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When a child faints or passes out -- what could be the cause?

By February 6, 2009 - 10:23am
 
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My niece is 12. On about three or four occasions over the last year or two, she has passed out or fainted. Once was on the softball field; once was at school; once or twice was at home. In each time she was later found to

be either dehydrated or very fatigued; the most recent time she was also suffering from strep throat.

My sister, of course, is horribly concerned, and has taken her to a couple of doctors who have checked her daughter out. However, the consensus seems to be that "some kids do this" -- basically, that some children's bodies have this reaction to getting sick, overly fatigued or dehydrated.

Has anyone heard of this or had this experience? Will a child grow out of it? Is there a specialist we should be taking her to? What is actually going on in her body when she loses consciousness this way?

Add a Comment117 Comments

EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

she is going in for a 72 hour eeg. goodness i hope they can tell us something for her this is getting old she is 16 and wants to be able to live a normal life but she cant.

January 18, 2011 - 2:56pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

I completley understand. My daughter has had the same experience...almost exactly. Please Look at PNES (Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures) or Pseudo-seizures. it was FINALLY what they diagnosed my daughter with....

January 18, 2011 - 3:06pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

well i had posted a comment a couple months ago aboutmy daughter passing out on thefootball field.Well things have notgot any better since september shehas passed out 40-45 times. this is not normal at all i understand some people pass out at times. She has been thru every test none to man and they still cant find nothing wrong with her. she has seen caridologist and nerologist and we still come up short. we go back in 2 weeks for more testing.

January 16, 2011 - 3:21pm
(reply to Anonymous)

I am so sorry...I can not imagine passing out 40-45 times within 4 months. What tests is she going back for in 2 weeks?

January 16, 2011 - 8:11pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

well i had posted a comment a couple months ago aboutmy daughter passing out on thefootball field.Well things have notgot any better since september shehas passed out 40-45 times. this is not normal at all i understand some people pass out at times. She has been thru every test none to man and they still cant find nothing wrong with her. she has seen caridologist and nerologist and we still come up short. we go back in 2 weeks for more testing.

January 16, 2011 - 3:21pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

My son is 12 years old, and has Asthma, ADHD, and just devopled panic attacks. A day after my b day the school had to call an ambulence, because he passee out cold for ten minutes then started to have seizure like movements in his arm and leg. He came too when the ambulence placed the oxygen mask oh him. He couled not remember anything. They did an ekg and x rays of the chest. His peditrician is sending him to a a specialist to see if the ER and all their tests missed something. At this time I have no idea what happent and pretty sure it will happen again. All of the comments I read up above are pretty much what happen to him. Vey scrary...

January 16, 2011 - 11:49am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

My daughter is 15 and she is an athlete and has been since she was 7. She came in my room last night and said dhe had a sharp pain that shot from her stomach to her heart and she felt like she was going to....... and her eyes rolled back in her head as she fell over. I am in nursing school so I know that if you get up too quick you can pass out. But over the next hour she complained of headache, stomach, back, and chest pain, alternating. After 5 hours in the ER monitoring and a chest x-ray. The ER doc said she had pulled a muscle in her chest. Im not completely convinced that this is the source of her fainting spells. He says that it is normal for teenagers to occassionally pass out. However, she passes out everytime she stands up. I dont know what to do.

April 5, 2012 - 1:55pm
(reply to Anonymous)

I am so sorry this happened to your son! Please keep us updated on his test results, and we wish him well!!

January 16, 2011 - 12:25pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

My son is 12 years old, and has Asthma, ADHD, and just devopled panic attacks. A day after my b day the school had to call an ambulence, because he passee out cold for ten minutes then started to have seizure like movements in his arm and leg. He came too when the ambulence placed the oxygen mask oh him. He couled not remember anything. They did an ekg and x rays of the chest. His peditrician is sending him to a a specialist to see if the ER and all their tests missed something. At this time I have no idea what happent and pretty sure it will happen again. All of the comments I read up above are pretty much what happen to him. Vey scrary...

January 16, 2011 - 11:49am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

My daughter, 11, had a fainting spell and I took her to the emergency room and they did not run any tests on her, they told me that it is "normal" for a girl of her age to faint. Not happy with this but will follow up with my family doctor!

December 30, 2010 - 4:45pm
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