Gower Syndrome

What your daughter is experiencing is also called a vasovagal syncope. I remember my very first day in med school we visited a dialysis unit and 2 students in our group fainted at the sight of blood. It has very little to do with "fear", but is a very deep seated response triggered by the autonomous nervous system.
I have low blood pressure and experience random fainting associated with that. It's not quite the same, but I think there are two ways you can help her:
- start teaching her to recognize situations that might lead to her fainting. As in my example above many people do learn to deal with this and many people may even get used enough to their triggers (sight of blood is a very common one) to become doctors :)
- teach her to protect herself when fainting. As someone else said, I have learned to feel the symptoms come on and react immediately before I fall and possibly hit my head. One thing that helps and sometimes help prevent total loss of consciousness is squatting. It helps in two ways: one is that you are close to the ground and less likely to injure yourself if fainting.
The other is physiological: squatting raises blood pressure by lowering the blood flow to the legs.
If in the future it does interfere with her ability to live a normal life, there are medications that may help (certain antidepressants for example)... but that would not really be a consideration until she is older.
Good luck!

Well, I know someone who does the same thing and he is in his 50's...........but, he didn't get any help for it.........and yes, he has learned to control it most of the time..........

I think she needs to talk to someone........a person who can talk to her about her fears, and anxiety. Someone who can help her deal with the issues........

I would ask your doctor about counseling for you and her......and see if you can help her get through this a little bit easier. I would also talk to her and introduce her to new things, tell her what to expect and how she might feel.

Good Luck and take care.

I actually had this problem as a child, fainted when I got my ears pierced at 6 and that was the start. The problem continued into my teen years -- I even passed out once in the shower because I got soap in my eye.

I was fearful during my first pregnancy because I wasn't sure how my body would handle the pain. However things were fine, I've not had any issues since I was a teen.

I hope the same for your daughter!!

My daugher has this. Aside from the great advice you have gotten to cope when you are feeling faint, you should keep her filled up with fluids. This keeps her blood volume higher. When she has her reaction, what is happening is her blood vessels are dialating at an inappropriate time in her legs, taking excess blood to her legs. Her body isn't going to allow the brain to have a lack of blood, so it repsonds by falling to the ground, and allowing the blood to flow easier to the brain at that level. If the blood volume is higher, there is more to go around, and she will be able to cope better when this happens to her. Your daughter isn't dehydrated, that isn't really it. But she just needs this extra boost to keep things steady. My daughter was allowed to keep a water bottle at her desk during elementary school so she could drink during the day.

Also if it continues talk to a neurologist. My daughter was diagnosed with orthostatic intolerance and certain things can trigger her body's response. As someone mentioned earlier this is part of the autonomic system. My daughter was diagnosed through a tilt table test at University Hospitals in Cleveland. They have an autonomic lab there. Her condition was not diagnosed through any of the tests that you mentioned your daughter has had. We also worked with a biofeedback doctor who taught her how to manage her symptoms. This may be something you may want to check out. They could teach her how to work through her symptoms and the stress that goes along with it. Good luck to you.

My sibs and I all have it. I don't think that you really outgrow it but you learn coping techniques. I remember fainting in HS in health class going over the early warning signs of pregnancy. I learned to put my head down and take deep breathes or to walk out of the situation when possible. I still faint when a situation takes me unaware but usually I start to get a ringing in my ears which let's me work to control it.

I faint when I hit my knee in a certain way, but that's the only time.

I wouldn't worry about it too much if it doesn't go away. She should have lived in the 19th century when women fainted all the time over everything (at least according to Jane Austen novels and the like).

Actually, edit: The bad thing about it, (not to cause you to worry), is that you can hit your head when you fall. So I believe, per the post below, that you CAN learn to control it. I've learned to control it when I hit my knee. When I start to feel dizzy I just tell myself to stay in control, and focus really hard on not fainting, and it seems to work.