I fainted!

junebugbear07

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Yup I fainted today lol. My animal science class went to the schools poultry unit (we have Turkeys,apart of Zack Farms). We had horrible heat yesterday 96 degrees and I rode both Joe and Scotch for about 45 min each and drank only a bottle of water cause that was all i had....sooo i think i was dehydrated and not used to the heat. I felt sick before i even got to the unit but didnt think much of it. It didnt even smell bad in there. The lady had a turkey tom euthanized (snap his neck...) because he had issues and she was showing us the insides and all. Which i was fasinated in it to tell you the truth. But i became dizzy and it got dark and next thing i know im on the groundand someone is behind me . I know it wasnt because of the turkey diesction cause i have personally disected rats and pigs before with no problem,but m whole class probably thinks im a wimp lol So all day i have felt like crap. And I know im gonna get yelled for this, but i did ride joe and scotch today for 15 min each cause they didnt get ridden over the weekend..... . But yah a pretty eventful day!!! What is even more annoying is the hot guy in class was standing right next to me...... What a great impression i must have made!!


And get this....I had turkey burgers for dinner!!
 

strange_wings

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You stood too long while being warm. Heat causes blood vessels to dilate. This becomes a problem because gravity naturally makes some blood pool in the lower body when standing. When the blood vessels in one's legs dilate it makes that blood pool worse depriving the brain of blood and making the heart work harder. This can in more sensitive individuals trip up the autonomic nervous system and trigger a faint.

While you could have been better hydrated, unless you normally have low blood pressure or have already been diagnosed by a doctor has having low blood volume, you shouldn't have dehydrated enough in such a short period to cause you to faint (obviously no one else around you was dropping).

Try to stay out of the heat tomorrow, and maybe even the next day - go out early before the morning gets too warm to take care of the horses, and make sure you drink a bit more fluids.

Have you ever fainted before or have anyone (mother, aunt, grandmother, cousin, etc) who faint or gets light headed when standing up?
 
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junebugbear07

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

You stood too long while being warm. Heat causes blood vessels to dilate. This becomes a problem because gravity naturally makes some blood pool in the lower body when standing. When the blood vessels in one's legs dilate it makes that blood pool worse depriving the brain of blood and making the heart work harder. This can in more sensitive individuals trip up the autonomic nervous system and trigger a faint.

While you could have been better hydrated, unless you normally have low blood pressure or have already been diagnosed by a doctor has having low blood volume, you shouldn't have dehydrated enough in such a short period to cause you to faint (obviously no one else around you was dropping).

Try to stay out of the heat tomorrow, and maybe even the next day - go out early before the morning gets too warm to take care of the horses, and make sure you drink a bit more fluids.

Have you ever fainted before or have anyone (mother, aunt, grandmother, cousin, etc) who faint or gets light headed when standing up?
Thanks for the information!! Well my mom gets dizzy all the time, she doesnt ever really faint but that is because she sits down or lays down when she gets dizzy...unlike me who prays it goes away! I know my mom (not sure about my dad) has low blood pressure, she is on meds, but i dont think i am...well im not to sure to tell you the truth!
 

strange_wings

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I have low blood pressure - not what most people consider low (ie 100/60 or 90s/60) but really low. - 70s-80s/50s. I also have something called neurocardiogenic syncope, also called vasovagal syncope and neurally mediated hypotension.

What it does is when I stand my blood vessels in my legs do not constrict enough like they should to get the blood back to my heart and brain, then my autonomic nervous system can get confused by my high heart rate and further make things worse. It result in me not being able to stand in place for more than 15 minutes at a time. Heat makes it much much worse.

It's not all that rare either, unless caused by some other illness it tends to run in families. My mother has low blood pressure, a history of fainting, and that dizziness/lightheadedness right after standing (orthostatic hypotension).

Some get isolated episodes of it if their bodies are stressed in some way, others like myself have it all the time. It means I can easily faint.


Look it up, it might answer some questions since you do have some family members with some similar problems. The reason I mostly asked about female members of your family is also because we women are "wired" a little differently and gravity (standing up) is naturally a little tougher on our bodies. It's one reason why there's more male astronauts (and jet pilots) and why the women that do come back from space really have issues from it.
 
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