Fainting and dizziness

Fainting is also called blacking out or passing out. It involves a sudden drop in your blood pressure and heart rate, which reduces the flow of blood to your brain.

Fainting usually only lasts a few seconds to a minute. Then you recover quickly. Some people have shaking or jerking movements when they faint — this is due to reduced blood flow to the brain and is not a seizure or fit.

Several things can trigger fainting, including:

• overheating
• standing still for a long time
• hunger
• exhaustion
• low blood pressure
• stress or emotional distress

If you faint or feel dizzy, it is important to get yourself checked by a healthcare provider. Fainting or dizziness are not usually caused by something serious. But they can be caused by an underlying health condition.

The best thing to do is to lie down.

If you cannot lie down, try either:

• squatting
• crossing your legs and squeezing them together while standing
• gripping your hands together and pulling (moving your elbows away from your body).

These are the quickest ways of increasing your blood pressure when you cannot lie down.

If someone is feeling faint:

• get them to lie down and help them to raise their legs above the level of their heart (if you can, put their feet on a chair or similar)
• watch their face for signs they are recovering
• make sure they have plenty of fresh air — open a window and ask any people around to stand back
• as they recover, reassure them
• once they have recovered, help them to sit up slowly — make sure they do not stand up too quickly.

If they faint:

• protect them from danger or injury, and move objects away from them if they have any jerking movements or shaking
• loosen any collars, belts or tight clothing
• make sure they have plenty of fresh air — open a window and ask any people around to stand back
• raise their legs above the level of their heart (if they are not having any jerking movements)
• when they wake up, reassure them
• make sure they do not stand up too early or too quickly.

If you faint often, it is important to:

• drink plenty of fluids
• have regular meals
• avoiding getting overheated.

If you often faint when standing or just after exercising, it is a good idea to wear tight-fitting clothing below your waist. You can wear:

• compression sports clothing
• below-the-knee compression stockings.

You can get compression stockings from a pharmacy. You will need to get these measured for you.

Compression stockings

Low blood pressure

If your fainting and dizziness is caused by very low blood pressure, your healthcare provider may recommend you increase your salt intake. Choose healthy nutritious foods instead of salty processed foods. Good snack options include:

• olives
• salted nuts
• cheese.

Or you can sprinkle a little salt over your main meal.

If you have fainted recently or faint often, check with your healthcare provider whether it is safe for you to drive.