What happens when you blackout?

What happens to a person when they blackout?

Someone who passes out has either fallen asleep or become unconscious because they consumed too much alcohol. During a blackout, an intoxicated person can still function as normal. They may seem articulate because most parts of the brain are alcohol-tolerant.

What are blackouts a sign of?

Generally, a blackout is described as a period of unconsciousness or lack of awareness when you are unable to recall what happened or what you did. Blackouts may occur as a result of brain damage, drug side effects, excessive alcohol consumption, or disorders affecting brain function, such as epilepsy.

What happens when you blackout for no reason?

Most unexplained blackouts are caused by syncope Many people, including doctors, assume that blackouts are due to epileptic seizures, but much more commonly they are due to syncope (pronounced sin-co-pee) – a type of blackout which is caused by a problem in the regulation of blood pressure or sometimes with the heart.

What does blacking out feel like?

Feeling lightheaded and weak and having the sensation of spinning are warning signs of fainting. If you notice any of these signs, sit and put your head between your knees to help get blood to your brain. You could also lie down to avoid injury due to falling. Don’t stand up until you feel better.

Does blacking out damage your brain?

Long-term effects can occur from drinking too much regularly, but again, brain damage is not directly caused by blacking out. A person who drinks heavily for a long time, and may experience frequent blackouts as a result, is more likely to experience general memory loss even if they are not intoxicated.

Can you blackout and still be awake?

Passing Out. A blackout is not the same as “passing out,” which means either falling asleep or losing consciousness from excessive alcohol consumption. During a blackout, a person is still awake but their brain is not creating new memories.

What causes a sudden blackout?

The most common cause of blacking out is fainting. Other causes include epileptic seizures, syncope due to anxiety (psychogenic pseudosyncope) and other rare causes of faints. Other causes of blacking out may be due to low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and lack of oxygen (hypoxia) from a variety of causes.

How long do blackouts last?

A blackout may last from a few minutes to several days. It ends when the body absorbs the alcohol, and the brain is able to form memories again. Sleep helps end blackouts, since rest gives the body time to process the alcohol. Even one blackout can be dangerous.

Can stress and anxiety cause blackouts?

Psychogenic blackouts: resulting from stress or anxiety. Psychogenic blackouts occur most often in young adults.

What mental illness causes blackouts?

A blackout, or transient loss of consciousness (T‐LOC) occurs because there is: a disorder of the circulation—syncope; a disorder of the brain—epilepsy (or other rare neurological condition); a disorder of the psyche—psychogenic seizures.

What causes your vision to go black?

Most commonly, this happens in older people with arteriosclerosis and possibly vascular disease, and is due to small clots breaking off of the walls of arteries and then lodging in the vessels of the eye. The clot obstructs the blood flow to the retina, and the vision blacks-out.

Does your heart stop when you faint?

A drop in blood flow to the brain causes fainting. The most common causes of fainting are usually not signs of a more serious illness. In these cases, you faint because of: The vasovagal reflex, which causes the heart rate to slow and the blood vessels to widen, or dilate.

What medications can cause blackouts?

Benzodiazepines (such as flunitrazepam, midazolam, and temazepam), barbiturates (such as phenobarbital), and other drugs which also act as GABA_A agonists, are known to cause blackouts as a result of high dose use.

What is a blackout in electricity?

A blackout is the full interruption of power. A brownout occurs when power generation cannot keep up and utilities dim your lights by “throttling” back the power, temporarily reducing system voltage or total capacity to prevent overload. A blackout will shut off lights, while a brownout causes lights to dim or flicker.