Why do we faint? Causes of different types of fainting

Almost every one of us has witnessed a sudden fall of a person or found himself fainting. What is the cause of such an unpleasant phenomenon as fainting, what are the causes of loss of consciousness?

Sudden fainting: causes

Loss of consciousness is the result of a sudden disruption of metabolic processes in the brain when blood flow slows down or stops. A sudden fall should not be confused with epileptic seizures. In order to be able to distinguish one condition from another, you should find out what the nature of fainting is and identify the symptoms that directly indicate a specific illness. It would also be a good idea to acquire first aid skills so that a fallen person does not get injured and help him recover.

Symptoms of sudden fainting

As soon as tinnitus, nausea, and goosebumps appear before the eyes, you need to immediately take a horizontal position.
Before losing consciousness, a person begins to yawn heavily, which indicates a lack of oxygen in the brain.
The patient's legs give way, he feels trembling all over his body, he has difficulty breathing, and breaks into a cold sweat.
Also, a pre-fainting state can be recognized by pale skin, blue lips and the perioral area.
The heart rate decreases and the pupils dilate.
Typically, loss of consciousness lasts no more than 2-3 seconds; fainting lasting more than 5 minutes may be accompanied by involuntary urination or convulsions.

What are the causes of fainting?

By scientific definition, fainting occurs when there is a sudden drop in blood pressure.

The reason for this may be various diseases, ranging from heart diseases, in which the valves cannot cope with the saturation of all vessels with blood flow from reduced pressure.
In such cases, people increasingly feel weakness, malaise, and lose consciousness during physical exertion.
That is, the vessels, which are in an expanded state due to stress, can accommodate a sufficient volume of blood, but the pulse rate drops and the supply is inhibited.

As a result, blood flow volume decreases and malaise occurs.

Loss of consciousness can also occur due to a sharp decrease in blood flow due to dehydration or heavy, prolonged bleeding. Fainting can occur with prolonged diarrhea, diseases of any organs, excessive urination, or sweating. Fainting is accompanied by painful shock, nervous shock and other serious conditions.

The bulk of sudden loss of consciousness occurs during a hot period of time. The reason for this is sunstroke or heatstroke.

For people suffering from anemia and diabetes, fainting is a common occurrence. The causes of sudden fainting may be a microstroke, prolonged fasting, severe thirst

As first aid, you must try to hold the person so that he does not hurt himself if he falls. Call an ambulance, and apply something cold to the back of the victim’s head, a handkerchief moistened with water. You should lower it face down so that the tongue does not sink in.

And for someone who has lost consciousness, if the cases are repeated, it is imperative to examine the body and contact a specialist. Often, behind ordinary malaise and fainting, insidious diseases are hidden, gradually weakening the human body.

Thank you

Translated from Latin fainting means “to weaken, to exhaust.”
What is fainting?
Fainting is a short-term attack of loss of consciousness that occurs as a result of a temporary disruption of cerebral blood flow. Surely many of you know what a fainting state is.
Do you know what to do if the person next to you faints?
We mean first aid for fainting. Do you know how to provide it, and what exactly needs to be done to help a person?
It is quite possible that some of you are already aware of all these rules. However, it is likely that you do not know this. If not, then read our article..site) will help you not to get confused if someone close to you suddenly faints.

What is fainting?

Let's start with the fact that not everyone faints. Any fainting condition is a consequence of some pathological disorder. Fainting can occur as a result of a disease accompanied by a decrease in cardiac output. Quite often, fainting occurs due to low oxygen levels in the blood or due to disturbances in the nervous regulation of blood vessels. However, regardless of what was the true cause of fainting, before losing consciousness a person feels a feeling of nausea. His vision becomes blurred and there is ringing in his ears. If you experience all these symptoms, do not rush to move on. Help yourself: stop, sit down or lie down, relax. If you have ammonia on hand, inhale it. It is quite possible that all these actions will return you to normal.

First aid

And now regarding first aid for fainting. So, if you witness fainting, do not stand idly by. First of all, lay the unconscious person on his back, while raising his legs. This way you will ensure maximum blood flow to his brain. Next, turn his head to the side to prevent his tongue from sticking out. Once all this is done, unfasten his collar, if there is one, to allow normal access to fresh air. If you have ammonia on hand, moisten a cotton swab with it and bring it to the person’s nasal cavity. If there is no ammonia, then take plain water and start splashing his face with it. To bring a person to his senses, you can also lightly flick him on the nose. After providing first aid to a patient, under no circumstances leave him without attention. It is very important to monitor its general condition. If a person does not regain consciousness for more than ten minutes, call an ambulance as quickly as possible.

What can't you do?

And now a few words about what absolutely should not be done when providing first aid to a person who has lost consciousness. Never lift a person horizontally. It is very important that you make sure that his head is lower than his body. And one more very important rule - never be idle. Be sure to help a person if you witness his fall. A lot depends on your help.

If a child faints

If a child faints, then, first of all, lay him down properly and start spraying him with cold water. After this, take the cologne and rub it on his arms, chest, back and legs. If this procedure does not help, resort to ammonia. Be extremely careful, since ammonia, or rather its prolonged inhalation, can cause temporary paralysis of the child’s vasomotor center. Moisten a cotton swab with ammonia and hold it to the child’s nose for about twenty to thirty seconds. If necessary, you can repeat this procedure, but only after two minutes. And so on until the child regains consciousness. In case of deep fainting, both adults and children can be given artificial respiration. As soon as the person regains consciousness, give him strong, hot tea. It is also very important that after loss of consciousness the patient is provided with complete rest.

By the way, if you have any illness and you know that you can faint at any moment, do not “wait for weather by the sea.” Buy yourself, for example, a special dietary supplement (dietary supplement), for example from the Tiens Corporation. It will help you reduce the number of fainting states to a minimum.

Before use, you should consult a specialist.

Reviews

Attention! Following some of the advice in this article can cause irreparable harm, in particular to a fainting child! The use of ammonia in case of fainting is strictly not recommended! Inhalation of ammonia vapor (ammonia) by a child for 20-30 seconds is fraught with catastrophic vasospasm.

Good afternoon Fainting with strangers began to happen around me - on Thursday it was the second time in a month. I decided to clarify what to do. It turns out that practically no one except me cares. As they say, what happens once may not happen again, and what happens twice may happen a third time. So I'll go buy ammonia. Do not be ill.

I would like to add that it is impossible to disturb a person who has not yet completely lost consciousness, but is already on the edge, at any cost, and force him to come to his senses. If it is possible to put it on something soft and let it “switch off”, you should do so. For me, the most painful thing is when you try to completely relax and gather strength, and at the same time they start disturbing you and shouting.

I fainted 3 times. The first 2 times due to poisoning, I simply got poisoned no matter what, and then fainted. This year I got food poisoning from pizza, thank God everything turned out okay! I fell for the third time when I was donating blood from a vein. The doctor held the needle inside the vein for about 5 minutes, no blood came out at all. I don’t remember what happened next. When I donate blood from my finger, I just feel bad, they immediately give me ammonia and everything seems to be fine. I hope it's just a teenage thing and everything will pass ;)

People, tell me what’s wrong with me, how can I bleed from my finger! I lose consciousness instantly. When I was 16, I was filing something and injected myself heavily, just in the ring finger. Then I don’t remember anything, I woke up on the floor, my parents were hysterical above me. Then after school I had to fill out all sorts of medical forms 6 because there was blood from a finger6 or God forbid from a vein everything, kaput ringing in the ears6 makes me sick, and now I’m lying unbuttoned without shoes and the doctors are cackling. I’m afraid to have 32 children just because of this

I never thought that you could lose consciousness from pain in your leg after a bruise. At first there was nausea and I couldn’t understand why, and then I lost consciousness. A terrible feeling happens when you come to your senses and don’t understand where you are.

You know, I fainted in the sixth month of pregnancy, and on the street. It was very stuffy, I was walking with an ultrasound, my legs gave way and I fell. It seemed to me that an eternity had passed. When I woke up, there was only one man standing over me. Everyone else walked by and tried not to even look at me. I am very grateful to him that he did not leave me without attention. I am also very glad that when I fell, I did not harm myself or my child. It’s very strange, but before I lost consciousness, I didn’t feel any lightheadedness, nausea, or weakness.

Fainting (syncope) is a short-term loss of consciousness, during which muscle tone sharply decreases, then - after a minute or two - the person returns to consciousness without resuscitative measures.

There are different types of fainting, and the prognosis varies for each case. However, the essence of this condition is always that the brain does not receive enough blood, it stops working normally, and loss of consciousness occurs.

Three main types of fainting

1. Reflex (neurotransmitter) fainting occurs due to a malfunction of the nervous system and, as a consequence, vasodilation and a decrease in heart rate (bradycardia). Systemic blood pressure drops, and as a result, blood supply to the brain is disrupted. There are two types of reflex fainting:

Vasovagal (neurocardiogenic) syncope occurs when the autonomic nervous system, which regulates blood pressure and heart rate, is disrupted. This is the most common type of fainting; it occurs especially often in athletes, young and generally healthy people. Vasovagal syncope usually occurs in a person who is standing or sitting. In this case, there is often a pre-fainting state: dizziness, lightheadedness, flush of heat, pallor, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, increased sweating. There is usually no cause for concern with vasovagal syncope. Such fainting can occur after a strong cough, sneezing, laughing, fright, severe pain, at the sight of blood, as well as while being in a crowded place, a hot room, in the sun, after physical exertion, urination, defecation, etc.
Sinocarotid syncope, which occurs when pressure is placed on the carotid sinus (the dilated part of the common carotid artery). This can, for example, occur when the neck moves (in particular when a man shaves and turns his head), or if the shirt collar is too tight.

2. Fainting due to orthostatic hypotension. Orthostatic hypotension is a decrease in blood pressure during a change in position from horizontal to vertical, that is, at the moment when a person gets up. It can occur for a variety of reasons:

from dehydration (including due to diabetes mellitus);
with Parkinson's disease;
after taking antiarrhythmic or antihypertensive drugs (especially in older people in the heat), antiemetics, antidepressants and antipsychotics;
from drug and alcohol abuse;
due to internal bleeding as a result of violation of the integrity of internal organs after injury or due to complications of various diseases;
after standing for a long time, especially in crowded, stuffy places.

3. Cardiogenic syncope is associated with cardiac dysfunction. It can occur even when a person is lying down. Usually there are no warning signs - the person suddenly loses consciousness. This type of fainting indicates a serious threat to life and health. It occurs more often in people with a family history of unexplained sudden death or early cardiovascular disease. Fainting can be caused by:

arrhythmia;
ischemia (lack of blood supply) due to severe narrowing of the coronary vessels, as well as a tumor or blood clot that impairs the patency of a large vessel;
structural changes (cardiac tamponade, aortic dissection, congenital anomaly of the coronary arteries, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, etc.).

Sometimes fainting can be associated with hypoglycemia (too low blood glucose levels) due to diabetes, panic or anxiety disorder, etc.

Non-convulsive fainting can also be similar to fainting, but it lasts longer than regular fainting, and after it the person does not immediately come to his senses. Also, during an attack, the patient may bite his tongue, and sometimes fecal or urinary incontinence occurs.

Loss of consciousness in some cases is caused by serious neurological disorders: stroke, transient ischemic attack, subclavian steal syndrome (deterioration of blood supply due to narrowing or blocking of the lumen of the subclavian artery), severe migraine.

Loss of consciousness after a traumatic brain injury also cannot be called fainting; in this situation, you must consult a doctor so that he can assess the severity of the damage.

In rare cases, loss of consciousness can be caused by narcolepsy, a condition in which a person experiences daytime sleep attacks and cataplexy (sudden relaxation of muscles).

When should you see a doctor if you faint?

If you faint, this is not always a reason to see a doctor. For example, if nothing like this has happened before, if this is the first fainting spell in several years, then most likely you do not have any life-threatening diseases. However, there are “red flags” for the person and for those who witness the fainting, indicating that they need to seek medical help:

fainting lasts more than 2 minutes;
fainting occurs frequently;
You fainted for the first time after 40 years;
You were injured while fainting;
you have diabetes;
You are pregnant;
you have had or have heart disease;
before fainting you felt chest pain or strong or irregular heartbeat;
during fainting, urinary or fecal incontinence occurred;
if you start to feel short of breath.

What will the doctor do?

The doctor must understand what is the cause of fainting and whether there is a threat to life and health. To do this, he will ask about the episode itself, about the medical history, about the illnesses of relatives (especially about early heart problems), conduct an examination and do an electrocardiogram. It is very important to tell your doctor everything you felt before and after you fainted, as additional symptoms can be very helpful in making a diagnosis. For example, chest pain in some cases indicates acute coronary syndrome (myocardial infarction or unstable angina) or pulmonary embolism. Rapid heartbeat is often a sign of arrhythmia. Shortness of breath may be a manifestation of heart failure or pulmonary embolism. Headache in some cases indicates vascular disorders and hemorrhages.

Often, the patient, among other things, has a stool test for occult blood (this checks for bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract), a blood test to determine whether there is anemia, and a blood test for brain natriuretic peptide (this can indicate problems with heart). The woman will most likely be given a pregnancy test. The doctor can see how much your blood pressure and pulse change when you change your body position.

If the doctor believes that it is likely that carotid syncope has occurred, carotid sinus massage will be required to confirm the diagnosis.

If subarachnoid hemorrhage is suspected, a CT scan of the brain and a lumbar puncture may be needed.

If the doctor suspects that the problem is epilepsy, he will prescribe an electroencephalography.

If you suspect heart problems, your doctor may admit you for observation in the hospital, send you for an ECG and echocardiography, perform Holter monitoring (24-hour ECG recording), electrophysiological study of the heart, or coronary angiography. In difficult cases, an implantable (subcutaneous) loop ECG recorder may be installed for several months.

A high risk of severe consequences is indicated by:

ECG abnormalities;
structural changes in the heart;
symptoms indicating heart failure (shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, swelling, etc.);
low blood pressure (systolic - “upper” - below 90 mm Hg);
shortness of breath before or after fainting, or at the time of treatment;
blood hematocrit is less than 30%;
old age and the presence of concomitant diseases;
sudden deaths in the family due to heart problems.

Treatment after fainting

Whether you need any treatment after fainting depends on the cause.

In case of reflex fainting, provoking factors should be avoided, since no treatment is required in this case. If you faint while your blood is being drawn, tell the nurse so she can have you lie down before pricking your finger or giving the injection. If you don't understand what exactly causes fainting, but your doctor says there is no threat to your health, you can keep a diary to determine the triggering factors.

In case of anemia, it is necessary to find out its cause and correct it: the range of conditions leading to anemia is very wide - from an unbalanced diet to a tumor.

If you have low blood pressure, it is recommended to avoid dehydration, not to eat large meals, and to drink caffeinated drinks. To prevent the pressure from dropping sharply, after you get up, you can resort to special maneuvers: cross your legs, tense the muscles in the lower part of your body, clench your fists or tense your arm muscles.

If fainting is caused by taking any medications, the doctor will stop or replace the culprit drug, change the dose or time of administration.

Some heart conditions will require surgery, including installation of a cardioverter-defibrillator (a device that monitors the heart's rhythm). In other cases, conservative therapy, for example, antiarrhythmic drugs, helps.

First aid for fainting

When you feel that you are about to faint (pre-fainting or, for example, causeless yawning), lie down so that your legs are higher. Or sit with your head between your knees. This will allow more blood to flow into the brain. If you do lose consciousness, after you come to your senses, do not get up immediately. It's better to give yourself 10-15 minutes to recover.

If a person begins to lose consciousness before your eyes, follow the same instructions: lay him down so that his legs are higher than his head, or sit him down and lower his head between his knees. It is also better to unfasten the collar and loosen the belt. If a person does not come to consciousness for a long time (more than 2 minutes), lay him on his side, monitor his breathing and pulse and call an ambulance. It is not recommended to use ammonia: firstly, it is unclear whether it brings a person to consciousness faster, and secondly, it can be dangerous in some diseases, for example, bronchial asthma.

Bibliography

ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases)
Yusupov Hospital
"Diagnostics". - Brief Medical Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1989.
“Clinical assessment of laboratory test results”//G. I. Nazarenko, A. A. Kishkun. Moscow, 2005
Clinical laboratory analytics. Fundamentals of clinical laboratory analysis V.V. Menshikov, 2002.

Prices for diagnosing the causes of fainting

*The information on the site is for informational purposes only. All materials and prices posted on the site are not a public offer, defined by the provisions of Art. 437 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. For accurate information, please contact the clinic staff or visit our clinic. The list of paid services provided is indicated in the price list of the Yusupov Hospital.

Anna Mironova

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Fainting– protective reaction of the brain. It is by this method that the brain, feeling an acute lack of oxygen, tries to correct the situation. That is, it “lays” the body in a horizontal position to facilitate the work of the heart to supply blood to the brain. As soon as the oxygen deficiency is replenished, the person returns to normal. What are the causes of this phenomenon, what precedes fainting, and how to provide first aid correctly?

What is fainting, why is it dangerous and what causes it - the main causes of fainting

A well-known phenomenon - fainting is a loss of consciousness for a very short period, from 5-10 seconds to 5-10 minutes. Fainting that lasts longer is already life-threatening.

Why is fainting dangerous?

Single episodes of fainting are not inherently life-threatening. But there are reasons for alarm if you faint...

It is a manifestation of some dangerous disease (heart disease, heart attack, arrhythmia, etc.).
Accompanied by head trauma.
Occurs in a person whose activities are related to sports, driving a car, flying an aircraft, etc.
Repeats from time to time or regularly.
It happens in an elderly person - for no apparent reason and suddenly (there is a risk of complete heart block).
Accompanied by the disappearance of all swallowing and breathing reflexes. There is a risk that the root of the tongue, due to relaxation of muscle tone, will sink and block the airways.

Fainting – as a reaction to the smell of paint or the sight of blood, it is not as dangerous (except for the risk of injury during a fall). It is much more dangerous if fainting is a symptom of an illness or nervous disorder. Don't delay visiting the doctor. The necessary specialists are a neurologist, cardiologist and psychiatrist.

There are many possible causes for fainting. The main, most common “triggers”:

A short-term sharp decrease in pressure.
Prolonged standing (especially if the knees are brought together, “at attention”).
Staying in one position for a long time (sitting, lying down) and suddenly rising to your feet.
Overheating, heat/sunstroke.
Stuffiness, heat and even too bright light.
State of hunger.
Extreme fatigue.
Fever.
Emotional stress, mental shock, fear.
Sharp, sudden pain.
Severe allergic reaction (to medications, insect bites, etc.).
Hypotension.
Reaction to medications with high blood pressure.
Arrhythmia, anemia or glycemia.
Ear infection.
Bronchial asthma.
The onset of menstruation (in girls).
Pregnancy.
Disorders of the autonomic nervous system.
A crowd, an impressive gathering of people.
Features of puberty.
Mental instability.
Reducing blood sugar (with diabetes or a strict diet).
Problems of cerebral circulation in old age.
Nervous and physical exhaustion.

Types of fainting:

Orthostatic syncope. It happens from a sudden change in body position (from horizontal to vertical). The cause may be insufficiency of the musculoskeletal system due to dysfunction of the nerve fibers involved in the vasomotor function. Fainting is dangerous due to falling and injury.
Fainting caused by prolonged immobility (especially standing). Similar to the previous type. It occurs due to the lack of muscle contraction and adequate blood flow through the vessels in the legs (blood cannot overcome gravity and reach the brain).
High altitude fainting. Occurs at high altitude due to poor blood supply to the brain.
"Simple" fainting(except for serious reasons): clouding of consciousness, drop in pressure, intermittent breathing, short-term loss of consciousness, very rapid return to normal state.
Convulsive fainting. The condition is accompanied by seizures and (often) redness/blueness of the face.
Bettolepsy. Short-term fainting in chronic lung disease, occurring due to a strong coughing attack and the subsequent outflow of blood from the skull.
Drop attacks. Dizziness, severe weakness and falling without loss of consciousness. Risk factors: pregnancy, cervical osteochondrosis.
Vasodepressor syncope. It occurs due to stuffiness, lack of sleep, fatigue, emotional stress, fear, etc. The pulse drops below 60 beats/min, and blood pressure drops sharply. Fainting can often be prevented by simply sitting in a horizontal position.
Arrhythmic syncope. A consequence of one type of arrhythmia.
Situational fainting. Occurs after defecation, constipation, diving, heavy lifting, etc. due to increased intrathoracic pressure and other factors.
Carotid sinus syndrome. Note that the carotid sinuses are extensions of the carotid arteries, the main suppliers of blood to the brain. Strong pressure on these sinuses (tight collar, sudden turn of the head) leads to fainting.
Fainting in the presence of cardiac arrhythmias. Occurs with severe bradycardia (heart rate less than 40 beats/min) or with paroxysmal tachycardia (180-200 beats/min).
Anemic fainting. Most often it occurs in older people due to a sharp decrease in hemoglobin, iron deficiency in the diet, or due to impaired iron absorption (when gastrointestinal diseases occur).
Drug-induced syncope. Happens
Occurs from drug intolerance/overdose.

Signs and symptoms of fainting - how to recognize a fainting person?

Doctors usually distinguish 3 states of fainting:

Presyncopal. The appearance of warning signs of fainting. The condition lasts about 10-20 seconds. Symptoms: nausea, severe dizziness, lack of air, ringing in the ears and sudden weakness, unexpected heaviness in the legs, cold sweat and darkening of the eyes, pale skin and numbness of the limbs, rare breathing, drop in pressure and weak pulse, “flies” before the eyes, gray color of the skin.
Fainting. Symptoms: loss of consciousness, decreased muscle tone and neurological reflexes, shallow breathing, and in some cases even convulsions. The pulse is weak or not palpable at all. Pupils are dilated, reaction to light is reduced.
Post-syncope. General weakness persists, consciousness returns, and a sudden rise to the feet can provoke another attack.

Compared to other types of disturbance of consciousness, fainting is characterized by a complete restoration of the state that preceded it.

First aid rules for fainting - what to do if you faint, and what not to do?

First aid for a person who faints is as follows:

We eliminate (if any) the factor causing fainting. That is, we take (take) a person out of a crowd, a cramped room, a stuffy room (or we bring him into a cool room from the street), we take him out of the road, we take him out of the water, etc.
We provide the person with a horizontal, stable position– the head is lower than the body, the legs are higher (for blood flow to the head, if there is no head injury).
Lay on your side to prevent tongue retraction(and so that the person does not choke on vomit). If it is not possible to lay the person down, we sit him down and lower his head between his knees.
Next, you should cause irritation of skin receptors- spray the person’s face with cold water, rub the ears, pat the cheeks, wipe the face with a cold wet towel, provide air flow (unfasten the collar, belt, corset, open the window), let ammonia (vinegar) inhale - 1-2 cm from the nose, slightly moistening the cotton wool.
Wrap yourself in a warm blanket when your body temperature is low.

When a person comes to his senses:

You can't eat or drink right away.
You cannot immediately take a vertical position (only after 10-30 minutes).
If a person does not come to his senses:
We urgently call an ambulance.
We check the free flow of air into the respiratory tract, pulse, and listen to breathing.
If there is no pulse or breathing, we perform indirect cardiac massage and artificial respiration (“mouth to mouth”).

If an elderly person or a child faints, if there is a history of serious illnesses, if the fainting is accompanied by convulsions, loss of breathing, if the fainting happens out of the blue for no apparent reason, suddenly, call an ambulance immediately. Even if a person quickly regains consciousness, there is a risk of a concussion and other injuries.

Unfortunately, many people know firsthand what fainting is. Fainting has no age or gender preference. Both men, women, adults and children faint. They faint from fright, from the stuffiness, from the sight of blood, from the terrible appearance of a small gray mouse...

Fainting reasons: they fall during pregnancy, during menstruation, during exams, during physical training... They fall with low blood pressure and high atmospheric pressure, after alcohol abuse and with an overdose of certain medications... Some fall “from the love of art,” simply to demonstrate female weakness, to scare others, to attract attention... But how many people know what, in fact, it is - fainting?

The patient is more alive than dead...

Fainting, as doctors would put it, is a sudden short-term loss of consciousness, one of the types of acute cerebral vascular insufficiency. It is most often caused by a lack of blood flow to the brain, although there may be other causes. But, in general, what exact mechanisms lead to clouding of consciousness or even its complete loss is something that specialists can figure out (between us, they haven’t fully figured it out yet). What matters to us now is that it all looks about the same: the person becomes “feeling bad,” he “rolls” his eyes and begins to sink to the ground. Please note that a sharp, sudden "full-length" drop is relatively rare. As a rule, such sudden falls are associated with quite serious pathology, for example, epileptic seizures. Exceptions to this rule are so-called drop attacks - this is when a person suddenly falls to the ground, losing his balance. These conditions can also occur in completely healthy women, for example, during pregnancy.

In typical cases of fainting, there is no sudden fall, and there may not even be a complete loss of consciousness, just “lightheadedness,” clouding of consciousness, and severe weakness. If loss of consciousness does occur, it is usually short-lived - from a few seconds to 4-5 minutes. Pallor, profuse sweating, and rapid heartbeat are often noted. Typically, people who are fainting have lower blood pressure. But for those around you it jumps, and sometimes quite significantly! A commotion may well begin, which is not needed by anyone and, above all, by the lady lying peacefully in a faint, who, fortunately, is not even aware of this commotion. The question is, what should the unfortunate people around do in this case?

Calm! Only peace...

The first thing you should do if someone faints somewhere near you is to say to yourself: “Calm down! Calm down! It’s okay, it’s just an everyday matter...” In fact, a woman who has fainted most often It's better to just not bother. Consciousness will return when normal blood supply to the brain is restored, and you simply cannot influence this blood supply in any way (unless, of course, you don’t have a great resuscitator with a resuscitation kit on hand). To restore adequate cerebral blood flow, a horizontal position of the body is required (vascular tone is sharply reduced and if we raise the head or body, the blood will simply flow into the lower extremities and, of course, there will be no talk of any normal blood supply). Therefore, the patient must be immediately placed on her back (in mild cases, you can simply sit her with her back supported on the back of a chair or armchair). Please note that nothing is placed under the head! The head must be at least level with the body.

There is no need to try to find the pulse; due to low pressure and loss of vascular tone, the pulse wave is very weak and you may simply not feel it. In such cases, doctors determine the pulse in the neck, on the carotid artery (if you think you know where the carotid artery is located, you can try to find the pulse there).

It is necessary to ensure good access to oxygen (often this alone leads to the cessation of fainting) - unfasten the collar, if a lot of onlookers are crowded around the fallen person - make way. You can sprinkle cold water on your face or bring ammonia to your nose with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol. Do not try to pour half a bottle of ammonia on the patient or wipe his temples with it - this is an ammonia solution, and it does not restore cerebral circulation, but stimulates the respiratory center through the nerve endings in the nasopharynx - the person takes a reflexive breath and a large portion of oxygen enters the body with inhalation. You can, while continuing to hold the cotton wool with ammonia to your nose, cover your mouth with your palm for a couple of seconds - all the inhaled air will go through the nose, and the ammonia vapor will enter the nasal cavity. You can, at worst, just click on the tip of your nose - a painful stimulus can also sometimes stimulate the restoration of consciousness. The main thing, I remind you once again, is not to get lost and not to panic. And everything will be alright.

Something about "saving drowning people"

The rescue of drowning people, as is known, is the work of the drowning people themselves. If you begin to notice a bad habit of repeated fainting, you will need to pay attention to this. First of all, be examined by a neurologist and cardiologist to exclude diseases of the nervous system (such as convulsive syndrome, long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury) and heart diseases (heart rhythm disturbances, undiagnosed heart disease, etc.) You will have to avoid stuffy rooms and long stays in Sun. If this cannot be avoided, at least try to stay hydrated by drinking more fluids (but not soda water).

Quite often, fainting occurs, the cause is preceded by a short period of warning signs: “lightheadedness,” weakness, nausea. If you feel this, do not wait for further developments, take action immediately (even if it later turns out that your new colleague made you sick). You need to immediately lie down or sit down (and if you sit down, do so with maximum comfort, with maximum relaxation). Let me remind you that the more horizontal your body is, the better. You cannot throw your head back if you are sitting. You can take a few deep, but always slow, breaths. You can carry cotton wool with ammonia in a tube for nitroglycerin or validol. Do not put any medicines in your mouth! You may lose consciousness at any moment, and the tablet may end up in your mouth at that moment and, after relaxing the muscles of your tongue and pharynx, fly into your windpipe. Finally, you can simply increase the flow of oxygen by unfastening or loosening a tight collar or belt.

Of course, in a short article it is impossible to cover all the nuances of fainting and the causes of this rather complex medical problem. But I still hope that these simple tips will help make life easier for someone. Still, whatever you say, fainting is an everyday thing...