• Question: Why do people faint?

    Asked by dynamitefire to Carol, Ellie, John, Philip, Rebecca on 29 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Rebecca Lacey

      Rebecca Lacey answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      Hi dynamitefire – I am enjoying your questions, keep them coming!

      People faint because of drop in blood pressure in the brain and is referred to as “syncope” by doctors. It is often very quick and people recover very quickly afterwards. There are many causes of fainting. Two of the most common causes are when you stand up too quickly (called postural hypotension) – your reflexes which control the size of your blood vessels don’t react quickly enough and you get a drop in blood pressure to the brain. The other is when you have been standing for a long time and you get a drop in blood pressure to the brain.

      Some people also faint when they see something shocking or are nervous and this is called “vasovagal syncope”

      There are other types of fainting too, for example caused by low blood sugar levels.

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