What three precautions should you take whne a person has fainted?

Answer 1

START BY TREATING ALL FAINTING (SYNCOPE) a MEDICAL EMERGENCY; until you know differently. Check the person's airway. Are they breathing? Check to see if their heart is beating; use your fingers at their corroded artery where you can feel for a pulse. Also check to see if they are breathing, place your ear to their nose and mouth; you should be able to hear their breathing and/or feel their breath on your cheek. If they are not breathing call for help from others or call 911. You will need to provide CPR, if it is needed.

If you do not know how to do CPR, call out for others to help you or do the best that you can. There is a video online that will show you how to do CPR, depts.washington.edu/learncpr/quickcpr.html. Even if you are afraid to do CPR, doing something is better than doing nothing.

ONCE YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT IT IS NOT A CRISIS; and that the person is breathing and has a heartbeat. Lay the person in a comfortable position placing them on their back; elevate/raise their feet to increase the blood flow to their brain. Turn their head to one side; so that if they vomit, it will prevent them from choking on their vomit. Loosen their clothing, especially around the neck and chest (Do not undress them, just loosen their clothing by unbuttoning, untying or unzipping the above the upper breast. Ensure that they continue breathe and that their airway remains unobstructed by checking on them often.

If their body feels overheated (overly hot), move them to a shaded area and keep their body cool by fanning them, apply a cool wet cloth to their forehead and the back of the head; also apply a cool cloth to the front and back of the neck, even the upper chest and shoulders if needed to cool them down. Do not splash water in their face. If their body feels overly cool or chilled, cover the person with a blanket or coat to help keep them warm.

You can swat the cheeks genially to help encourage alertness. Do not slap or shake the person. Talk to them by calling their name, if you know it. Check their neck and wrist for a medical alert tag and their wallet for a medial alert card, it may indicate if there are other health issues, including prior episodes of fainting. If they remain unconscious for a longer than 3 to 4 minutes, continue to seek medical help by calling 911. If their pulse seems weak or weaker than when they first fainted or if the breathing becomes shallow, raspy or gasping, continue to try to reach 911.

Stay with the person until they are regained conscious.They must stay down for at least 20 minutes after becoming alert. Do not allow them to set up or walk during this time. And when they do get up have them rise slowly to prevent them fainting again. They may be confused and disoriented, even combative when they first wake. Sometimes fainting can cause other injuries; check the person for other injuries. which may require medical care and treatment.

In most cases additional treatment is not be needed. Sometimes the cause of their fainting is self evident, such as the sight of blood, not eating, low blood sugar, anxiety, pain, a sever scare, standing up to quickly, fits of excessive sneezing or coughing making them short of breath… Follow up care may be as simple as avoiding the fainting trigger(s) or it may also require follow up medical care. Before fainting, a person is usually light-headed, they should be encouraged to set and place their head between their knees or lay down; thereby increasing the blood flow to their head.

THE CAUSES OF FAINTING (syncope) can be due to dehydration; an easy fix is to offer fluids once the person is conscious. However fainting can also be due to anemia, high blood pressure, malfunction of a pacemaker, migraines, stroke, head injuries, heart conditions, Diabetes, heat stroke or exhaustion, pregnancy, medications (new meds, overdose, interaction with other meds),and other health conditions; most of which require follow up medical care, especially if the person faints often.

After the person comes too, if there are no additional injuries or other serious problems; you can offer a cup of tea which can stimulate circulation and assist in their recovery. Teas such as peppermint, basil, rosemary or vanilla can help with circulation and it also increases fluids, which could have been the cause of their fainting to begin with. Eating a small amount of easily digestible foods may help. (Foods that require a great deal of digestion can pose a problem by drawing the blood away from the brain in order to digest the food. Fainting or unconsciousness results from a restriction in blood flow/circulation to the brain.) You can add honey to a cup of peppermint or chamomile tea, offer butter crackers, gram crackers, yogurt or cottage cheese … allow the person to rest until they have regained their strength and therefore they are less apt to faint again.

Smelling salts can be used, but it is not always available; however smelling salts should be avoided, it can cause irritation to the lining of the nose and lungs. It can also pose a danger to those with respiratory issues, such as Asthma, COPD, emphysema, serious sinus issues … So it is best to avoid using smelling salts when possible. There are other things which can be used to trigger the breathing reflex, and they are safer to use. These are the scent of rosemary can stimulate breathing, you can use rosemary oil or fresh rosemary, crush it between your fingers. You can use peppermint essential oil (which I think is the best), even artificial peppermint flavoring my help when breathed in. You can use lemon or lime oil or concentrated lemon or lime juice (the type you buy for cooking), these can also stimulate breathing. The smell of a strong onion can also trigger a breathing reflex. And the smell of apple cider vinegar can also trigger a breathing reflex. These all may help prevent fainting, as well as helping to bring a person around once they have fainted. These can be found in many homes, restaurants, grocery stores, outlet stores … and can be used when available. (I carry a mixture of peppermint essential oil and carrier oil with me, I use it for pain and my chapped lips and when I feel dizzy to prevent fainting. Straight peppermint essential oil is best to use when someone has fainted, or a mixture of peppermint oil with carrier oil is helpful; but these are not always quickly available.)

If you do use smelling salt do so with care; do so with great care, if the person does not come around after using smelling salt, do not continue to use it in an effort to wake the person, since it can pose a danger from over exposure and irritation to the nose and lungs.

As a last resort, if you are unable to get help from others nearby or getting through to 911; you can try ammonia, put a drop of ammonia on a cotton ball, Q-tip or piece of tissue; run it pass the nose and remove it quickly. Ammonia can be dangerous to use, so use great care and only as a last resort, over expose can pose a risk; it is especially dangerous to those with existing respiratory issues. Continue to try to get medical help.