My ten year old fainted today at the hairdresser. She had walked to the hairdresser from school (not far) and when she got there complained of chest pain so the hairdresser made her call home. She called DH at work but he said she sounded ok. When I arrived about 5 minutes later the hairdresser said she didn't want to start until I got there. I talked to DD and then she went to sit down in the chair. The hairdresser started to comb her hair and then said, "I don't like the way her eyes look. Let's have her lie down on the massage table." As we were walking there, she FAINTED!

We took her to the hospital and they did and EKG, chest xray and blood work and said everything looks normal but for her not to go to school tomorrow.

What do you suppose would cause this?

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 10:33 pm:

OMG I have no idea but I hope she is feeling better soon. I also hope you get some answers because not knowing is the worst. {{HUGS}}

By Hol on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 10:34 pm:

Had she eaten today? Maybe her blood sugar dropped, and the exertion of walking to the hairdresser was enough to cause her to faint. How about fluids? Did she have enough to drink? Girls, particularly, don't eat or drink like they should.

Has she had a cold recently? I don't know what to make of the chest pains. Is she presently having her period?

If it happens again I would probably take her to the doctor and have a neurological work-up, EEG, etc. to rule out seizure disorder. I work with a young girl who recently started to feel strange at work. She had a funny look in her eyes, too. She passed out at a basketball game (watching, not playing). It turns out she was having a series of small seizures.

By Marcia on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 11:47 pm:

This happened to my oldest daughter a couple of times. The first time she passed right out just after having a hot shower. I took her to the doc right away, and her bp was low. I asked for a neuro consult, and her EEG came back normal. The next couple of times she felt weak she knew enough to bend down, and she avoided actually fainting.
This was all about 6 months before she got her period, so it appears to have been hormonal. With your daughter's age, maybe it's the same thing.

By Nicki on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 11:49 pm:

Your poor daughter! I will keep her in my thoughts. I'm glad she'll be home tomorrow. Does she feel okay tonight? I wish I knew what might be going on, but it's good you had some important testing done today.
Hugs to both of you.

By Paulas on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 01:47 am:

Thanks for the input. She has already started her period. She started on Christmas Eve. Her period finished about a week and a half ago.

She had eaten today but I don't know about fluids. I'll ask her in the morning.

She's feeling a bit better now. I just checked on her and she was sleeping.

By Mom2three1968 on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 07:53 am:

Wow! How scarey!! Hope she'll have no more episodes like that. Poor little sweetheart.

By Yjja123 on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 09:12 am:

I started passing out at her age. I went through EKG's, CATSCANS's etc. They did not find out the cause. Later in life, a doctor told me it was a combination of my low blood pressure and sugar levels.
I hope it is nothing serious! It may be a one time thing that never happens again.
(((hugs)))

By Breann on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 09:38 am:

Wow, that is so scary. I would have been beside myself.

My first thought was maybe her blood sugar was off? Too high, too low? But I guess that would have shown up in the blood tests.

Hopefully it was a one time thing.

I would definitely notify all of her teachers and the principal and the school nurse, before letting her return.

The chest pain thing is scary.

By Karen~admin on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 09:59 am:

Blood sugar was my first thought too. However, the fact that she had chest pain could signal other things. Does she have asthma? Also, does she have mitral valve prolapse?

By Rayanne on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 10:07 am:

I hope she is feeling better now.

By Paulas on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 11:18 am:

She is doing better today. I stayed home from work. I was the anon poster earlier that mentioned problems in school (nail biter) so I'm hoping this doesn't have anything to do with anxiety. I don't think it does since she has been upset before much worse than she was yesterday.

Could be a blood sugar thing. Both DH and I have family history there.

By Cat on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 07:40 pm:

I have a cousin that was prone to fainting. I don't know why and I don't know if they ever figured it out. The first time she did it was in 1st grade. She even fainted at one of her sister's weddings! Talk about stealing the spotlight! lol I hope your dd's alright and that it isn't an anxiety thing. How scary for her! Big hugs to you both.

By Luvn29 on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 07:30 pm:

Autonomic problems cause fainting. Google autonomic dysfunction or vasovagal syncope. I have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome or POTS which is an autonomic disorder. My heart rate increases highly upon standing. A lot of people with it have their heart rate and blood pressure drop, so they pass out. It actually has nothing to do with the heart, though. Just with the system that controls the heart rate and blood pressure.

It can come on very suddenly for no apparent reason, too.

By Jjb on Saturday, March 31, 2007 - 01:39 pm:

How scary for you and her! I'm so glad you were there. WOW. I fainted when I was in grad school- they never figured out the cause but I think it had to do with low blood pressure and low blood sugar. It hasn't happened again- but I've felt it coming on and I just sit down or get something to eat quickly. Good luck and please keep us posted.