Sudden Illness
Unit 5: Chapter 15
• A partial or complete loss of consciousness
• Caused by a temporary reduction of blood flow to the brain
– When the brain is deprived of blood it momentarily shuts down
• Triggered by:
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Emotionally stressful situations
Pain
Specific medical conditions
Standing for long periods of time or overexertion
Suddenly changing positions (laying down to standing up)
 May occur with or without warning
 Warning signs:
 Sweating
 Vomiting
 Distortion or dimming of vision
 Head or abdominal pain
 Self-correcting condition
 Typically victim will regain consciousness within a minute
 Falling usually the cause of injury not fainting itself
 Place the victim on their back & elevate their feet ~ 12in
 Loosen restrictive clothing
 Check for life-threatening injuries
 Do Not:
 Give the victim food or water
 Slap the victim
 Splash water on their face
 If the victim recovers quickly there is no need to call 9-1-1
 Call physician or emergency department to determine whether
the episode is linked to a more serious condition
 AKA Diabetes
 A condition in which the body does not produce enough
insulin* or does not use insulin effectively
 6th leading cause of death in America (2007)
 ~18.2 million Americans currently living with diabetes
 Leads to other health related diseases
 Kidney, heart & periodontal (tooth) disease
 Stroke
* A hormone produced in the pancreas. Needed for sugar to pass into
the cells.
 Diabetic emergency
 A situation in which a victim becomes ill because of an
imbalance of insulin and sugar in the bloodstream
 Without the proper balance of sugar and insulin, the cells
will starve and the body will not function properly
 Type I diabetes (insulin-dependent) - The body
produces little or no insulin
 Tends to develop in childhood
 Have to take daily injections of insulin
 Type II diabetes (non-insulin-dependent) – The body
produces insulin, but either the cells do not use the insulin
effectively or not enough insulin is produced
 May not need injections of insulin; Only regulated diet
 Hyperglycemia – Insulin levels are too low, the sugar
levels in the blood are too high
 Hypoglycemia – Insulin levels are too high, the sugar
levels in the blood are too low
 Sugar is used up too rapidly from:
 Took too much insulin
 Fails to eat adequate or due to sudden illness cannot keep food
or liquids down
 Over exercises and burns off sugar faster than normal
 Experiences great emotional stress
 Because of the lack of sugar the brain will not function
properly
 Changes in level of consciousness
 Dizziness, drowsiness and confusion
 Irregular breathing
 Abnormal pulse (rapid or weak)
 Feeling or looking ill
 If the victim is conscious:
 Check for non-life-threatening injuries
 Food
 Give them sugar
 Fruit juices, candy etc
 If the victim is unconscious:
 Call 9-1-1
 Monitor signs of life and breathing
 DO NOT try to give anything by mouth
 When the normal function of the brain are disrupted, the
electrical activity becomes irregular resulting in the loss of
body control
 Causes:
 Injury
 Disease
 Fever
 Poisoning
 Infections
 Or a chronic condition, Epilepsy
 Generally last 1-3 minutes
 Victim may experience an Aura
 Unusual sensation or feeling such as a visual hallucination;
strange sounds, taste or smell; or an urgent need to get to safety
 When the victim is seizing:
 Their breathing may become irregular or stop
 Drool
 The eyes may roll upwards
 Body may become rigid
Non-convulsive
Convulsive
 Mild blackouts
 More severe
 Body will remain relatively
 Sudden, uncontrolled
still
 Bystanders may mistake it
for daydreaming
muscular contractions
 Lasting several minutes
 Do Not hold or restrain the victim
 Can cause musculoskeletal injuries
 Do Not place anything inside of their mouths
 Victims of seizures rarely bite their tongue or cheeks
 Move any objects such as furniture away from the victim
 So the victim does not injure themselves on it
 Try to stay calm
 When the seizure is over, the victim will usually become
drowsy and disoriented
 Allow them to rest
 Reassure the victim
 Check for life-threatening & non-life-threatening injuries
 If is the victim is known to have periodic seizures then calling 9-1-
1 may not be needed.
 Call 9-1-1 if:
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Seizure lasts more than 5 min
Repeated seizures without regaining consciousness
Victim appears to be injured
No predisposing condition (epilepsy)
Is pregnant
Is an infant or child experiencing a febrile seizure
Has diabetes
Takes place in water
Fails to regain consciousness after seizure
 Infants or young children who may be at risk for epilepsy, as
well as for seizures brought on by a rapid increase in body
temperature.
 Most common in children under 5 who run a rectal fever of
102º
 Triggered by infections of the:
 Ear
 Throat
 Digestive system
 A sudden rise in body temp
 Change in the level of consciousness
 Rhythmic jerking of the head and limbs
 Urinating or defecating
 Confusion
 Drowsiness
 Crying out
 Becoming rigid
 Holding the breath
 Rolling the eyes upward
 Cool the body down immediately (be careful not to cool of
the child too much)
 Remove clothing
 Give the child a lukewarm sponge bath
 Contact the infants physician
 Make the infant comfortable
 Do not try to restrain the child
 Do not place anything in their mouth
 Cerebrovascular or “brain attack”
 A disruption of blood flow to a part of the brain, causing
permanent damage to brain tissue
 Causes:
 Blood clots
 Ruptured arteries in the brain caused by a head injury, or high
blood pressure
 Aneurysm – a weak area in the wall of an artery that balloons
out and can rupture
 Atherosclerosis
 Tumor or swelling from a head injury may compress an artery
 “Mini-Stroke”
 A temporary episode that is caused by a disruption in blood
flow to a part of the brain
 Signals usually disappear within minutes or hours upon onset
 Victims who experience TIA have a greater chance of having
a stroke
 Call 9-1-1 situation
 High blood pressure
 Increases risk of stroke 7x’s
 Puts pressure on the arteries, and makes them likely to burst
Unpreventable
 Age
Preventable
 Control your blood
 Genetics
 Family history of stroke

 TIA
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 Diabetes
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 Heart disease

pressure
Do not smoke
Eat a healthy Diet
Exercise regularly
Control diabetes
 Looking or feeling ill
 Displaying abnormal behavior
 Weakness and numbness in the face, arms or legs
 Usually on 1 side of the body (left – most commonly)
 Difficulty talking
 Blurred or dimmed vision
 Unequal eye pupils
 Severe headache
 Dizziness
 Confusion
 Change in mood
 Ringing in the ears
 Drooling
 Unconscious
 Lose bowel or bladder control
 Call 9-1-1 situation
 If unconscious, make sure the airway is open
 If conscious, check from non-life-threatening injuries
 Reassure the victim
 Do not give them anything to eat or drink
 Use simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions