Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Fainting- GP?

25 replies

SprogletsMum · 09/02/2026 07:14

My dd age 14 fainted in October, took her straight to the gp. They did blood pressure, pulse etc and sent her for a blood test. All was fine and the gp said its normal and just one of those things.
Today, she's said that its happened again. I witnessed the first one but not this one. She said that her vision went black, ears ringing, she feels sick and sweaty.
Do I need to.take her back to the gp?

OP posts:
PersephoneParlormaid · 09/02/2026 07:26

Had she eaten before it?

Tomrrowandtomorrowandtommorrow · 09/02/2026 07:33

My 15yr old does this too. It's v distressing to see and I don't like it! For her, it's the sight of blood for a sustained time. We stupidly took her to the cinema to see The Handmaiden and she passed out. We were up about 15 stairs and no one came to help us as we tried to rouse her and carry her down then in the dark. She passed out 2 more times on the stairs and then again, more dramatically in the foyer. Her blood was okay too and I asked if a growth spurt might cause it but the GP was pretty dismissive and unbothered.

It got even gnarlier when she had to get her blood taken.... The nurses had to give her a lot of hobnobs and lie her down until she came round enough to leave.

Is there a trigger for her?

Original poster
SprogletsMum · 09/02/2026 07:43

It was at about 6am today so no food eaten.
No trigger that I can think of, the first time we were just standing chatting in the kitchen and then this time she says she was sitting at her desk.

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Children's health General health
Original poster
SprogletsMum · 09/02/2026 07:45

And yes, the last time the gp seemed very unbothered.
That cinema trip sounds like hell!!

OP posts:
Tomrrowandtomorrowandtommorrow · 09/02/2026 08:04

Well, we got 3 free tickets out of the manager at least.

Did they take her blood pressure?

Polyestered · 09/02/2026 08:10

Just to make you all feel better, I had this as a teenager - particular around blood, being squeamish. I fainted at school during a sex education lesson. Felt absolutely dreadful before actually losing consciousness, shaky sweaty, loss of vision. Happened loads.

im a doctor now - I got over the sight of blood 😂

Starlight7080 · 09/02/2026 08:10

No advice just to say the we had the same happen with our 15 Yr old dd . The gp was very dismissive. Did bloods which all fine. And then said his father randomly faints and with some people its normal.
Which didnt help at all.

Goldfsh · 09/02/2026 08:11

She's not on her period? Was her blood pressure low?

She isn't restricting her eating?

Why was she sitting at her desk at 6am without breakfast?!

OlympicsRock2 · 09/02/2026 08:12

Is she eating and drinking enough?

Goldfsh · 09/02/2026 08:12

Some are just fainters though: she needs to sit/lie down IMMEDIATELY with the black/ringing sound to protect herself from injury.

donttellmewhaticantdo · 09/02/2026 08:15

This happened to me quite frequently as a teenager. I was told it was low blood sugars. I would go all shaky and sweaty then everything would go black. I was advised to always carry a sugary snack with me and sit down as soon as I started to feel it coming. I still get low blood sugars sometimes (i'm not diabetic) but always grab something sugary then I start to feel better.

Namechangedasouting987 · 09/02/2026 08:23

Orthostatic hypotension is v common in teenagers, esp during growth spurts.
My DD did this a lot about this age, when getting up from bed or after sitting a while. Or during exercise. Its getting more infrequent now she is 18.
My DD 'went blind', felt faint, dizzy, sweaty, heart beating hard etc.
As a family we all have low blood pressure too. So I fainted a lot in pregnancy.
Dehydration doesn't help. Make sure she drinks and eats enough.

Franpie · 09/02/2026 08:51

Like PP’s, I’m like this as my blood sugar levels are quite sensitive. It started in puberty. I fainted a lot during my teenage years and both times when I was postpartum and breastfeeding.

A hit of something sugary like squash or a biscuit sorts me out. I’m not diabetic but have naturally low BP.

Lugga · 09/02/2026 08:58

I've only fainted twice. Both times it was first thing in the morning when I was probably a bit dehydrated.

I am not a doctor, I think my parents figured it is probably one of those things that happens to people over a lifetime. But it's also a reasonable question to ask if you are worried. Maybe an e-consult if you have them in your area.

LifeisLemons · 09/02/2026 09:18

Agree with previous posters about how common this is in teenagers.

I’ve had low blood pressure most of my life and was a skinny min as a teenager as I didn’t eat much and was very active. I fainted a few times at school and elsewhere.

If I feel that ‘ringing on the ears’ sensation, I sit or lie down immediately and wait for it to pass.

DS (16) seems to be similar as he fainted at school a couple of weeks ago (in front of the Deputy Head) and school rang me to fetch him home. He was perfectly fine when I arrived and I think they were panicking/being overly cautious. 😂

Iliketulips · 09/02/2026 10:29

Do you know if she has her period? I used to faint regularly when I was around 15-17.

Bluemin · 09/02/2026 10:32

Sounds like low blood pressure or could be POTS. Can you take her pulse lying down and resting and then again when she's standing? If there's an increase of more than 30 bpm she may have POTS.

BeautifulSongsofLove · 09/02/2026 16:38

Good advice above about hydration and food etc. Arrange another GP appointment, they may want to refer her for a routine ECG but it'd be useful for you, daughter, & GP to see what effect, if any, hydration and food has on this

Foggytree · 09/02/2026 16:43

Dd had dizzy spells at around that age. She then started on Wellteen vitamin supplements which she swears improved and indeed cured the issue.

StrawberryJamAndRaspberryPie · 09/02/2026 17:16

Tomrrowandtomorrowandtommorrow · 09/02/2026 07:33

My 15yr old does this too. It's v distressing to see and I don't like it! For her, it's the sight of blood for a sustained time. We stupidly took her to the cinema to see The Handmaiden and she passed out. We were up about 15 stairs and no one came to help us as we tried to rouse her and carry her down then in the dark. She passed out 2 more times on the stairs and then again, more dramatically in the foyer. Her blood was okay too and I asked if a growth spurt might cause it but the GP was pretty dismissive and unbothered.

It got even gnarlier when she had to get her blood taken.... The nurses had to give her a lot of hobnobs and lie her down until she came round enough to leave.

Is there a trigger for her?

This has been happening to me my whole life. I’m 30 now. It’s just a nervous system response and she’ll be fine. GPs won’t do anything because for some of us it’s just what happens around blood.

tatyr · 09/02/2026 17:35

I'm also a fainter, as a teenager, a frequent low blood pressure sufferer, and after fainting in the dissection room at university, a squeamish-er.

I'm in my late 40's now and I do my best to stay hydrated and not hungry (especially if I need to do something squeamish), I warn people taking my blood, doing minor procedures to me (fainted during toe nail surgery) so they can position me somewhere safe, then I distract myself at the time with chit chat/music. Mostly it works.

I get up slowly from bed, and take it steady with changing from low level to high level, which I do a lot of gardening/ woodworking. And I sit down at the first sign of trouble! Once you know that the vision/hearing/body changes are a warning sign, pay attention and sit down/get your feet up.

It's livable with, I do my best to avoid pushing it, as I've had a couple of falls over the past few years, not fully fainting, but losing motor control enough to fall, and it's easy to bash your head or do something else with serious consequences.

callmemargo · 09/02/2026 17:42

Is she drinking plenty of water and eating enough salt? I was under a clinic specifically for fainting. I was advised to drink at least eight large glasses of water every day, and to up my salt intake.

Also, as soon as she starts feeling a bit 'off', get her to squeeze her buttocks - this will push some blood further up the body and increase blood pressure. If you have a blood pressure monitor you can test this yourself. Also calf compression socks can be useful.

FalseSpring · 09/02/2026 19:20

I faint regularly. It's usually due to low blood sugar, lack of salt or dehydration. When I was younger I had low blood pressure when I was younger but now I take medication for high blood pressure so I guess I only faint when for some reason it dips sharply.

LoveHearts69 · 09/02/2026 19:44

Was she really tired? I fainted twice around that age, once after I’d been out late with a friend and another time when I’d been juggling school and late nights working at the chip shop!

I then didn’t faint for over 20 years but have had it twice in the past year when I’ve caught my toddlers sickness bugs and been up all night. I had all sorts of tests but the doctors just put it down to hormones/exhaustion.

MrJumpyLegs · 09/02/2026 19:54

This has happened to my DD about five times in the past two years. Just had bloods - nothing came up. Advised to eat and drink plenty. It worries me because she is the last to leave in the mornings and twice it’s happened when she was on her own. Not sure what else to do really

New posts on this thread. Refresh page