Often people are concerned about fainting and loss of consciousness, what is the difference between these terms and how to provide proper first aid to a person who is unconscious.
Loss of consciousness characteristic
Loss of consciousness is a condition in which the body does not respond to external stimuli and does not recognize the surrounding reality. There are several types of unconsciousness:
- Confused consciousness is characterized by delirium, dullness and an indifferent state in relation to the surrounding reality.
- Stunning - pathological drowsiness, manifests itself as a decrease in the level of wakefulness.
- Sopor - deep oppression of consciousness with the loss of voluntary and preservation of reflex activity.
- Stupor - a state of numbness.
- Fainting is a short-term unconscious state, loss of consciousness for a short time.
- Coma - loss of consciousness caused by a malfunction of the brain stem.
- Hypnosis is a condition in which a person is half asleep, caused by suggestion. In this state, a person is completely subordinate to the will of the soporific.
- The vegetative state is characterized by inhibition of the functioning of the central nervous system, while the autonomic nervous system maintains its normal activity.
Thus, it turns out that fainting is one of the varieties of loss of consciousness.
Causes of loss of consciousness
The main causes of loss of consciousness are:
- overwork;
- strong pain;
- stress and emotional upheaval;
- dehydration of the body;
- hypothermia or overheating of the body;
- lack of oxygen;
- nervous tension.
Knowing the reasons for fainting and loss of consciousness, what is the difference between these conditions, you can correctly provide first aid.
Brain damage that causes loss of consciousness can be caused by direct exposure (head trauma, poisoning, hemorrhage) or indirect (bleeding, fainting, shock conditions, suffocation, metabolic disorders).
Types of loss of consciousness
There are several types of unconsciousness:
- short-term fainting and loss of consciousness (the differences are in the causes of this condition, may be caused by a decrease in blood glucose, concussion, impaired blood supply to the brain);
- loss of consciousness, causing severe violations of the vital functions of the body (with cerebral hemorrhage, stroke, asphyxiation, heart attack, injuries and life-threatening injuries, acute poisoning, heavy blood loss);
- aggravated loss of consciousness is characterized by an increase in the number of disorders of the brain, leading to coma.
Any manifestation of impaired functioning of the body systems may be fainting and loss of consciousness. The difference in the severity of symptoms depends on the duration of the unconscious state and the presence of additional injuries.
The clinical picture of loss of consciousness
In an unconscious state, the victim has:
- muscle relaxation;
- rolling eyeballs;
- dilated pupil, decreased pupil response to light;
- lack of response to external stimuli;
- decrease in pain sensitivity;
- cramps
- pallor of the skin or redness of the skin (with heat stroke or overheating);
- lowering blood pressure;
- the appearance of droplets of sweat.
Knowing what symptoms fainting and loss of consciousness manifest, what is the difference between them and how to provide first aid, you can prevent the death of the victim, especially in the absence of breathing and cardiac activity. Since timely cardiopulmonary resuscitation can restore the functioning of these systems and return a person to life.
First aid for loss of consciousness
First of all, it is necessary to eliminate the possible causes of loss of consciousness - to take a person to fresh air if there is a smell of smoke or gas in the room or the action of an electric current. After that, you need to clear the airways. In some cases, it may be necessary to clean the mouth using a tissue.
If a person does not have heart contractions and breathing, it is urgent to start cardiopulmonary resuscitation. After the restoration of cardiac activity and breathing, the victim must be taken to a medical facility. When transporting with the injured must be an accompanying person.
If there are no problems with breathing and heart function, you need to increase the flow of blood to the brain. For this, the victim must be laid in such a way that the head is slightly lower than the level of the body (if there is a head injury or nosebleeds, this item cannot be performed!).
It is necessary to loosen clothes (untie the tie, unfasten the shirt, belt) and open the window to ensure the flow of fresh air, this will increase the flow of oxygen. You can bring cotton wool with ammonia to the nose of the affected person, in most cases this helps to return him to a conscious state.
Important! If the duration of the unconscious state exceeds 5 minutes, urgent medical attention is needed.
Knowing the difference between fainting and loss of consciousness, you can provide the victim with proper first aid.
Fainting characteristic
Fainting is a short-term loss of consciousness caused by a lack of oxygen due to disturbances in the blood supply to the brain. Short-term loss of consciousness does not pose a danger to human life and health and often does not require medical intervention. The duration of this condition is from several seconds to several minutes. Fainting can be caused by the following pathological conditions of the body:
- violations of the nervous regulation of blood vessels with a sharp change in position (transition from horizontal to vertical position) or when swallowing;
- with a decrease in cardiac output - stenosis of the pulmonary arteries or aorta, angina attacks, cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial infarction;
- with a decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the blood - anemia and hypoxia, especially when rising to a great height (where rarefied air is) or staying in a stuffy room.
The causes of fainting and loss of consciousness must be known in order to be able to distinguish between these conditions and provide the person with first aid.
Clinical picture of fainting
Fainting is a characteristic manifestation of certain diseases. Therefore, with frequent fainting, it is imperative to see a doctor and undergo an examination to identify pathological processes in the body.
Fainting is a short-term loss of consciousness caused by a lack of oxygen due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. The main symptoms of fainting are nausea and a feeling of stuffiness, ringing in the ears, darkening in the eyes. At the same time, the person begins to turn pale, his muscles weaken and his legs give way. With loss of consciousness, both an increase in heart rate and its slowdown are characteristic.
In a fainting state, the heart sounds in a person weaken, the pressure drops, all neurological reflexes significantly weaken, therefore, convulsions or involuntary urination may occur. Loss of consciousness and fainting are mainly characterized by the absence of the victim's perception of the surrounding reality and what is happening to him.
First Aid Fainting
When a person faints, it is possible to lower the tongue, as his muscles weaken. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to turn a person on his side and call an ambulance, since it is quite difficult to determine the cause of this condition on your own.
First aid for fainting and loss of consciousness makes it possible to support the vital activity of the victim’s body before the ambulance arrives. In most cases, first aid helps to avoid death.
It is impossible to identify the exact cause of the swoon without proper examination. Since it can be a consequence of the pathological process in the body, and the usual overwork or nervous tension.
Fainting and loss of consciousness. What is the difference between these concepts?
Having understood the features of the unconscious state of the body, we can conclude that loss of consciousness is a general concept. It includes many different manifestations. Fainting is one of them and represents a short-term loss of consciousness, which is observed as a result of oxygen starvation of the brain.