Low blood pressure in teens

[tkband3]

DD3 (14) has a bad cold at the moment, and as usual when she has a cold, she suffers from dizziness. I've just taken her blood pressure and it was 91/67 which I think is quite low.

She doesn't generally get dizzy when she's healthy. She has coeliac disease, so is tested annually for various associated conditions such as anaemia and thyroid issues and nothing came up at the last test.

Any thoughts on what we can do to help her feel better?

Feed her salty things and get her drinking plenty. The extra salt and water will increase blood volume which will push up her blood pressure. With blood pressure that low she's probably craving salty things anyway. I have low blood pressure and tachycardia and that's what my cardio recommends.

The dizziness can be from the ears being affected by a cold as well.
Best thing is to become aware of your own tendency to feel faint and what triggers that. I am a fainter too.
Get out of bed slowly. Keep the covers on you light the temperature will creep up over the night.
Leave the bathroom door unlocked when you go for a wee at night when you are sick.
Drinks like the full sugar 7Up help with that feeling also, as well as taking paracetamol.

This sounds like POTs, (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia) which with celiac too, I'd guess could be a result of a B12 deficiency as celiac is a risk factor for it & POTs is a symptom of it. B12 deficiency's are often missed by doctors who put too much store on what are known to be unreliable blood tests. Info in this link ... https://www.b12deficiency.info/

So blood tests, plus a referral to a syncope unit such as the one at Hammersmith hospital

I'd suggest electrolyte pills or powers with lots of extra water (3L recommended) to get over the worst of it & then extra salt & water in her diet in general.

If she's recently had a HPV jab, be aware that is triggering POTs in some teens girls, but the celiac could explain it.

POTs can come with h a host of symptoms, explained here...
https://www.ehlers-danlos.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/MAYOCliniccTeensDysautonomiaacopy.pdf

It is apparently worse in teen years & should improve. My teen DDs has definitely got worse, 🤞 they are right & it gets better as she ages

Was coming on to say basically what Rockinhippy has.

Practical things to avoid syncope include: Not having vey long hot baths, getting enough fluids, raising your legs higher than head when lying down. If you think you might faint then squat down (in public) or stand with your legs crossed, squeezing one against the other and rocking. Drink some water. Increase intake of salt for a few days to see if things improve. Raise the head of your head by 10 degrees

Fucking hell. She has a cold and a normal blood pressure for a teen.

Mumsnet medical advice is dreadful as always.

Won't be PoTS unless her blood pressure shoots up when she stands up, but the rest of the advice is sound - plenty of fluids, stand up slowly, salty foods, raise and point toes to get blood circulating, exercise that strengthens calf muscles.

Rockinhippy - in case it helps, 7 years ago DD was collapsing 120+ times a day, used a wheelchair all the time, and was v close to an in-patient psychiatric assessment. Today she's one essay and four exams away from finishing her degree, living away from home, and managing a social life. She's not better, just managing things better, knowing her limits and doing all the boring things she knows help (regular routines, very limited late nights, drinking stupid quantities of water, managing diet, plenty of exercise, and always being on the phone to someone if she's walking somewhere by herself). I'm in awe of what she's managed. Bloody minded is the term we use for her

@MyVision

That whole reply absolutely screams B12 deficiency!!! That's exactly how my DD was. She missed 2 years of school. Please make them test her, it's dangerous if left untreated, my DD nearly died & only one doctor actually noticed that.

Re POTs, BP doesn't shoot up, it more often drops unless like mine it's hyperadrenic POTs where BP is high.

It's heart rate that goes up, not BP & only shows properly when tge active stand test is done accurately. Mine had to be done 3 times due to an arsey know it all nurse who insisted she knew what she was doing when she clearly didn't 🙄

Indeed, that is on the lower end but totally normal blood pressure especially fir a teen. Mine is lower than that 50s/80s at a much older age and the consultant wasn't concerned at all.

If the diziness is linked to it, recommendation is, same than for hbp, no caffeine, inliding pop drinks and plenty of water.

I'm confused Swing are you Vision ??

BP has nothing to do with POTs, it's HR that counts for diagnosis, unfortunately from experience twice over & a busy support group full of people who struggled for diagnosis for years, this not always something doctors or even consultants know unless they are specialists in the field.

B12 results if that's what you mean?? Can show false normal as they did for my daughter. Her B12 injections got her out of a wheelchair & walking again in under 2 weeks though

yes salt & water helps rehydration pills help me more but If POTs is caused by B12d, then it's treatable. If it's affecting you to a degree you can't cope with, there are medications that can be life changing for some, but it needs a specialist Syncope cardiologist to correctly diagnose & treat.

Sorry, yes, heart rate not blood pressure, brain has gone to mush

My doctor always tells me they are surprised I am vertical because my blood pressure is so low. I guess it is meant to be but what I find is that I never have much energy (at least not for anything I consider not worthwhile lol). There have been occasions when I've 'stood up too fast' too and not been able to see for a few seconds xD I find that as long as I make sure I eat whenever I get hungry, I'm fine but if I put it off I can start to get weak and feel sick and lightheaded
pretty fast. So I would say, just encourage her not to neglect herself and maybe have snacks on hand always, just incase.

Sorry, yes, heart rate not blood pressure, brain has gone to mush 

No worries vision 😊 I know that feeling too well 😐

I forgot to mention. I have high BP & I'm not allowed to eat liquorice as it raises BP which is a bitch as I live ut😏

Maybe eating liquorice could help raise her BP ?

Thanks so much for all the information and advice. She's feeling a bit better today but I'm going to see how she gets on over the weekend and perhaps take her to the GP on Monday if she's still feeling dizzy.

Glad she's feeling a bit better.

I've had low blood pressure all my life (ranging from 90/60 - 100/70 generally) and every doctor, nurse and consultant I've ever seen said it's fine as long as you don't feel dizzy on a regular basis and drink enough water

I’ve always had low blood pressure too, but I’m petite so it’s entirely normal for my size.

Although I did panic my midwife when it dropped to 80/40, I still felt fine!

I was told to really up my fluids, increase salt and wear compression stockings on days that I know I'm going to be at a higher risk (lots of standing around, extra tired, longer day at work than usual etc).

My symptoms are also substantially worse when I've got a cold, or else a couple of days before a cold develops.

Eating little and often can help me too, so I try to make sure I'm never far away from a few nuts or something of that ilk (salty ones!).

Chickenvindasaag normal for the average yes. Have you any idea what *ops" dd b.p normally is?

Fwiw my bp was 91/68 this morning and I could really feel it. I normally take beta blockers which get to me at bout 70/50 but haven't taken them for weeks due to illness. So while my b.p is "normal", I certainly felt like i'd go down.

My gp's advice has always been get down with a very cold glass of water or fizzy juice.

Had no idea bout the liquorice, that's interesting. I dont like it though except the blue and pink round beady allsorts