Fainting
How to treat a faint
Picture the scene: You have gone out for a day with your
friends, lunch is taking far too long and one of your friends complains that
they are feeling poorly. They get up to go to the cloakroom and they pass out.
Fainting is very common and can happen for a variety of
reasons. In this case it was hunger, your friend had low blood sugar. Other
causes include emotional stress, pain or fright and heat exhaustion. Fainting
occurs when the blood supply to the brain is momentarily insufficient causing
the casualty to temporarily lose consciousness. There are some signs and
symptoms that sometimes occur before the faint itself and these include slow
pulse, pale clammy skin, blurred vision, nausea, stomach ache or dizziness.
The first thing that you need to do is check that they are
breathing, then lie your friend on their back with their feet supported above
the level of their heart. Remove causes of stress such as crowds and remove any
restrictive clothing or belts. If they regain consciousness do not let them get
up quickly. If your friend does not regain consciousness within a minute call
999/112. Keep checking the airway and breathing and if they do not recover
quickly , put them into the recovery position.
If the person was injured in the faint, treat any bumps and
bruises.
So - next time your friend faints, you should be able to
treat them in a way that helps and does not make their condition worse. For
more information, practical experience and to learn about the recovery position
why not book on one of our first aid courses.
