Fainting is a condition associated with loss of consciousness. It can be triggered by a violation of blood circulation in the brain. As a result of this process, this organ is deprived of a significant amount of oxygen and other substances necessary for its proper functioning. In most cases, a person loses consciousness for a short time.
Nature of the phenomenon
A disorder in blood circulation can be triggered by many causes. Among them, heart disease, blood vessels, inflammation, viruses. Sometimes loss of consciousness occurs in girls during the first critical days.
According to medical research, half of the world's population faces a similar condition at least once in a lifetime. For many years, experts have been studying the nature of such a thing as fainting, the causes of this pathology.
In some cases, the factors that triggered the loss of consciousness cannot be determined even by a doctor.
This condition is usually preceded by weakness, dizziness, a feeling of tinnitus, and intense sweating. If symptoms occur, it is recommended to take a sitting position.
If a person does not do this, he will fall. This is dangerous because mechanical damage can occur. As a rule, consciousness returns on its own. There are situations when the condition is accompanied by convulsions and involuntary urine output. Among the causes of fainting is an epileptic seizure. This loss of consciousness is accompanied by twitching of various parts of the body and can occur during menstruation, even during sleep.
Characteristic manifestations
This pathology is easy to recognize by typical signs. Symptoms include:
- Strong sweat compartment.
- Feeling of heat.
- Dizziness.
- Feeling nauseous.
- Vision disorder.
- Pale or grayish skin tone.
- Acceleration of the heart rhythm.
- Yawning.
- Frequent breathing.
- Decrease in blood pressure.
- Cramps.
If a person who never encounters this phenomenon faints, the causes can be a dangerous pathology. These include a heart attack, hemorrhage in the brain or other organs, impaired respiratory system. However, malaise is not necessarily associated with serious illnesses.
Common reasons
There are many factors that can provoke this condition. These include not only pathologies of various organs, but also the impact of adverse environmental conditions, emotional overload. Speaking of fainting, the causes and symptoms of the phenomenon, it should be noted that there are a number of factors that increase the likelihood of its occurrence. These include the following violations:
- Pathology of the heart, blood vessels.
- Chronic diseases of the respiratory system (lungs, bronchi).
- Malnutrition.
- Strong feeling of pain.
- Low blood sugar.
- The period of gestation.
- Emotional overstrain.
- Losing a lot of blood.
- Mechanical damage to the brain.
Symptoms that precede loss of consciousness are quite pronounced and immediately noticeable. However, in some cases, fainting occurs suddenly. As a rule, even after a person comes to his senses, he feels overwhelmed. This is because the brain suffered from a shortage of essential substances for a long time.
Varieties of fainting conditions
Speaking about a similar pathology, it is worth emphasizing that there are several types of it. The classification is determined by the causes that cause the phenomenon.
There are several varieties of fainting, for example:
- Neurogenic. In this case, the process of loss of consciousness is associated with emotional overload. Often it occurs in sensitive individuals during blood tests, performances, exams, before operations, and dental treatment. For fainting, the reasons may be taking medication, a quick change in body posture. The loss of consciousness caused by wearing tight clothes, urinary incontinence during sleep, and severe coughing belong to the same type.
- Maladaptive. Appear due to inability to weather, climatic conditions (heat, cold, stuffiness).
- Hyperventilation. They arise due to fright, a panic attack.
For these types of causes of loss of consciousness, it is characteristic that they do not necessarily indicate the presence of failures in the body.
Diseases that can cause this phenomenon
There are times when fainting occurs due to pathology of organs, such as the heart and blood vessels.
This is a violation of the functions of the ventricles, disorders associated with contractile activity of the myocardium. A factor that causes loss of consciousness is a low level of hemoglobin. Sometimes this condition is explained by a sharp drop in sugar level or hypoxia. In some cases, the individual will lose feelings due to a burn, occupying a large area of the body. Among the common causes of syncope in women, experts call excessively intense bleeding during critical days.
In addition, this condition often occurs on the basis of poisoning (alcoholic beverages, gaseous substances).
Loss of consciousness in cases of myocardial dysfunction
About 25 percent of syncope belongs to this type. This condition is considered extremely dangerous. Its victims are often elderly people with impaired heart rate. Sometimes a strong acceleration or deceleration of the heart rate leads to fainting. The cause of this phenomenon may be an excessive increase in the volume of the myocardium or an organ defect formed before birth.
A feature of loss of consciousness caused by heart disease is its suddenness. In this case, a person may receive serious mechanical damage. Another danger of such a swoon - it often occurs in a supine position. As a result of this, it can be difficult to notice that an individual needs help. Myocardial pathologies that provoke loss of consciousness do not go away on their own. A person who has encountered a similar phenomenon needs the supervision of specialists, regular examinations and therapy.
Loss of consciousness due to respiratory disorders
This condition often occurs under the influence of severe emotional upheaval. In this case, the vessels of the brain sharply narrow. This is due to the fact that a person begins to breathe too often. Moreover, absolute loss of consciousness is not always observed. As with heart disease, fainting caused by narrowing of the cerebral vessels often occurs in individuals in a horizontal position.
The condition does not develop suddenly, but gradually.
It is accompanied by an increasing sense of lack of oxygen.
Causes of fainting in children and people of puberty
Modern schoolchildren, in most cases grow weak, they are susceptible to various diseases, often experience fatigue.
What caused this trend? First of all, the presence in the life of children of a large number of technical devices that are used both for study and as leisure activities. Hypodynamia leads to oxygen starvation, and it, in turn, provokes fainting.
The cause of loss of consciousness in children and adolescents may be head injuries and heart rhythm disturbances. In addition, this condition often develops due to a sudden change in body posture, a strong temperature drop, stuffiness, and disturbances in the blood supply to the brain. Hormonal restructuring of the body in adolescence is another factor that causes pathology. In addition, among the causes of syncope in girls, experts call strong dietary restrictions. Such a condition is dangerous in that it provokes a shortage of substances necessary for the normal functioning of the body, which can lead to injuries and memory disorders.
Sometimes a teenager experiences a feeling of dizziness and cramping in the intestine before losing consciousness. This is due to changes in the vessels in people of this age category. Anemia and myocardial structural defects are also common among boys and girls, which often cause fainting.
Too strong emotions, shocks can provoke a loss of consciousness in a teenager. It can also occur under the influence of allergic reactions, pathologies of the respiratory system.
Parents need to be careful about such phenomena. If the child has experienced a condition of fainting, he should be laid down, open a window for fresh air, give the victim a sip of water with sugar and try to calm him down. In this situation, it is recommended to seek medical help as soon as possible.
Fainting in adults
In representatives of the stronger sex, this phenomenon occurs as a result of exposure to various factors. These include:
- Intoxication with alcohol-containing products.
- Wearing uncomfortable, tight and tight clothes (ties, suits).
- Strong physical exertion, such as training in the gym.
- Urinary incontinence at night (found in older men).
The causes of syncope in women can be as follows:
- Bleeding associated with pathologies of the reproductive system.
- Disorders that develop during the bearing of a child (for example, anemia).
- Lack of vitamins due to improper diet.
- Emotional overstrain, intense experiences.
Pregnant women are extremely susceptible to this ailment due to hypotension. The pressure can drop dramatically in a woman bearing a child, for various reasons. They are often associated with fever, lack of air, food, fatigue, excitement or an acute period of any illness of the respiratory system.
Diagnostic measures
Often, patients come to the consultation with a therapist with the question: "What if I sometimes faint?"
The causes of this phenomenon in a particular individual can only be established during the examination process. Diagnostic procedures in this case include:
- Laboratory blood tests.
- ECG for assessing the condition of the heart.
- Ultrasound examination of blood vessels.
- Angiography.
There are many phenomena that explain why you faint. The reasons in most cases can be identified after a detailed examination. If a deteriorating state of health bothers a person and he has repeatedly experienced bouts of loss of consciousness, he needs to consult a specialist in the treatment of heart diseases.
First aid methods
This phenomenon requires special attention to the victim. If you do not take the necessary measures, a person may die. Speaking about a condition such as fainting, causes, symptoms and first aid, it should be clarified that the health and life of the patient largely depends on the effectiveness and timeliness of the action. The victim should be brought to consciousness as soon as possible. A person is placed on a surface with an even structure.
His legs are lifted, and his head is turned to one side.
If the victim has tight, uncomfortable clothes, they must be unfastened, removed or loosened. With fainting, a death of the tongue may become the cause of the death of the patient. It should be ensured that this condition does not occur.
It is also important to ensure a sufficient flow of fresh air (open the window, window). The victim's face is sprayed with cool water. It is recommended to bring a scarf or cotton swab dipped in ammonia or camphor to the nose.
It is necessary to carefully monitor the patient's condition until he feels overwhelmed. Experts advise to offer the victim a cup of coffee or tea with sugar. As means that can give the patient strength, infusions of linden and mint leaves are used. If within five minutes, even after first aid, consciousness does not return to the person, you need to call the ambulance service. This complication is accompanied by a bluish coloration of the skin and is a danger to the life of the victim. Most patients in such cases die.
Pathology warning
So, in this article we are talking about such a thing as fainting, causes, first aid and preventive measures. It must be emphasized that this condition is often possible to avoid. To do this, you must adhere to the correct diet, abandon physical overload, intense training. You should lead a calm lifestyle, not overwork. Going in for sports and hardening, of course, is good for health, but you need to do this in moderation. Experts recommend that people who sometimes experience loss of consciousness visit a doctor regularly, treat diagnosed pathologies and observe a clear daily routine, get enough sleep, do not get out of bed abruptly. Pregnant women should from time to time come to see a gynecologist, especially if they have abnormalities in the body.