Fainting

You are standing, sitting, walking — and suddenly everything becomes very distant. The sounds disappear behind a veil, the edges of your visual field grow dark, a pulling sensation moves through your belly, your legs go soft. And then there is nothing. Seconds later, sometimes minutes, you wake up on the floor, confused, cold sweat on your forehead, the faces above you alarmed.

Medically this is called syncope: a brief interruption of consciousness, usually caused by a sudden drop in blood flow to the brain. The causes are varied — too little blood pressure, too little fluid, a sudden dilation of the blood vessels, circulatory shock, sometimes heart or nerve problems that need to be investigated. That is one side, and it is important.