Home: Fainting

Fainting: First Aid

You might have noticed that at times the lean and thin persons have fainting spell while standing for a longer time or due to some or other cause. The fainting results when our brain does not get adequate blood supply. The fainting spells usually are of shorter duration and may not owe medical significance; however we need to consider it as an emergency until the cause of fainting is found out.

Fainting spell may be due to few causes such as the anxiety, taking less meals, hypoglycaemia due to it, decrease in the blood pressure, standing in the crowded places and for long time or some other pathological causes.

The warning signs of the fainting spell may be feeling of the nausea, excessive perspiration, giddiness, blurring of the vision, palpitations, etc.

First aid management of fainting:

If you yourself are feeling as if fainting, you can sit down keeping your head in between your knees or lie on your back on the ground.

Consult your doctor and describe thoroughly the fainting spell to him.

If you see some one having the fainting spell, you can follow certain first aid measures:

Have the person sit down or lie on his back on the ground.
Check the airway, breathing and the circulation. Watch out for the breathing by assessing the chest movements, patent airway and coughing (look, listen and feel).
Loosen the constrictive clothing of the person.
Restore the blood circulation by elevating the feet above the level of the heart.
Provide reassurance to the person becoming conscious.
If the breathing is present, help out by restoration of the blood circulation by elevating the legs above the head. If still person does not regain consciousness within few minutes, immediately seek the emergency assistance.
Start CPR if needed. Meanwhile have an access to the emergency help.
If the signs of the breathing and circulation are absent, and the person does not regain the consciousness, it may indicate some cerebral or neurological pathology immediately call 911 or any local emergency number.

Disclaimer
This site provides you with the general guidelines and information regarding the first aid measures for the various conditions or health related problems. It is not a substitute for the medical advice or the formal first aid training. It will not be responsible or liable in case one tries to make diagnosis based on the provided information. You always need to consult the doctor and emergency department in case of all the serious emergencies rather than just relying upon the supposed guidelines.