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Fainting

Fainting Overview

Fainting, which medical professionals call syncope (pronounced SIN-ko-pea), is a temporary loss of consciousness. Unlike a seizure, the person who faints usually regains alertness soon after regaining consciousness. Fainting is caused by a temporary loss of the brain’s blood supply. Fainting can sometimes be a sign of a more serious condition.

People of any age can faint, but elderly persons more often have a serious underlying cause.



Next: Fainting Causes »

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Fainting

Vertigo Overview

Vertigo is the feeling that you or your environment is moving or spinning. It differs from dizziness in that vertigo describes an illusion of movement. When you feel as if you yourself are moving, it's called subjective vertigo, and the perception that your surroundings are moving is called objective vertigo.

Unlike nonspecific lightheadedness or dizziness, vertigo has relatively few causes.

Vertigo Causes

Vertigo can be caused by problems in the brain or the inner ear.

  • Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common form of vertigo and is characterized by the sensation of motion initiated by sudden head movements or moving the head in a certain direction. This type of vertigo is rarely serious and can be treated.

  • Vertigo may also be caused by inflammation within the inner ear (labyrinthitis), which is characterized by the sudden onset of...

Read the Vertigo article »



Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine

Syncope and Related Paroxysmal Spells »

Syncope is a term used to describe the loss of consciousness from temporary disruption of cerebral oxygenation.

Read More on eMedicine »

Medical Dictionary