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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Lightheadedness And Blurred Vision In A 16 Year Old Girl?

My 16 year old daughter became light headed and her vision blurred, lost color and eventually lost vision and fainted. She had been standing at the stove and sat down when she felt light headed. At that point is when her vision was affected and she fainted. The total time frame was about 5 minutes start to finish. She was a bit disoriented for a couple minutes during and after. She seems fine now. She had breakfast and lunch today and milk, tea an d fruit juice to drink during the day. Is this normal or should she see her doctor in the morning?
posted on Mon, 26 Dec 2016
Twitter Tue, 21 Feb 2017 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 21 Feb 2017 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi, thanks for your question.

Your daughter had what's known as syncope. A condition where there's a sudden reduction in flow of blood to the brain causing lighheadness, dizziness, faded vision, palpitations, and eventual fainting. Syncope doesn't require any intervention and after a few minutes, the individual recovers.

Syncope is trigereed by sleep deprivation, fatigue, strong emotions such as fear, and prolonged standing which was the trigger in your daughter's case. Prolonged standing causes pooling of blood in the veins of the legs reducing the quantity of blood which gets to the brain. In that case, you do not need to see a doctor , just advise her to avoid standing for too long at a time.

Furthermore, if it recurs, then you can visit a primary care doctor to exclude serious causes of syncope such as irregular heart rhythm.
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What Causes Lightheadedness And Blurred Vision In A 16 Year Old Girl?

Hi, thanks for your question. Your daughter had what s known as syncope. A condition where there s a sudden reduction in flow of blood to the brain causing lighheadness, dizziness, faded vision, palpitations, and eventual fainting. Syncope doesn t require any intervention and after a few minutes, the individual recovers. Syncope is trigereed by sleep deprivation, fatigue, strong emotions such as fear, and prolonged standing which was the trigger in your daughter s case. Prolonged standing causes pooling of blood in the veins of the legs reducing the quantity of blood which gets to the brain. In that case, you do not need to see a doctor , just advise her to avoid standing for too long at a time. Furthermore, if it recurs, then you can visit a primary care doctor to exclude serious causes of syncope such as irregular heart rhythm.