St John Ambulance, the nation’s leading first aid charity, is bringing you some simple, but life saving, first aid tips – this week: learn how to deal with fainting.

Fainting is when someone briefly loses responsiveness, often causing the person fall to the ground. It happens because for a moment there is not enough blood flowing to the brain.

People often faint as a reaction to pain, exhaustion, hunger, or emotional stress. It is also common after someone has been standing or sitting still for a long period, especially if they’re feeling hot.

When someone faints, their pulse slows right down but it usually picks up and goes back to normal soon afterwards.

If someone who’s fainted doesn’t come around after a couple of minutes, then this could be more serious.

There are three key signs of someone fainting:
• Brief loss of responsiveness, often causing them to fall to the ground
• A slow pulse
• Pale cold skin and sweating

What you need to do
• If someone’s feeling faint, tell them to lie down
• Kneel next to them and raise their legs, supporting their ankles on your shoulders to help blood flow back to the brain. Watch their face for signs that they’re recovering
• Make sure that they have plenty of fresh air – ask bystanders to move away and if you’re inside then ask someone to open a window
• Reassure the casualty and help them to sit up slowly
• If they don’t regain responsiveness again quickly, open their airway, check their breathing and prepare to treat someone who is unresponsive

For those looking for quick, easily accessible first aid information, the St John Ambulance app is available free on smartphones and the website www.sja.org.uk offers demo videos, an interactive game, and lots of free advice.

Article supplied by Kate Rutsch