Causes Of Sudden Loss Of Consciousness

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Causes of sudden loss of consciousness

The causes of loss of consciousness can be different, but they all usually boil down to one thing: acute cerebrovascular accident. But what led to it is the next question. A sudden loss of consciousness may not have any special consequences for the body, but it can have the most serious consequences, it all depends on what exactly happened, where it happened, and how quickly and effectively the help was provided.

How exactly does a person lose consciousness? As a result of any damaging factors, blood circulation in the brain decreases, up to its complete cessation. This stops the processes of higher nervous activity, leaving only the "emergency support system" - the autonomic nervous system - to function, so to speak. Such a reasonable structure of the body ensures its survival, otherwise any loss of consciousness, and this happens not so rarely, would immediately lead to death.

So, the cause of loss of consciousness can be direct damage to the vessels of the brain as a result of direct or indirect trauma. This is perhaps the most serious type of loss of consciousness, but, fortunately, the most rare, more likely to be related to emergency situations. More often the cause of loss of consciousness is spasm of the cerebral vessels. Hypothermia, overheating, severe shock, taking certain medications that affect the cardiovascular system can lead to spasm.

A brief loss of consciousness is called fainting. Remember the languid young ladies described in the old novels, who were forced to carry a bottle of smelling salts with them because they fainted every now and then? Evil tongues argue that the matter was not at all in the sensitivity of the young ladies, rather, in this case, the cause of loss of consciousness was a violation of blood circulation as a result of squeezing of blood vessels by uncomfortable clothing, due to which, with the slightest excitement, the blood ceased to flow normally to the brain.

If the cause of loss of consciousness does not consist in direct trauma, then first-aid assistance is reduced to measures that help to establish cerebral circulation as soon as possible. A person who faints should be laid down with his legs raised, the top buttons unfastened, the squeezing clothing should be loosened, if it happens indoors, fresh air should be provided. If a person is in an unconscious state, he cannot be left alone until medical help arrives or he comes to his senses.

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