
Why does a child faint? What to do if my child faints?
Up to one in three people faint at some point in their life. However, it does not occur very often in children. It can be very scary when one suddenly faints and loses consciousness. Many people consider fainting to be dangerous. Fortunately, nothing serious usually happens. He should regain consciousness in a few minutes.
Children of growing age, from about 6 years of age, are more at risk of fainting. Why? And what should you do if your child has fainted?
What is fainting?
Fainting is the sudden loss of consciousness over a short period of time. Due to a sudden drop in blood pressure, not enough blood (and therefore oxygen) reaches the brain. You fall into a state of unconsciousness and faint. This reaction causes your body to be in a horizontal position on the ground. Once lying down, blood can flow from the rest of the body to the head. Your brain will again receive enough blood and oxygen and you will regain consciousness. Fainting is therefore a protective reaction of the organism when the brain experiences a shortage of blood and oxygen.
Child growth
When your child is growing, he or she may have (temporarily) blood circulation problems. This means that not enough blood can reach and therefore insufficient oxygen to the brain. The result is that he faints more easily. Some children suffer more than others. As they grow, these symptoms usually go away. But there may also be other causes.
Has your child fainted? Or do you faint regularly? These are the possible causes.
If your child faints, you’ll see that he turns white and suddenly collapses. Doctors also call fainting syncope or collapse. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish it from epilepsy because fainting can also involve arm shaking or incontinence. However, biting your tongue is specific to epilepsy and hardly occurs with fainting.
Why does a child faint? Causes:
There are several causes of fainting. Generally speaking, these cases can be divided into two groups. First of all, for simple reasons. Before fainting, something has happened that causes a lot of emotion or tension, or your child has not eaten or has not drunk enough water.
Your child sees blood after an accident at home or when taking a blood sample.
I have been standing in a warm place for a long time. Or it has been under stress for some time. In the case of normal fainting, there is always a familiar and recognizable situation that precedes fainting. Usually, your child will recover quickly.
Fainting or loss of consciousness may be more common in children with emotional problems, such as tensions with parents or classmates. Some children faint as an expression of an unresolved emotional problem. In that case, additional psychological support is necessary.
Teens, in particular, may faint if they eat too little or try to lose weight. Not eating breakfast or doing it wrong can cause blood sugar levels to drop too low, causing children to faint in the middle of the morning.
The other group of cases is caused by heart disease, metabolic diseases, or neurological causes. In particular, fainting during exercise suggests a cause in the heart.
Some examples of causes of fainting are:
- Blood pressure too low.
- Getting up too quickly. At that time, all the blood flows to the legs, which means that the brain does not receive enough blood and oxygen.
- Excessive heating or charged environment.
- exhaustion.
- There is not enough to eat or drink, lack of salt.
- Stress or anxiety
- Physical causes, such as cardiac arrhythmia
- Neurological causes, such as an epileptic seizure
Symptoms of fainting in children
When a child faints, he usually shows signs of it beforehand. A little dizziness, sweating, paleness, and nausea are common symptoms that immediately precede fainting:
- Weakness, nausea
- Pale face
- Brief loss of consciousness
- Slow pulse
- In some cases, it is possible to avoid fainting by making the child sit down and keep his head between the knees. This allows blood to flow more easily and quickly to the head.
What should you do if your child is going to faint?
Before you faint, you may recognize some symptoms. For example, dizziness, sweating, paleness, and nausea may precede fainting. If you notice it, you can intervene in time by having your child sit down and hold his or her head between his knees. In this way, blood flows more quickly and easily to the head.
What can you do if a child faints?
Place a pillow under your head and make sure your child is not lying in an odd position.
- Call the emergency room if the child is unconscious.
- Call the emergency room if a child under the age of six faints.
- Try to prevent your child from losing consciousness: give him fresh air, lie horizontally, and continue talking calmly. Your child usually regains consciousness within a minute.
- If he regains consciousness, let him sit quietly for 10 minutes. Of course, check if you have suffered any injuries from the fall.
- Call the emergency room if your child hasn’t recovered after bedtime.
Also, if a child faints often for no apparent reason, it’s wise to consult your GP. This way they will be able to investigate if there is anything else.
All the information we give you in this article is indicative as each child and each family is different and unique.
Carolina González Ramos
Do you have any questions or comments? Write!
You may also like: