I Feinted This Afternoon... WTF?

[Amused]

Locked knees causing fainting spells is an old wives tale.

The reason you do not lock your knees is so they give and you crumple rather than fall over like a tree if you happen to faint.

People standing too long faint if they are prone to fainting, locked knees or not. Ask any military man. In the Army, I saw dozens of fainting spells while standing in formation... and the first thing we were taught was to not lock our knees. It didn't stop the fainting, but it did stop the broken noses and concussions.

 

[Ornery]

I could see if I had been standing at attention in the hot sun for a while, but that wasn't the case. Damn, I'm just getting old and feeble or something.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Ornery
I could see if I had been standing at attention in the hot sun for a while, but that wasn't the case. Damn, I'm just getting old and feeble or something.

Naw, mix a too-warm room with a mild amount of stress and a dip in your blood sugar, and it's easy to see how it happened. Most of us are running around on the brink of dehydration as it is.

I often get light headed (but I've never fainted) in situations just like yours. I'll sit on the floor if need be.

 

[Greyd]

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Greyd
Stress and maybe you lock your knees when standing up?

Locking your knees does NOT make you faint. Not locking them keeps you from falling on your face IF you faint.

Right here

 

[Ornery]

Thanks Greyd. I did a Mayo Clinic search before, and came up with a load of gibberish! Now I see I was at www.mayo.edu/ instead of www.mayoclinic.com/. Bookmarked!

 

[BDawg]

Perhaps it was all of the stress about demonstrating raincoats for your son.

 

[Ornery]

You might be on to something there!

 

[BD231]

Do you eat very well? How long were you out for?

 

[Ornery]

I had Raison Bran for breakfast, only 2 hours before I passed out. Was only out for a few seconds, but I don't remember spinning 180 degrees and dropping to my knees. I was wedged in a corner and behind a chair (which my step-father was about to sit in). That saved me from a face first plunge.

My health has been kind of crappy this year, but I'm under a doctor's supervision. My next visit isn't for a couple more months and he can't find anything seriously wrong with me. He's a highly recommended pulmonary specialist trying to find the reason for my chronic cough, which I've had for about a year. I kinda doubt this is related, but who the hell knows?

 

[BD231]

Sugar maybe, some people don't handle large amounts of sugar/carbs (cereal) very well, maybe you have a blood sugar regulation problem? Caffeine can do it as well, although I've only heard of dizzy spells and blury vision from caffeine. Bad cough dosen't sound to good though, have you been checked for anything serious?

 

[Ornery]

• Been off coffee since late December 2002
  
• My diet is 50% sugar! I inhale the stuff! Only had a couple teaspoons on my cereal, though. I eat some kind of sugar laden cereal everyday. If not, I eat donuts or cookies!
  
• Been X-rayed and scanned for the cough, as well as asthma, and GERD treatments. Been screwing around with doctors on this issue for friggin' months!
  
• The Mayo Clinic link said fainting is pretty common, so I guess I'll leave it at that. Just ain't too common for me!

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Ornery

• Been off coffee since late December 2002
  
• My diet is 50% sugar! I inhale the stuff! Only had a couple teaspoons on my cereal, though. I eat some kind of sugar laden cereal everyday. If not, I eat donuts or cookies!
  
• Been X-rayed and scanned for the cough, as well as asthma, and GERD treatments. Been screwing around with doctors on this issue for friggin' months!
  
• The Mayo Clinic link said fainting is pretty common, so I guess I'll leave it at that. Just ain't too common for me!

Oh my! I rarely have extraneous sugar...