Syncope

I should point out that what I have to say here is based on my experiance of fainting. I believe that the fact that I have fainted more than 10 times in my life, qualifies me to write about this.

Anyhow, I would like to clarify that I'm writing only based on my own experiance. Yesterday, I was having dinner with some friends and somehow we came to this topic. Quite a few of them had never had never fainted before and wanted to know what it felt like. I shall share what I shared with them to anyone who is interested.

I don't quite know the exact trigger for my fainting, but I do know that it's somewhere along the line of seeing blood, experiancing pain or imagining pain. Like I said, I can't really put my finger on what exactly it is yet, but it's something like this, though there are exceptions.

Syncope or fainting happens because of the lack of oxygen to one's brain, causing light-headedness. In my case, I can explain this in further detail. When I see blood or experiance pain or face a combination of both, basically when my trigger is pressed (in whatever way),my body goes into the fight or flee stage where blood rushes to my muscles to prepare for my response. This causes a lack of oxygen in my head. I know this sounds hilarious but yes...then I faint.

I've never liked making a big deal about my whole fainting issue just because it's not something that I necessarily like talking about as I see it as a weakness...but then again, it's something that I can gain control over.

Just for those curious people out there, let me describe what it feels like just before fainting. Usually it begins with a light-headed feeling which is followed by sounds around you getting softer - kind of like someone is turning down the volume. A buzzing sound takes over and gradually gets louder. Your vision slowly gets fuzzy and then everything goes black. Next thing you realize is all these people standing around you, sometimes slapping your face, telling you to get up.

Fainting in and of itself isn't that dangerous. It's only the fallling and hitting yourself that can hurt you. Fortunately, someone has always been there to catch me or somehow I don't fall too hard. Anyway, most people have no idea what to do when someone faints. Here are a few tips:

Make sure the person can breathe fine.

Raise the person's feet - encourages blood flow to the brain.

Fan them to give them more oxygen.

Well, that's about it. Feel free to add your thoughts and do share your fainting stories if you have any.