How to Write a [Near]-Fainting Experience
Brought to you by Super Editor in 2011, revised 2020

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You've probably all read books or seen movies in which a character passes out. The heroine might swoon gracefully and collapse onto the floor or into the hero's arms. People rush to bring water, a doctor, or something to revive her. She then wakes up, rosy-cheeked and a bit distressed, and she fans herself for a while while insisting that she is fine.

Fainting in real life is not nearly so beautiful. Authors, especially ones with no experience, can sometimes fall for such idealized descriptions. I am (un)fortunate enough to have experience in this area, so I will share it here.

Types of Fainting

Quick Losses of Consciousness

Usually this involves an impact or a sudden pain. The character may have no idea what happened to them afterwards, and later results vary depending on the severity of any injuries sustained.

Here are a few examples:

• A relative of mine used to work as a waitress during her teenage years, and her sister would work with her. One day they was washing dishes and her sister came up behind her with a tray. The tray hit my relative's funny bone (a nerve in the elbow). She gasped, shocked by the pain. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor, looking at the worried faces of the staff peering down at her.
  
• Another family member fainted out of fear. She put her head down on the counter like she was sleeping. Then she collapsed. My dad caught her and lowered her safely to the floor. She experienced convulsions for perhaps 30 seconds (which are rare but possible during fainting). Then she opened her eyes and asked "What happened?" As far as she knew, she was standing one second and on the floor the next.

Quick losses of consciousness tend to be very abrupt and therefore sometimes confusing for the person who has fainted. This makes them fairly easy to write.

Sometimes the character may not lose consciousness immediately. For example, they may suddenly feel dizzy, see dark shadows around the edges of their vision, and then lose consciousness.

It's also possible do experience strange visions during a blackout.

• Nobody fainted after feeling a sharp pain on the back of her spine for no specific reason. She lost all awareness of what she was doing. People near her said that she arched her back and reached for the spot. She passed out with her eyes open and stopped moving for about a minute. She saw visions of Disney movies during that time, and then woke up, feeling a bit nauseous, and felt all right soon afterwards. This turned out to be a seizure.
• When I was about ten years old, I fell off a playground and hit my head. Right when I hit the ground, I was entertained by a split-second vision of Tigger jumping joyfully right by a Christmas tree. I could even hear him whoop. Then I woke up, and like the proud little girl I was, refused to cry. I had an awful headache.

Slower Losses of Consciousness

This tends to be the whole heroine-drops-unrealistically-into-hero's-arms part. In reality, it is neither graceful, feminine, nor quick, and losing consciousness might take 1-15 minutes.

Reason

Reasons can vary a lot. They need to be realistic! Heat, bad injuries, over-exhaustion, dehydration (usually in combination with one of these), shocking experiences, bad headaches, illness, low blood pressure/blood sugar and phobias are generally things that can make characters swoon.

Preceding Unconsciousness

This part should be believable. Personal experience is especially helpful in writing a fainting scene. Taste should be used; it isn't wise to list off symptoms for a whole page. Here are some of the things that characters might observe:

• Feelings of being very hot or cold
• Other characters may notice a changed body temperature if they touch the person. I remember a near-fainting incident in which my mom touched me with an icy cold hand, said I felt very hot, and asked if I was sick.
• Distress and recognition that they are NOT okay
• Pale or flushed face
• Nausea or feeling like they may vomit
• Weak limbs; stumbling when trying to sit
• Weak voice (making it difficult to call for help)
• Exhaustion and trying to lie down; difficulty keeping the head up
• Temporary deafness or ringing in ears (rarely)
• Strange vision effects
• Patchy dark colors, like grains of sand, beginning to cover their vision. (Close your eyes and you'll see colors.) If you've ever steped out of a hot shower or stood up too quickly and seen those colors swarm in front of your eyes, then you'll have a good idea of what fainting is like... except the colors don't go away after a few seconds. It is possible to walk with these colors in your way (you can still feel your surroundings), but it's not recommended. These colors may close in as your character begins to lose consciousness.
• Blurry or darkening vision
• Vision "whiting out" or temporary blindness, sometimes for a few minutes

Actual Fainting

The person will likely remember some details about what happened before they passed out, though sometimes they forget traumatic instances.

For example, the deviant Nobody lost consciousness when she dislocated her knee while on a ladder. Terrified, she began to fall off, trying to cling to the rungs of the ladder. The last thing she remembered was the sight of the parking lot far below her, which was "engraved" into her mind. She woke up on the living room floor with her parents and sister.

When a character loses consciousness in a traumatic incident, the character is likely to forget most of it. The brain will sometimes avoid "recording" particularly traumatic events, especially accidents, which would leave the character clueless about what happened. (For example, I know someone who collided with a truck when driving a motorcycle several years ago. He has no memory of it. That's probably for the best.)

During unconsciousness

Other people should try to catch the person as they fall. Above all, prevent them from hitting their head. Concussions are much more serious than popular media suggests; the effects of one fall can be life-altering.

First aid

Mayo Clinic recommends laying the person on their back and raising their legs about a foot above heart level if possible to improve blood flow to the brain. Loosen belts, collars, and tight clothing.

People should also double-check that the person is breathing. If they're not breathing easily (like if it sounds very labored or their lips/fingertips turn blue), if they had chest pain, or if they don't wake up within a minute or two, then it's time to call emergency services.

If the person is vomiting or bleeding from the mouth, they should be laid on their side to prevent choking.

Convulsive syncope

Some people experience twitching, jerking, or convulsions during fainting. This isn't a seizure; it's just something that happens in about 10% of cases.

A family member of mine has had these episodes more than once. She falls to the floor and her limbs begin to jerk. Her eyes may open and stare; she may look at us but there's no recognition. She has also reached up into the air, touching nothing. One time when she was near a kitchen counter and her legs were jerking, my dad asked me to get between her and the counter so she couldn't kick the hard surface too hard.

Even though their eyes may be open for some of the incident, that doesn't mean they're awake. She has no memory of these convulsions.

Recovery

If they hit their head, they'll have head pain and will need to be checked for a concussion.

With medical help

A medical professional or experienced person will know exactly what to do.

The character will be told to sit or lie down. If sitting, the character should bend over so that they're staring at their knees. Long hair will be smoothed out of the way, and a wet cloth should be draped over the back of the character's neck or on the forehead. The character may be given ice water to drink. Juice or cookies may be given to improve blood sugar. Any sweaters, coats, or jackets should've been removed.

The character should be asked basic questions (such as their name) to make sure that they aren't too disoriented and, if in a hospital setting, the character's blood pressure should be taken.

They should also have someone watching over them until they have fully recovered.

Without medical help

The character will probably just be told to sit or lie down until they feel better. The second time I almost fainted, my mom had me sit in a screened-in porch. (She later said that she thought the surrounding trees would help me calm down. Yeah, blood really scares me.)

Standing up to move is not a good idea. The colors will multiply in front of the character's eyes, making it hard to see where they're going (though they may pretend they are all right).

How it feels

If nobody was able to protect their head in time, then their head will probably hurt.

Here's an example timeline.

• Right away: The character will lie down or sit if there is not a bed, couch, or cot available. It's a good idea to take deep breaths.
• If they lost consciousness, they'll probably be disoriented at first.
• First 5-10 minutes: Any stomach pains or nausea will remain. Stomach pains may intensify... very, very painfully. Small children may end up crying, while older children, teenagers, and some adults might be whimpering on the couch.
• First 10-15 minutes: The character may still feel extremely hot. Excess clothing should be removed.
• If there is water available, the character will use it to relieve the heat. Drinking it, pouring it on his/her self, or dipping his/her fingers in in it and applying it to the forehead, cheeks, back of neck, and perhaps even legs or stomach are all ways to cool down.
• About 15 minutes: If the character nearly fainted due to an experience involving intense fear, the character might calm down (as in, completely) around now.
• First 20 minutes: The character's limbs may feel weak and shaky, though it may not be noticeable to others.
• After 30 minutes: The character may be mostly or completely recovered.

Please note that this is an approximate timeline based mostly on personal experience. Different people will experience different symptoms depending on the situation and how their body usually works.

Real-life example: Nobody once had a near-fainting experience in a hospital. Her dad had been involved in a collision. When she saw him, she was flooded with a mix of relief that he would be all right and horror at the sight of the blood. At first she felt like vomiting, and then she felt cold and began experiencing blurry vision and saw spots of color. The nurse had her sit and drink ice water. She sat there for five to ten minutes, breathing deeply, and returned to normal. (Her dad is better now.)

Types of fainting

Heatstroke

Heatstroke is usually more common in warmer places. Sometimes milder instances can even happen indoors! (My parents used to avoid spending money on air conditioning despite extremely hot weather. I would lie down on the floor. Sometimes I cried. They revised that policy.)

Nobody has experienced heatstroke before. Here's her account of it:

"It was summer, so my parents and I went to the park. I was rollerskating for a while around an hour and then I felt really weird - my heart jumped like a crazy kangaroo, and I felt like if I was hit in the head and my temperature feelings got mixed together - I felt that my body is overheating but it wasn't hot as well as not really cold.... More like a fever, you know. My vision got blurry and perspective got a little funny (hard to explain if you haven't experienced anything alike); I started to see colour spots and they were flying. I guess somewhere here my step-father grabbed me and run to the car, because i couldn't stand on my feet anymore. Very odd feeling - from one hand you understand that something is wrong, but at the same time everything looks so distant.
I didn't felt nausea or anything like that probably because my parents spotted that something was wrong early. In the car, I was given water, at first warm and colder a little later. Mom helped me to put off my roller skates and I felt better."

Feelings of fatigue usually accompany heatstroke as well. Sometimes this makes things difficult during minor instances of heatstroke, because a character should move to a cooler place, but the character lacks the energy to get up and doesn't really feel like it. Usually laying on the floor for ten minutes is enough. (My parents don't seem to like this when I do, though. Honestly, when you're that hot and tired, you don't care about the dirt.)

Low Blood Pressure

People with very low blood pressure can suffer from near-fainting or fainting experiences when standing up. Habits and genetics can influence this.

When I stand up after sitting for a while, sometimes I see colors in front of my eyes, the same ones that you see when you close your eyes. A rush of heat occasionally accompanies them. They might come about 30 seconds after standing up, and last for another 30 seconds, sometimes less. It's minor enough that I can just continue walking (although when it's pretty bad, the colors block most or all of my vision). I've even gone halfway up the stairs, completely blinded by dancing colors, which faded away by the time I was halfway up. They were such an ordinary experience that I used to think that everyone saw them.

Sometimes the person could actually faint.

In conclusion

I hope this ancient resource helps you write a scene. Now you may have a basic understanding of what it feels like to [nearly] faint and recover. Don't be afraid to check out multiple online resources to help you get a clearer sense of how it feels.

Perhaps you have a specific character and scene in mind, or perhaps you're just like a bored writer looking for resources. It doesn't matter. You have your description guide, so... go knock yourself out!