciousness, do not let the person stand up quickly; provide them with a cool drink or a glass of water. In any situation, if a person stays unconscious for more than 1 minute, call for emergency healthcare help. If the person is not breathing in this situation, call emergency medical help and then start CPR.

Test and Diagnosis:

Fainting once can be common, but if a person is fainting again and again, it can be a sign of a serious medical condition.

Test for Fainting:

If a person has no medical history of fainting and still faints several times, the person needs to consult the doctor for an underlying medical condition. Then, the doctor will ask you to have an ECG (Electrocardiogram) to check your heart health. You should tell your doctor about the situation of your fainting spell, how you felt and what you were doing when you faint; with that, give your doctor your full medical history and the medication you are on. On the basis of all the details, your doctor may ask you to take other additional tests. 

Diagnosis for Fainting:

For diagnosis, your doctor may ask you a few questions :

• Detail of any previous fainting incident.
• Any family history of heart disease.
• Person’s medical history and the daily medication prescription. 
• Where the person was and what he or she was doing when a fainting occurred. 
• At last, are there any symptoms other than fainting.
   

Conclusion:

Fainting mainly means losing consciousness for a few seconds; it is a common event and can happen to anyone. It includes many reasons, such as if you are in a crowded place or have a health condition. It can happen if there are low oxygen levels, which means oxygen is not reaching the brain properly or a person is dehydrated. However, in most cases, fainting is not that dangerous or a matter of concern, but if it is happening again and again with other symptoms. Then, you need to consult your doctor for treatment options.