What should I do next if I'm prone to fainting and dizziness spells?

Doctor's Answers 2

There are many possible causes of feeling faint and dizzy so it will be good to seek the help of a medical doctor for a proper medical evaluation. Blood tests would also be required.

Reasons why you are feeling faint or dizzy

Here is a list of some of the common conditions that I have encountered in my years of experience as a doctor:

  1. Dehydration. When a person does not drink enough fluids, the blood pressure goes down. As a result, there is a lack of oxygen supply to the brain and a person would feel dizzy. A decrease in blood volume may cause inadequate blood flow to the brain or inner ear.

  2. Anemia- where there is a lack of supply of healthy blood cells to the organs of the body resulting in dizziness.

  3. Ear problems. Our sense of balance depends on the combined input from the various parts of our sensory system. These include our eyes, which help us to determine where our body is in space and how it is moving, sensory nerves, which send messages to our brain about body movements and positions, and inner ear, which houses sensors that help detect gravity and back-and-forth motion.

  4. low blood sugar. It causes malfunctioning of the nervous system and dizziness appears.

  5. Anxiety, stress, hyperventilation (over-breathing), depression, all can cause dizziness and giddiness. Hyperventilation results in reduced carbon dioxide in the blood. However, the oxygen quantity remains almost the same. Reduction in carbon dioxide causes respiratory alkalosis. So an abnormal reduction of the carbon dioxide in the blood vessels taking blood to the brain causes those vessels to constrict, resulting in lesser blood supply to the brain.

  6. A drop in blood pressure in relation to changes in posture. A dramatic drop in our systolic blood pressure — the higher number in our blood pressure reading — may result in brief lightheadedness or a feeling of faintness. It can occur after sitting up or standing too quickly. This condition is also called orthostatic hypotension.

  7. Patients who are underweight and those who have anorexia nervosa.

  8. Heart disease. Conditions such as cardiomyopathy, heart attack, and heart arrhythmia could cause dizziness as these are conditions associated with poor blood circulation.

  9. Pregnancy. Some women start to feel dizzy and nauseous early in the first trimester from about six weeks. In the second and third trimesters, the growing womb can exert pressure on the blood vessels, causing dizziness.

  10. Other brain diseases like stroke, Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

Thank you for your question.

For your case, vasovagal syncope is triggered by straining, long periods of standing, or stress. This can cause a sudden drop in your heart rate and blood pressure.

There are a couple of things you can try before seeing your cardiologist:

  • Don’t stand for too long
  • If you’re not feeling well, exhausted or stressed, go get some rest.
  • Drink more water as your cardiologist suggested
  • You can practice elevating your legs above your heart, with your body lying flat on your back.
  • Wearing compressions socks will help too

However, if you’ve done all the things above and you’re still feeling unwell, please do arrange to see your cardiologist sooner!

You can also refer to this link on vasovagal syncope to better understand the condition, and how you can prevent it.

Similar Questions

Who should I see for Vertigo problems in Singapore?

Dr Ethan has provided a good summary on the possible causes of vertigo. Vertigo is a type of giddiness whereby a patient feels that the room is spinning or he/she is spinning. If this is what you experience, then you should see an ENT Specialist first. Most vertigo are due to peripheral causes (meaning there is a problem with the balancing system of the ear). Central causes of vertigo (due to a problem in the brain) are fortunately much rarer.

Photo of Dr Eng Cern Gan

Answered By

Dr Eng Cern Gan

ENT Doctor

Does trigger point treatment work for a stiff neck?

My answer, to your question in brief is that it’s worth a shot (pun not intended). From your details, you clearly fall into what doctors term “expert patients”. Ie. you’ve done a significant amount of online reading into your problem, and possible solutions. Not to mention, sought the advice of multiple specialists. So please take my online reply for what it is – an extremely limited internet source (without the requisite examination, investigation results, specialist opinions and detailed questioning that a doctor seeing you in person would have).

Photo of Human

Answered By

Human

Ask any health question for free

I’m not so sure about a procedure...

Ask Icon Ask a Question

Join Human

Sign up now for a free Human account to get answers from specialists in Singapore.

Sign Up

Get The Pill

Be healthier with our Bite-sized health news straight in your inbox