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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?
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Add a Comment117 Comments
hi, JOq......i have read all the comments on this site and your situation with your son sounds identical to what i have been going through with my son for the last 5 years. everything is related to pain and/or the thought of pain or injury. I would really like to be able to speak to you more about this and get to compare notes to see if it can ease my mind further. We have been to specialists with no real comforting answers except 'most children grow out of this. I am a teacher and teach special education which means that I see many health issues but never this one. Thank you, Kim
September 8, 2013 - 8:29pmThis Comment
our 7 yr old daughtr just got relased from 2 days./ nights in the hospital and had all those tests run to and a mri..and they all came back perfecetly normal/????
December 16, 2012 - 8:36pmThis Comment
maybe your having these blackouts and passing out cause its to hot or your not drinking enough water when your playing or just being out side and your getting dehydrated trust me im 11 yrs old but i know cause i play softball and many other sports so always bring extra water just in case u run out! bye hope this helps u
November 16, 2011 - 3:16pmThis Comment
Anonymous,
Get a second opinion. It is not normal for children to pass out and have blue lips. I would certainly get a second opinion at your earliest convenience.
November 13, 2011 - 6:01amPlease keep us posted.
Missie
This Comment
Dear Grandmother,
November 12, 2011 - 7:39pmI will refer you to a group I found for my son's "faints". It is www.stars-us.org If you do not find the information you are looking for you can email them and they will assist you in finding the answers you need. Fainting can be a symptom of more serious things so it should always be checked out, but it is a common occurrence for some. It is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain and can vary from a simple faint to seizure like activity. It may just be a common form of Reflex Syncope which is indeed nothing to worry about as long as he is not hitting his head. Is it connected to SIDS? I'm not a medical professional so I don't know but I don't think so. I'm just a mom dealing with a teenage son going through the same type of thing. I hope you get your answers!
This Comment
"Take Fainting To Heart! No Faint is Simple, It could be Fatal!"
I implore you all to first seek out medical treatment to make sure it is not a fatal condition and THEN check out...
www.stars-us.org
There are many reasons for fainting and seizures. It could be cardiac, epileptic (neurological), Psychogenic, low blood sugar and dehydration. Each reason is important to be checked out.
It is also important for me to note that my son (We believe he has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) began showing symptoms after getting the Gardasil shot. Boys are just now starting to get this shot. If your children began having these symptoms after receiving immunizations, it is important to discuss this with your doctors. If you even THINK that it could be the cause, please report it to NVIC.ORG.
November 5, 2011 - 6:27amThis Comment
My grandson is 14 months old and has passed out twice now. He has had blue lips twice. The first time he passed out, he was having a temper tantrum and the second time, today, he dropped something on his toe and wa sagain crying. I am concerned because I lst my first son to SIDS and I dont know if this is genetic or somehow related. His pediatrician says it is normal for some children to pass out but I think that is absurd. Can you shed any light on what my next steps should be and if this is infact something to worry about. Thank You
November 12, 2011 - 4:35pmThis Comment
My teenage daughter fainted for the first time while urinating just the other day. When she feel she hit her head hard against the bath tub. I took her to the ER and they ran several tests: EKG, CT scan, and did blood work. They all came back normal. It was recommended that she see a pediatric neurologist and the diagnosis was vasovagal syncope. I was told that this condition is quite common in teenage females.
July 1, 2011 - 3:26amThis Comment
My daughter was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope also in 2012. I was worried to death because she had one fainting spell the previous year in August and then two more times in 2012, in June. We took her to a cardiologist and they said that it was vasovagal syncope. Well all has been well until this evening when she was taking a very hot shower she felt a faint spell coming on and she quickly got out of the shower and got dressed, and came into the living room. I instantly knew something was wrong and she sat down on the nearest coffee table and I laid her on the sofa. I made her a sandwich and gave her some juice and she was feeling better within a few minutes. She is 13, turning 14 in a few months and every time these episodes happen I get worried, even though I have been told she is fine. The second time last year that she had a fainting spell, the er doctors gave her a 24 hour Holter monitor and everything came back fine. They also monitored her at the cardiologist and he found nothing either. It scares me to death, but all the doctors are telling me that she is fine and that all I need to do is make sure she increases her salt intake. Since that diagnoses, she has not had another episode until tonight and my husband is convinced that it was because she had the shower too hot, which she admitted to doing and she didn't have it properly ventilated either. So I am hoping that the hot shower just triggered her vasovagal syncope and that it is resolved by her taking a little cooler of a shower.
June 15, 2013 - 8:29pmThis Comment
I previously posted about my 11 year old daughter fainting and followed up with my family doctor who said that it can happen and did check for a heart murmur but found none. He did agree that if it happened again he would follow up with tests. So far it hasn't happened again. So sorry for these kids who are having such a difficult time. Hope that there's news and things to help in the near future.
January 19, 2011 - 9:28amThis Comment