How to Avoid Fainting

This is just what happened to me in the clinic today, and they told me so. It's happened to me once before, about 6 years ago as a freshman in college. First time, it was the first time I'd given blood. I'd had a medium breakfast and hadn't had time to get a lunch so I hadn't eaten in probably 6 hours, and then I was a bit nervous about the stick but I was donating as a 'surrogate' for a friend who couldn't donate. The stick hurt a bit but not too bad, and I was doing fine. My friend was there and she was distracting me with flash cards from class. I was in those chairs where you're back is medium upright but your legs are level with the ground. I suddenly felt a bit faint, and said so to my friend, and the next thing I know my friend is in my face sort of patting me on the shoulder and asking if I'm ok and the nurse is a bit freaked out. They'd stopped drawing blood because I'd passed out, and I had to lie down for a while...
This time, 6 years later, I now realize I have similar conditions... I'd had only a fruit and grain bar and hadn't gotten around to lunch. Again, it was probably around 5 or 6 hours since I ate and it wasn't a large meal. This time I was sitting, and the needle stung a bit from the alcohol wipe. I was telling the nurse about random things to keep my mind off the blood draw, and eventually hit upon the first incident, and was telling her the story as a 'look how far I've conquered my fear' sort of thing when arg, I suddenly started to feel dizy progressivly, which was I guess good because I had about 20 seconds to let her know I didn't feel good, that I was feeling faint, and then after some really whacked out dreams I wake up disoriented on the floor, with about 4 nurses tending to my need.
They said it was a vasovagal reaction, not to be embarassed, and I couldn't control it. I said I'll let the next people know when they have to draw blood. At least this time they got enough blood from that stick.
So, if you have problems, eat a meal first, and make sure to let people know if you feel faint. It makes the landings softer!

@Adda. Yeah just got back from getting blood work done, never ever have i had a problem fainting before while blood is being drawn, and to my knowledge i dont ever remembering fainting before today. The nurse drew the blood, i felt fine, but 2 minutes after she finished and left the room i hit the floor hard...apparently i then wandered into the hallway seeking help and fell again, none of which i remember. I then came to, and was being tended to by a bunch of MA's . I felt uneasy and most of my body was overcome by a uneasy tingling sensation which slowly subsided.

I fractured my finger playing soccer three weeks ago. During my checkup last week, the doctor carefully wiggled my finger, including the affedted knuckle. First I felt queasy and had to look somewhere else, then my vision and hearing started fluttering and I told the doctor. He got me to sit down, then lie down. I didn't faint completely but I felt very weird for several minutes. He said my face had gone very pale. He kept telling me it wasn't a sign of weakness or anything I could do something about, but I still had that sort of emotional reaction to it afterwards. I also realise I had the same thing about 5 years ago while I was trying to pry a splinter out of my finger with a needle. I just made it to an armchair before my vision went completely black, but it's never happened to me giving blood. So as far as I can see the first symptom is queasiness then vision and hearing problems or dizziness - if you feel funny, tell someone, and at least sit down if not lie down.

I have also been told my episodes of general weakness comes from a vasovagal reaction. I have these episodes when I am in hot situations at the beach, and dehydrated a bit . As the literature says there is a fear factor that begins then you feel a general weakness that tells you to lie down. I did not faint luckily, but now I will be more vigilant and take more fluids and salts, but I want to first do more exercises to be in better shape and then venture in hot environments later on to see if I have improved. I am crossing my fingers.

I too suffer from vasovagal response when giving blood (and even blood draws). I know the condition (for me) is not linked to anxiety, as the first two times I lost consciousness (once while giving blood in college and once while drawing blood to check cholesterol at age 26) I didn't actually know about the condition. I'm not afraid of needles or blood and get annual vaccinations without incident. As you can imagine, after experiencing this twice in adulthood, I developed anxiety about even getting blood drawn. Although there is no medical danger from passing out in a controlled environment, it is extremely uncomfortable to lose consciousness, wake up (covered in sweat in my case) feeling nauseous, extremely tired, and slightly disoriented with a number of people looking concerned and staring at you.
However, there is great news! I had a blood draw today and employed several techniques that I recently read about in this article and elsewhere and did not have a problem (they actually took 2 samples for initial blood draw because I am starting accutane due to nagging adult acne that recently surfaced). To start off, I focused on increasing blood volume as much as possible by drinking one and a half large sports drink (probably any drink with sodium, some sugar and carbs will work) within 3 hours of appointment, I drank plenty of water and actually worked out (resistance training) rigorously before the appointment (this was more a matter of convenience because today was workout day). I took the normal 200 mg of caffeine before workout, thinking this would also help keep blood pressure elevated and I continuously drank gatorade. The caffeine may be unnecessary or even aggravate anxiety in some, but for me it wasn't enough to have my heart beating out of my chest (this is probably totally dependent on whether you tolerate caffeine). I had a medium sized breakfast before the appointment and continued to stay hydrated.
***Most importantly, I laid all the way back before the nurse drew the blood (I took off the pillow so my head would be as low as possibe) and elevated my legs, crossed them, and moderately flexed them during the draw, looking straight up at the ceiling. I experienced no problems whatsoever, no tunnel vision or nausea! I stayed on my back for a minute after the draw and was thrilled when I sat up without incident.
*One other thing, perhaps this does not matter, I asked the nurse to draw from the veins in my right hand (just behind knuckles where it is more vascular) and not the arm. My theory was that a key mechanism in the vasovagal response is the triggering of the vagus nerve. My simplistic analysis was that a smaller vein may be less likely to send a strong signal to the nerve to trigger the reaction (this may be completely overly simplistic or bogus, but I will never have my blood drawn another way again).
Good luck everybody and it will probably help with anxiety to remember that the worse that can happen during a blood draw is that you do lose consciousness, which there is no medical risk--it just sucks for a short time. Don't let it affect your psyche and know you can beat it! I also said a prayer which certainly helped! Good luck and terrific article!

Reading this post made me feel so much better, thank you soooo much!!!!

I tried donating blood for the first time today. Was not a successful event with fainting a few minutes into the process. I was not overly anxious either and did not expect a physiological response as rapid or "severe"as this. I have been very particular with my diet of late with hydration and a balance diet putting me into a healthy wieght range etc... if only just on the high side 167pounds / 76kg range 5' 10" or 177cm.

Hopefully your tips will help me for the next time I try Mike but I am not sure whether they will take from the hand in Australia? Will ask red cross later as I would really like to give blood but holding their chair up for an hour feeling nausious for the meger amount I gave is not worth their while and probably not good for any other first timers in the room. I think I was ill prepared on this occassion. So from my experience - Make a booking and prepare on the lead-up to a donation.

I'm a 41 year old female in good health. The doctor decided to use his electronic duhicky tool to burn off a bump of skin on my toe. However, before he started he had to numb the toe with a needle. It was the worst pain I have felt since childbirth. They said to do my best not to move or they would have to stick me again. So, I didn’t move but my entire body stiffened and I felt like I was focusing through the pain just like a contraction. Well, after that it wasn’t so bad accept I started to pass out. I was telling them I was going to pass out even. So sure enough I did. The strangest thing happened while I was passed out. I was dreaming and could hear women and children screaming and crying as if the Titanic was sinking or something tragic was happening. The nurse and doctor woke me and I was still feeling out of it. I then threw up and continue to feel queasy. After being there for another hour trying to snap out of this, I asked them to call my husband to come get me. He did but he had to wait another 90 minutes for me to be able to move. I was sweating from head to toe, sick to my stomach, dizzy, and felt like I had a bad hang over. The doctor offered to give me an IV of fluids but I declined. All I wanted to do was go home and rest in my own bed. So, they used a wheel chair to wheel me out the back door for my husband to pick me up (thankfully, I didn’t have to go through the lobby). I kept my face in front of the air conditioning vent on the way home and held the throw up pan just in case. Crawled into bed and slept some more until 6 the next morning. I did try to watch TV around 5:30 last night and drink some Sprite and eat some crackers but everything still made me feel sick. Even the TV volume and moving images bothered me. It was horrible. So, 40 minutes later, I gave up and went back to bed.

I’ve had the vasovagal reaction happen in the past but would feel better within 30 minutes. I've never had this happen for so long before. The doctor said that sometimes our bodies produce chemicals that will take a while to leave the body. It literally felt like I was hung over and drunk all that time. It dawned on me that the weird dream while I was passed out also happened a couple years ago when I passed out after my colonoscopy from dehydration. Same screaming and crying nightmare. Very strange. Anyone else have strange nightmares or dreams when they have passed out from a vasovagal reaction?

Today I feel like I have a bad headache and I don’t want to move around or eat too much. And all of this because I messed with my toe. I’m such a dork!!!! The actual procedure on my toe probably lasted 5 to 10 minutes. It was my body’s reaction to the stress of the moment that got out of hand. How crazy is that?!?!???!

I am a 32 year old woman, and I have had vasovagal episodes in responses to needles, blood, and empathetic responses watching surgeries and even seeing my mom in post-op recovery. I have reacted this way since probably 7 or 8 years old. Often when I pass out I have strange dreams - once I dreamed I was parachuting out of an old biplane - turns out I tumbled backwards out of my chair when fainting and yelled "whoa!". I can relate to all the stories here, the disturbing experience of passing out, and that sometimes a procedure goes fine and then the next time I faint from something I wouldn't expect to be a big deal (like getting stitches taken out). Increasing blood volume by pushing fluids starting the day before a procedure seems to help, as does drinking sugar-caffeine drink right beforehand. Laying down, feet elevated, also I try to listen to music to calm myself. Breathing into a paper bag also helps keep me conscious sometimes. For more invasive procedures even with local anesthsia I will pass out, so for those I have been prescribed Lorazepam and it seems to help prevent vasovagal, or at least allows me to be calm and let the feeling pass (while I'm laying flat of course!). My sympathies to everyone else out there who has this reaction - it is an awful feeling to wake up on the floor staring at fluorescent lights on the cieling and see people staring back at you and not know where you are, what is going on, and what just happened. Best of luck to everyone, hang in there! And it's good to know this is not that uncommon...

I am a 32 year old male in good shape. I have experienced severe Vasovagal reactions since childhood. It started with routine shots, blood draws, etc. Then, an episode of 20/20 caused it while watching an eye surgery. I also passed out while watching pulp fiction (large needle through the chest plate.) I thought I had gotten over it until a year ago when I passed out getting an IV. I had received an IV each day for 4 days straight w/out incident and then on the 4th day, the nurse had to stick me 3 times to find the vein and I finally lost it.

Each time I have ever passed out, I have had the horrible dreams along with the sensation that I am suffocating until I wake up. It is honestly very disturbing and my least favorite experience so far in life.

Lately, I have been having hard-core anxiety that I may pass out while driving or at work meetings, church, or other public venues. Obviously, to pass out while driving would be catostrophic and it is really stressing me out. I have a very vivid imagination and just thinking of anything bloody or gory makes me feel dizzy, speeds up my heart rate and causes me to sweat. I have had to pull my car over a few times in fear that I may pass out. I have never actually passed out just from thinking of something and I can usually steer my thoughts in a different direction and breath deep until it passes. Nonetheless, this is really become a source of stress and anxiety for me and I am actually considering seeing someone to try and get a handle on it.

I will say, this is the first time I've Googled the topic and I was surprised to find that there are so many others that have this issue and that there is actually a medical term for it. I am wondering if maybe some sort of desensitization would cure this condition. Maybe getting into an operating room or watching medical videos (in a padded area of course). My only problem with that is the absolutely terrible experience I have when I pass out. It is so bad that I really don't want to induce it; however, if I thought there was a way to cure this for good, I would be all over it.

The worst is that my wife and I are expecting our first child and I am terrified of the labor!! I have no idea how I will get through it without hitting the floor. I know I wouldn't be the first to pass out during child birth, but I would really like to be strong for my wife during that experience.....

If I do end up seeing someone, I will post whatever I find out. I doubt there is an easy cure but maybe talking to someone and understanding exactly what is happening with my body will help.

Thanks for all of the great information!

I'm a 40 year old male in great shape. I'm not sure when I developed this reaction to needles or giving a blood sample, but it created much anxiety just thinking about it. I even had one reaction when I was at a movie theater watching a graphic scene with a gun shot.

Although I have been able to avoid any reaction on the past three episodes of giving blood and getting novacaine at the denist.

Here is what I do (although I was a bit embarrassed at first - now I don't care - I just don't want that reaction!) - I take my wife with me when I have to give a blood sample. I tell the technician about my reactions - it's never the needle or the injection pain - it's always the reaction I get shortly after. I ask...ok, more like insist, if I can lay down on a table. I turn and face my wife and we begin chatting - she reminds me about every 10 seconds - to breathe deep.....keep breathing.

As in the case of the dentist, I advise the dentist that I have these reactions. Somehow, the denist case is not a severe and I think this may be due to that they numb the area with a desensitizing gel (or at least I request it) before giving the novacaine shot.

Now, I need to schedule a routine shot. I am going to try lying down with my legs crossed and flex my leg muscles as was described in a American Heart Association study to see if a reaction can be avoided or reduced.

It works for me - lying down, taking someone with you, and remember to take slow, deep breaths.

I am a 40 year old healthy male. I had this episode of fainting yesterday while having an angiogram from a eye care centre. They inject this dye into my right hand vein to my blood stream to detect blown blood vessels in my eye. The nurse was awsome at the procedure. I hardly felt a thing and she prepared me before time of what was going to happen. About a minute later after the eye exam was over that my stomach felt bad and lost my hearing. The next thing I know; Im on the floor with 4 nurses looking at me with worry/sympathy. I also * my pants but they were so discrete and gave me a bag for my wet pants and a pair of hospital pants to wear out. I also did not eat a lunch but was given a juice box by the nurses before the procedure.

The only other time this happened was after I gave blood in high school and while watching a good friend receive stiches to his face. Also during a first time workout when I was definately dehydrated.

Nice! I went to the doctor today and had an injection. It hurt so much, and all of a sudden I was dizzy and I couldn't think straight. The doctor was hot and I thought he was giving me the eye when I walked in so when he told me to lie down and lift up my legs I was like "whoa!"- turns out he was trying to get the blood that rushed to my feet back up to my head. LOL!

hi i have vaso vaga sympothy i get easliy scard of needles so i make my body go in to shock and faint my blood levle drops easily i think next time ill try puting my feet up and lay down it might help me from feeling quesy and turning colors (yes i do turn colors lol) i am only 16 this might help me in some way thax and i hope the blood doctors let me

hello, i'm a healthy 26 year old female and i also faint... never when giving blood/getting shots though. i always used to faint while skiing but i was brave back then and would just get up and carry on skiing. the one faint that changed me was at a friend's birthday party. i was wearing really uncomfortable/tight shoes and had only had breakfast all day. i have naturally low blood pressure, so i of course fainted. i wouldn't have cared so much if people hadn't have panicked like they did. i could hear people saying they thought i was dead, but i just couldn't answer them. then i passed out at work a few months later and while out for coffee twice... this was all within a year. it turns out i had low iron which could have made my fainting worse. my iron is now back up and i make sure i drink lots and eat breakfast first thing in the morning now. i have developed a fear of fainting and i'm always thinking about what i should do if i faint. it's annoying. i saw a therapist thinking it would help but it wasn't worth it. i'm now reading a book on nerves. i feel like i can almost make myself pass out if i focus on it enough which is quite amazing.. haha :(

i always know i'm going to faint and last time even managed to make a phone call to tell someone i was going to faint and then i passed out. so i should be able to get my head down/cross legs/tense muscles and avoid actually fainting but so far in life i just panic and try to fight it. never learn.

it's been over a year since i last fainted. i was told not to be proud about this because i'll just freak out more when i next faint, but i'm secretly proud of it.

It happened to me today!!
While at the gym, i had just finished cardio, incline press and lat pulldowns that i began feeling really uneasy. I felt nauseatic and as if blood supply to my brain was decreasing. The feeling was of utter confusion. I tried to get up from the Shoulder Press machine, and the next thing i know is that people are standing around me trying to get me up. Next i remember taking a few steps towards the benches, and then again a black out. Again i remember people standing around, offering water and asking me to stay down. At that moment, i didn't know where i was. When the realisation came to me that i'm in the gym and i've blacked out, i was shocked as to how a physically fit person like myself could have ended up on the floor unconscious. After a few minutes, i felt strong enough to get up and sit on the bench. A doctor who happened to be around was called and he described it as a Vasovagal fainting, triggered possibly by my full stomach at the time of such heavy exercise.

If you mean why one faints, the last paragraph is a crock, sorry. I donated blood yesterday and watched the whole process, as did most people there. I returned home about 3 hours later after doing errands, and about 2 hours after that I fainted. So there were no visuals involved; why it happened I do not know....it was my first time as a donor.

actually for some people visuals are involved... my wife for example.

Okay nothing is a "crock" when anyone faints for whatever reason. It is one of the worst experiences I have had the pleasure of having many times. AGAIN, nothing is a "crock"for whatever reason you have fainted.

The fact that it didn't cause you to faint doesn't mean it's a 'crock'. Your symptoms are not everyone's symptoms.

I have had issues with nausea and dizziness for some time. I am a 35 yr old woman. The first time it happened I was working in college food service, working as cook's help. We were slicing tomatoes that day for lunch sandwiches, and I cut my finger at the knuckle on the tomato slicer. I made it as far as the sink to clean my hand, but the sight of blood caused me to feel the nausea, dizziness, black-out and subsequent fainting. When I came to, I was leaning against the wall, and the school paramedics were coming up the back stairs. Since then I've had a problem with TB tests (they always seem to miss my veins, or they find the vein but it doesn't draw), and when doing blood tests for medical labs. One of them finally figured out that I needed to lay down, and draw from the opposite (left) arm, as it worked better. (That instance I was poked in three different places.) So after the previous experience, when I was in the hospital this past week and a half, when I was starting to feel nausea again, I tried to lay down on the chair to my left (we were sitting on chairs by a common collecting table, as there were 28 patients in that unit), but the nursing staff wouldn't let me lay down. They tried to get me to drink the juice they give us when giving our medicines, but at that point I was already going. They ended up taking me to my bed in a wheelchair, putting me in bed, and lifting my legs onto three blankets under my covers. When they came in an hour later to take my vital signs, my blood pressure was low - it's normally 120/80 range, but was 108/54 that time... after an hour of rest. I did recover... but could not do blood work for the remainder of my stay. They called me a few times during the week long stay I was there to do blood work again, but I had to keep telling them I couldn't do it because I get nausea. I am supposed to have an MRI soon due to a knee injury that happened while I was in the hospital, and I'm concerned if they try to inject something into me before the operation, and make me sit up again.

I have had episodes of passing out at blood draws until I had to spend a few days in a hospital and I noticed I didn't have any problem with blood draws if I was laying down, so now when I go in for a draw, I just tell whomever that I need to be in a reclined (don't have to be flat) position and I don't seem to have any problem. The problem is some places are not set up for a patient to recline but I don't let anyone talk me into giving blood in a sitting position. It's not the sight of blood or needles as I work in a hospital and I have tried to "man up" and give it a try but no more; either I'm laying down or I don't let you draw blood.

One other thing I forgot to add, it can't depend on what you eat before hand because most of the time you have to fast for 8-12 hours for them to run certain tests.

I thought it was just me... I'm very thin and chalked it up to that.

First time it happened I was 11 or so. Had sliced the tip of my finger on a razor blade in the garage playing with my friend. Rushed past my my mom on the way to the bathroom so she wouldn't notice, lol!

Got to the bathroom to clean it up and was sitting on the counter. Next thing I knew, I was laying on the floor and was leaning against my friend pinning her against the wall. She was just staring down at me.

She said my mom was angry with me because she had walked by and yelled at me to get up because I was going to bend my glasses, lol!

It even happened at school in 6th grade once when I cut myself.

It was a surprise to my husband when we got pregnant also, with all the blood tests. I have always been to thin to donate blood so I was unsure if the bloodwork would do anything. I warned them ahead of time and they were able to keep me awake.

I was always scared that I'd die during childbirth because of my size, but when it happened it was smooth sailing. Only 45 minutes of labor and I'm thinking, that wasn't all that bad.

Then not two minutes after he was born, they said I went as green as my gown. I was fighting like mad to stay awake because the naseua, sweating, and light-headedness reminded me of my fear. Thankfully, I stayed awake but felt too sick to hold my baby.

Now days I warn the nurses ahead of time and they have me lay down and such.

However, the incident that caused me to look it up is that I just whacked myself good on the fingernail. I swear, I was in the print room at work and nearly passed out. It happened one other time when I hit my forearm real good at work.

I don't understand those. It isn't like there's any blood loss or visual. I don't feel like I have a low pain threshold at all. I actually take pride in how much pain I can endure. But those two sharp whacks nearly wiped me out!

I have to have a 3 hr glucose test. because im pregnant i have tried doing it twice now and i get sick and faint. and they have to cancel the test. any suggestions on what i can do?

Today, I had to get a tuberculosis test for a job. I've had blood drawn and numerous shots with no problem. But today I got the shot, felt fine for about 2 minutes. My friend was driving and I said I felt tired. I felt very nauseous and everything I saw was a fuzzy white color. My friend took me back to the doctors and on the way back I passed out. It was the worst feeling ever. The doc said it was a vasovagal reaction. It wasn't painful but it sucked and felt so helpless as this thing took over my body and made me see everything in white and then passed out

I have suffered from vasovagal reactions for about 20 years, and although I thought I had conquered the problem, I experienced the mother of all reactions just 2 days ago after having 13 vials of blood drawn from me. It started with dizziness, a long period of nausea and faintness, intense sweating. Most surprising was that I warned the personnel it was likely to occur, they laughed it off, then when it did happen the entire phlebotomy lab was in an uproar over it. My condition was triggered when I was in my 20s when I had to undergo an 8-hour glucose tolerance test. I had to have blood drawn every 1/2 hour by a brutish nurse with an ill temper. I had several of them that day for the first time. Most medical professionals do not recognize this as a real problem. Despite knowing that this is a matter of the mind, I have been unable to conquer the problem. My reaction comes from the fear of the pending reaction, which is triggered only incidentally by the needle. My problem is specific to IV procedures, not injections. I have found that the only way to avoid the reaction is to eliminate all pain from the needle procedure. I request a lidocaine patch, then an injection of lidocaine, which has always prevented the syndrome from occurring. However, many medical facilities will not allow these precautions because they don’t fit protocol, such as phlebotomy labs and out-patient medical centers.

usually when i feel like im about to pass out i get a very loud ringing in my ears and i get dizzy,my feet feel very heavy, my head feels very light, and my vision goes blank, it usually lasts for about 2 or 3 minutes untill it goes away... i found this article to be very helpfull and i will try this,.. thank you

i think this is the best way to feel better

When I have to have blood drawn or get and injection, I just wiggle my toes and close my eyes during the process. I have never passed out using this technique. Before learning to do this, from a dentist, I fainted every time.

I needed 4 tblspoons of blood drawn, to test my blood since Im 2 months pregnant. I dont know what happened but when the doc poked me with the needle I suddenly felt faint and extremely nausious. I had to tell them to stop and my left ear was ringing and I was profusely sweating.. It was scary and embarrassing. I have to go back because they didnt draw any blood, but I dont know how to prevent this its the worst feeling!