Being worried is the natural reaction of a parent, if his/her child suddenly faints or becomes drowsy. Don't panic, though - although such episodes can be frightening for you being a parent, so long as your child gets back to normalcy inside a minute or so and it is breathing normally, the chances are that the big event was a one-off and that he's no serious underlying health problem. Nevertheless, you are going to want to know what caused the fainting.
Fainting - where someone suddenly and temporarily loses consciousness - is usually due to surprise and short-lived drop in blood pressure. Your child may faint while he feels hungry or anxious, like a reaction to an unpleasant sight - blood or needles are common culprits - or because of pain. Children usually look pale just before fainting and may complain of dizziness. Here's what you can do to help if your child feels faint or has fainted:
Body position: If possible, lie your child down together with his legs slightly raised. Alternatively, sit your child down and ask him to lean forward together with his head between his knees, but be aware that this position may not be enough to make your child feel better. Lying down is definitely preferable. If your child begins to feel better, do not let him to get straight up; wait several more minutes.
Food and drink: If your child hasn't eaten enough and also the fainting or feeling faint may be due to hunger, a sweet drink and a light snack usually work wonders. Hold back until your child is not unconscious or very drowsy following a faint before giving almost anything to eat or drink.
Medication: If your child feels faint or has fainted because of sudden pain, give some paracetamol or ibuprofen, assuming that he's conscious. If your child is otherwise well, comes round after a minute at the most and doesn't have any other health issues or symptoms, you normally don't need to fret. However, consider seeking medical advice if fainting episodes recur or if you have any additional concerns about your child's health.
Fitting (or febrile convulsion) - when convulsions affect your child's entire body - and fainting can occur due to fever (an appearance temperature of 38 degrees Celsius, or 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, or higher), especially if the temperature has risen quickly. Consider a fever fit if your child has an underlying illness for example an unspecific viral or ear infection. The next signs are typical of fever fits:
Particularly if this fit is your child's first, contact your doctor immediately. In the vast majority of cases, though, fever fits aren't due to a serious underlying cause and your child is likely to make a complete recovery without any lasting damage. Your child will likely be a little drowsy after the fit, but will often get back to normal within an hour or so.
Occasionally, a fever fit are closely related to some more serious underlying illness. Call your doctor or an ambulance immediately if you notice these signs in your child:
Temperature fit isn't because of epilepsy and doesn't usually cause any long-term problems unless it lasts for longer than 30 minutes or so. Research shows that children who've fever fits do just as well later in life in terms of their general health and achievements as people who don't.
During an epileptic fit (also known as a seizure), the brain fires electrical impulses at a much higher rate than normal. Repeated epileptic fits are referred to as epilepsy. Nobody really knows why some children or adults develop epilepsy. Symptoms can vary depending on how severe the problem is and which part of the brain is mainly affected. In essence, two main types of epilepsy exist:
Grand mal: In grand mal epilepsy, sufferers fall down unexpectedly and may get injured as a result. They might take several minutes in the future round again, during which time they might jerk uncontrollably. Usually, your child falls asleep or feels very sleepy afterwards.
Petit mal: Although in attacks due to petit mal epilepsy people become unconscious, they do not fall down. Attacks don't normally are longer than 10-15 seconds, where your child may stare blankly, stop talking and not respond to you talking. Children often grow out of petit mal epilepsy after puberty.
During an epileptic fit, take the following action:
See your doctor if you suspect that your child may suffer from epilepsy. Your doctor is likely to refer your child to a specialist for more assessment and drug therapy and advise you about special precautions you need to consider with regard to activities for example cycling and swimming.
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Note: This article was sent to us by: Emanuel Moreno at 03122011
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