Fainting - First Aid and Emergency Treatment Guide
About Fainting
- Fainting occurs due to decreased blood supply to brain
- A fainting spell is usually very brief
- It may or may not have medical significance
Common Causes
- Anxiety
- Emotional upset
- Stress
- Severe pain
- Skipping meals
- Standing up too fast
- Standing for a long time in a crowd
- Some medications
- Diabetes
- Blood Pressure
Symptoms
Before fainting, a person may experience the following:
- Nausea
- Giddiness
- Excessive sweating
- Dim vision
- Rapid heart beat or palpitations
Treatment
- Fainting is a medical emergency, till proven otherwise
- When a person feels faint:
- Make them sit down or lie down
- If sitting, position head between knees
- When a person faints, position him on his back
- Check to see if airways are clear
- Restore blood flow by
- Loosening clothing/belts/collars
- Elevate feet above head level
- Patient should become normal within a minute
- If not, seek medical help
- Check if breathing/pulse is normal
- If not, do Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Prevention
- When symptoms appear, lie down
- Try do avoid stress and anxiety
- Carefully evaluate your medications
- Take care of underlying medical conditions