Fainting

[Belinda127]

This is a post from my two others. I've gotten help out of those two but I was hoping if I got some more answers. So recently my friend has fainted, which was a very scary thing. It happened once in October but had no signs since therefore she did not go to the doctor because she thought there was no sense into doing so. But after this faint she has been worrying. Her cycle came a few days later after the fall, does this have to do with anything? And if it was wouldn't this fainting thing happen every month? Not every 5 months?
First faint; Got up from the couch, had a little bathroom break, looked in the mirror then felt super dizzy right away. Never felt like this before so did not now what to do. Called me which was in the other room. Then all of asudden she fell on the floor, face first. She woke up to me talking and rubbing her back. This blackout (i guess you would call) only lasted about 5 seconds. She wondered what happened and started to cry because it scared her pretty bad. She described her vision caving in rapidly before she fell.
Second faint; Went to shower, then a few minutes later she felt that dizziness again, she did not know this was coming because she thought the first faint was a one time thing because she doesn't eat that much(but she started to eat more often since of the first faint) Once she felt like that she held the bar to get her balance back but she noticed it wasn't going away. She turned around to turn off the water and call for help. But the next thing she wakes up to her mom asking if she was okay(Thinking she just slipped or something). She was on the ground with the shower curtain.
She has quite a bit of bruises, after those hard falls.
I am just wondering if she should go see a doctor?
What can It be?
Can this be serious?
What will the doctors do in this situation?
And what will be the treatments?
I am just trying to get this information so I can convince her to go to the doctor.
This will help me a lot.
Thanks

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
I think I have written to you earlier too. You have described the fainting attacks well here. Based on this post there are two main possibilities. One is TIA OR transient ischemic attack wherein the blood supply to brain is temporarily cut off. The episodes last for a maximum of 24 hours and then resolve or a new symptom starts. To diagnose this, your friend would need a prompt evaluation (within 60 minutes) to identify the cause and determine appropriate therapy. CAT Scans or MRIs done later or when she is fine will not reveal anything.
The second possibility is seizures. The first ‘attack’ is in a way a classic picture of a seizure attack (always it is not necessary to have spasms). Again a prompt evaluation is needed within an hour to diagnose. Your friend must however consult a doctor for both the conditions could be serious.
Ofcourse it could be something as simple as anemia or low sugar or disturbed sleep pattern or just stress. I do not think it is related to her periods. TIA and seizures to start with can happen with a prolonged gap of normalcy in between.
Episodes of blackouts could also be due to postural hypotension (blood pressure falling with change of position).  Both the times your friend stood up from a sitting or lying down position. Get her blood pressure checked in different positions—sitting, lying down, standing.
However there is one thing you must remember that I have not examined your friend. Nor is it possible to share detailed history on net. It is not the same as talking face to face. Hence you have to depend on the doctor who can examine her. I can only provide suggestions based on the information available. Many good clinicians can diagnose based on the clinical examination and medical history.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[Encephalomalcia]

If a person feels funny or like they may faint, the person needs to get their head down between their legs quickly to avoid fainting.  People can faint from sudden drop in blood pressure.  If the shower she was taking was hot, it could cause her to faint.  This happened to my cousin and 911 was called.  The shower was too hot for her.  If she does not eat something every two hours (something small quanity) blood sugar can drop and a person can faint. Studies have shown that diabetes is linked to not eating often enough in younger people.  I, myself, am a fainter and have fainted many times in my life starting at age 12.  I now know the warning signs.  Usually, my vision gets yellow in color and I feel lightheadedness, then it is time to get my head down.  I have avoided actually fainting for over 20 years.  In older people when their heart stops, they immediately fall down (no warning signs).  This has happened to people in our family and the fall started their heart again.  She should have her iron checked to make sure that she is not anemic.  If she keeps fainting, it would be good to get her heart checked out just to be safe.