Was this a fainting episode?

[Anonymous]

DD (17) was in a very small, crowded store in the mall this afternoon with her winter coat on - she suddenly felt overheated and nauseas/dizzy. She never really lost consciousness but her vision went gray/blurry for about 5 seconds; she really couldn’t see anything and bumped into a wall on her way out of the store, then she sat down on the the ground and slowly started to feel better. My DS got her a cup of water (she had eaten a grilled cheese earlier, but had not had anything to drink), and since then (it’s been about 1.5 hours) she feels totally fine - 100% normal.

About 4-5 years ago, she got dizzy in the shower, stepped out snd fainted in the bathroom floor, and the ER doc said it was a vasovagal response. I do t recall her vision going gray - she dropped to the floor and was out cold. I’m wondering if this was the same thing.

[Anonymous]

*don’t recall her vision going gray (4-5 years ago). ^^

[Anonymous]

Here's an idea, take her to the doctor and ask them. No one can specifically say.

[Anonymous]

From my personal experience, and that of my son, the problem is (hoorah!) low blood pressure, which is normal at that age. From about 18 to 26, I would often feel dizzy when I abruptly stood up. Doctors said "be happy - this is great and accomodate! (i.e., don't jump up and expect to run immediately)". My DS has it also and almost always passes out for blood draws.

[Anonymous]

Ask her doctor the next time you are there. Fainting is concerning when the person is exerting themselves -- like if it happens during exercise.

[Anonymous]

Yeah it sounds the same — vasovagal. I have this.

[Anonymous]

Vasovagal+ or - blood sugar drop + or - overheated.

Used to happen to me often especially right before or during my period.

Still happens if I don’t eat enough!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From my personal experience, and that of my son, the problem is (hoorah!) low blood pressure, which is normal at that age. From about 18 to 26, I would often feel dizzy when I abruptly stood up. Doctors said "be happy - this is great and accomodate! (i.e., don't jump up and expect to run immediately)". My DS has it also and almost always passes out for blood draws.

+1

I had low blood pressure when I was young and used to have the same thing happen.

[Anonymous]

Yes that sounds exactly like an almost fainted episode. I would not consult a doctor about it unless there was something else concerning or it starts happening more frequently. Overheating, not much to eat… very common.

[Anonymous]

Could be POTS

[Anonymous]

It's a "presyncopal episode."

https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/what-is-presyncope

[Anonymous]

I’m a fainter and to me this doesn’t sound concerning. I have low blood pressure and have fainted a lot—but always with an inciting incident.

A pattern of fainting that occurs for absolutely no reason and that a person can’t feel coming is different and warrants medical testing.

[Anonymous]

I’m a fainter and fainted a lot when I was a teen. Everyone wrote it off as low blood pressure. I do have very low blood pressure, but later I found out my fainting was a bit more complicated.

Mine is triggered by hormones and dehydration, and sometimes altitude. My hormones were really out of whack and continuous birth control helped reduce my fainting significantly, but did not eliminate it. My episodes became less frequent but more severe and after I was hospitalized after 3 of them, I was finally diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

Mine is caused my an anatomical quirk that puts my vagal nerve way too close to my heart. So (and excuse my layman’s version of it) a vasovagal response ends up hotwiring my heart and throwing it out of rhythm.

It took doctors 15 years to get to the bottom of this but it was resolved with medication and a lot of work to identify and reduce my triggers. There’s probably no need to panic, but you should also be careful to dismiss this as a standalone fainting episode. Most people don’t just randomly faint.

[Anonymous]

I would not dismiss as "normal." As the afib poster points out, healthy teenagers should not be regularly passing out. Run tests, see specialists (because most doctors are morons).

[Anonymous]

OP here. My DD is supposed to have her wisdom teeth out tomorrow (and will have IV sedation). With PP’s comments about ruling out something more serious, I’m just wondering if I should postpone the procedure until after I talk to her doctor. Of course, all offices are closed today.

I wouldn’t call her fainting frequent - the incidents occurred about 4 years apart. And she feels totally normal now. But I’m nervous enough about tomorrow’s procedure (I had posted about her 4 impacted wisdom teeth) without this.