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Fainting or Blacking Out -- Causes
and Top 10 Natural Remedies
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October 2, 2010
By Louise Carr, Contributing Columnist
Chances are, at some point in your life you’ll have a fainting
fit or blackout. You may have already experienced one,
perhaps when stressed or in a hot and crowded room. You’
re not alone – fainting or blacking out is very common. The
American Heart Association says nearly 1 million Americans
suffer a fainting spell every year and around a third of us
will have at least one in our life.
Fainting or blacking out is responsible for 3 percent of U.S.
emergency room visits and 6 percent of hospital visits.
According to the NHS, in 2008 to 2009 nearly 120,000
people in England were admitted to hospital for fainting.
Almost half of the admissions were people aged over 75,
showing that fainting becomes more common with age.
Fainting, otherwise known as syncope, is a temporary loss
of consciousness. The word "syncope" comes from the
Greek word "to cut short" or "interrupt". Syncope, fainting
or blacking out occurs through a sudden drop in blood flow
to the brain. Your brain doesn’t have enough oxygen and
you ‘pass out’ for a few seconds or minutes. While it is a
frightening thing to experience or watch, fainting is not
usually life-threatening and most people recover quickly.
However, fainting or blacking out can sometimes be a sign
of a serious condition so you should check with your
doctor to rule out serious causes. Fainting can also cause
risk of injury when you fall and be very dangerous if you’re
driving a car.
Causes of Fainting and Blacking Out
There are two primary reasons for fainting or blacking out
– non-cardiac causes and cardiac causes. Fortunately, non-
cardiac causes are the most common reasons for a fainting
spell or black out. These are referred to as vasovagal
syncope. You faint because a large proportion of blood
becomes pooled in the legs, resulting in a fall in blood
pressure, lack of blood flow to the brain, and fainting.
The vasomotor center, which is responsible for maintaining
the normal contraction of blood vessels, signals for blood
vessels in the legs to dilate. Blood pools in the legs and you
suffer a faint. This often happens when we stand up
suddenly.
Non-cardiac fainting can be triggered many factors
including reduction in blood volume by bleeding, excessive
vomiting or diarrhea, exercise, overheating, dehydration,
stress or headache.
Further non-cardiac causes of fainting or blacking out
include anemia, a low red blood cell count, when there’s a
lack of red blood cells to deliver oxygen to the brain.
Fainting is also linked with pregnancy, due to compression
of the vein that returns blood to the heart.
Do Heart Problems Cause Fainting and Blackouts?
Cardiac problems can cause fainting by temporarily
reducing the blood flow to the brain, either through a heart
rate that’s too fast or too slow, or an obstruction of blood
flow out of the heart. Heart rhythm disorders
(arrhythmias) that disrupt the flow of blood to the brain
include bradycardia (too-slow heartbeat), tachycardia
(rapid heartbeat) and fibrillation (a rapid, chaotic
heartbeat).
Narrowed heart valves can also lead to fainting or blacking
out, as can extreme thickening of the heart muscle
(hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). Strokes or near strokes
can cause fainting on rare occasions. Adams-Stokes Disease
is a condition caused by a heart rhythm disorder and can
cause fainting.
Fainting from cardiac problems is usually sudden with no
warning signs. Non-cardiac causes often produce warning
signs such as pale skin, lightheadedness, tunnel vision,
nausea, sweating and a feeling of warmth. How can you
treat someone who’s suffered a fainting fit? Can fainting
and black-outs be prevented? Here are the Top 10 natural
remedies for fainting or blacking out, based on medical
research:
Top 10 Natural Remedies for Fainting
1. Elevate Your Legs To Stop Fainting
The best thing you can do if you think you’re about to faint
is to lie down. Lift your legs up and keep them elevated
above your heart level on a pillow or blankets if you can.
This helps the blood flow back to your brain. If you can’t
lie down, sit with your head bent forward between your
legs. Wait until you feel better until you stand up, and then
do so slowly. If someone near you faints, loosen belts and
collars and other restrictive clothing and keep them lying or
sitting down until the shaky feeling passes.
2. Stay Hydrated to Prevent Fainting Or Blackouts
When you experience a non-cardiac syncope, or fainting
spell, blood has pooled in your legs resulting in a lack of
blood being sent to the brain. This commonly occurs
through dehydration so it’s important to be filled with
fluids in order to reduce the risk of black outs. Be careful if
you have suffered from vomiting or diarrhea, as this can
cause dehydration. Limit the amount of alcohol you
consume to avoid dehydration and drink plenty of water.
3. Control Stress to Prevent Blackouts
Emotional distress can cause fainting or black outs, as can
stress and over-exercise. This is because the vasovagal
reflex can be activated in a number of ways, including
through emotional triggers. Your nervous system fails to
stabilize your blood pressure and you can faint.
Yoga, deep breathing exercises and other relaxation
techniques can help to reduce fainting. Homeopathy has
also been shown to reduce black outs caused by non-
cardiac factors. Carbo vegetabilis is used for fainting or
lightheadedness after getting up in the morning or from
loss of fluids. Sepia is used for fainting following
prolonged standing or exercise.
4. Stand Up Slowly To Prevent Black Outs
When you change your position from lying down to
standing up, the autonomic nervous system makes the
blood vessels constrict and pump added blood upwards to
the brain. Orthostatic hypotension occurs when blood
vessels become less able to constrict, resulting in low blood
pressure on standing and consequent fainting. This occurs
more often in older people. Wait for a few seconds after
changing positions in order to give your body chance to
react, and take your time standing up.
5. Raise Blood Sugar to Treat Fainting Fits
Non-cardiovascular syncope, otherwise known as fainting
that is not caused by problems with your heart, may be
triggered by a drop in blood sugar. If you are diagnosed
with diabetes you need to take extra care with diet and
exercise in order to reduce blood sugar spikes and drops
that can trigger fainting. If you don’t have diabetes, you
can faint from prolonged periods without food so don’t
skip meals and keep your diet healthy.
6. Stop Cartoid Sinus Syndrome To Stop Fainting
Do you may faint when you turn your head to one side? If
this happens, consult your doctor as your fainting may be a
sign of the bones in your neck pinching on the blood vessel
that leads to your brain, the carotid artery. Avoid fainting
by reducing pressure on the artery – don’t wear shirts with
tight collars or tight scarves. Try turning your whole body,
not just your head, as you look round.
7. Treat Heart Problems To Stop Fainting
Cardiac causes of fainting, or cardiovascular syncope, are
an important indicator of heart health and shouldn’t be
ignored. According to the Heart Rhythm Society, the risk of
cardiovascular syncope increases with age and those at
greatest risk are those who have coronary artery disease,
angina or have had a heart attack. If you have a heart
condition there are many medications and lifestyle changes
to help heal your heart and restore your heart’s blood
supply. Eat a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and
antioxidant foods, fiber and healthy oils. Cut our trans fats
and processed foods made with refined sugar. Medication
and a healthy lifestyle will cut down on fainting and black
outs as your heart more effectively delivers blood to the
brain.
8. Stop Sneezing and Other Special Triggers To Prevent
Fainting
Hard to believe, but some people faint when a trigger such
as sneezing or laughing puts a sudden strain on the
automatic nervous system. Coughing, urinating and
stretching can also disrupt the flow of oxygen to the brain
and cause a black out.
"Micturition syncope" is fainting during or immediately after
urination caused by a severe drop in blood pressure.
Micturition syncope is most common in older men and most
often occurs at night after sleeping deeply. If you’re
unlucky enough to suffer in this way there are few specific
treatments but avoiding the trigger can help, for example,
by taking cough suppressants. For men, sitting down to
urinate also may help prevent the problem.
9. Exercises Can Help Prevent Fainting
Physical counterpressure maneuvers are exercises or
movements that raise your blood pressure and prevent
fainting. Maneuvers include crossing your legs, squeezing
your hands into a fist and tensing muscles in the lower
body and arm muscles. You should be trained in these
movements to make sure you carry them out correctly but
they can be highly effective.
A 2006 study “Effectiveness of Physical Counterpressure
Maneuvers in Preventing Vasovagal Syncope” reported in
the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found
just under a third of regular fainters who were also trained
in physical counterpressure maneuvers fainted in a year,
compared with those who were not trained in the
maneuvers.
Which exercises best prevent fainting? Squats, calf raises
or any other exercises to prevent blood pooling in your
legs that move the feet and calves. Wearing elastic
stockings also helps to reduce your risk of fainting.
10. Take Care After Vaccinations To Avoid Fainting
Many people feel faint after a vaccination and some will
black out. According to the National Institutes of Health,
the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)
shows fainting after vaccination is more common in
adolescents. From 2005 to 2007, 62 percent of the fainting
reports were among adolescents aged 11 to 18 years old.
Out of all the occurrences of fainting after vaccination
during this period, 7 percent were classified as serious and
12 percent were further complicated by head injuries. Tell
the doctor or nurse beforehand if you know you suffer
from faintness after giving blood or having an injection.
Many people faint at the sight of blood so you can cut your
risk of black out by being properly prepared or by lying
down during the procedure.
Find out more information to improve the quality of your
sleep: Sleep Help Center / Stop Snoring /Snoring Linked to
Stroke
Related Links:
Adrenal Fatigue Links
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Snoring Linked to Higher Risk of Stroke
Sleep Study 2008 Results-Americans
Are Chronically Sleep Deprived
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