Why some people faint at the sight of blood

Writes Bill Briggs: Ever grabbed some floor after glimpsing some blood?

Does a mere peek at the red stuff – yours or anybody’s – make you feel woozy and
wobbly?

If so, you can thank your Uncle Caveman or Aunt Cavewoman.

This reaction is primeval stuff, buried deep within our brains. It goes by the name
"vasovagal syncope." More importantly, medical experts believe fainting at the sight of
blood probably helped some of our ancestors survive some horrible things. (So stop
teasing folks who take a quick trip to Dreamland whenever they spot the tiniest trickle of
the vital fluid: We may owe them our very existence.)

While only a portion of humans experience the phenomenon, “it’s a reflex that’s built into
every person on this planet,” says Dr. Fred Jaeger, medical director of the Center for
Syncope and Autonomic Disorders at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. He’s studied these
bewildering blackouts for 26 years.

“Times of severe stress or injury or fear can trigger the reflex: your blood pressure drops,
your heart rate slows,” Jaeger says. Most medical experts speculate that such fainting
spells are likely rooted in evolution – an ancient instinct that somehow kept a foothold in
our DNA as we spent eons maturing.

“For example, if you’re a caveman and another caveman man comes over and cuts your
arm off, the sight of blood or injury may cause you to faint,” Jaeger says. “So when you’re
laying there on the ground, you’ll look like you’re dead to the other caveman and he won’t
cut your head off.

“This goes back to the time when we were hunter-gatherers, warriors, Cro-Magnon
people,” he adds “Vasovagal syncope probably had some benefit – if you were injured and
you lived to fight another day, the gene would be carried on. Just like survival of the
fittest.”

Another bonus for those early humans who keeled over at first blood: their blood
pressures dips and heart rate drops also slowed their bleeding, which helped the stay alive.

While doctors believe the reaction is unique to humans and primates, some animals – like
possums and a certain breed of goats – are known to swoon and become momentarily
unresponsive when peril is present.

About six in 10 people will faint at least once due to this strange syncope. Common
triggers include pain, standing for long periods or standing suddenly after a big meal.
When the sight of blood causes the collapse, doctors dub that “phobic fainting.” For
people who suffer chronic, fear-based fainting spells, (like going to the dentist) doctors will
prescribe medications that work with their brains or nervous systems to keep them
upright.

But why do an unfortunate few go horizontal each time they catch a flash of blood?

Researchers are analyzing genes and hormone levels. They’re hunting for clues in enzyme
deficiencies.

“What is it in the makeup of easy fainters? We’ve got to suspect they just have this gene
that is very easily triggered,” Jaeger says. “But that is the million-dollar question.”