In recent years adolescents increasingly complain to parents and doctors about occasional blackouts in their eyes. This condition is quite common, and it is not the reason for concern if happens rarely and briefly. But it happens that children suffer from precollaptoid states, when sharply and often the world go dark before teenager’s eyes for a long time. In this case you need to contact a neurologist as soon as possible.
Let us investigate in details, why teenagers may have blackouts in their eyes.
The most common reason is the autonomic dysfunction, which mostly occurs in the form of neurocirculatory asthenia. In general, the human autonomic nervous system is responsible for such important functions as support and maintenance of the body internal environment constancy. This constancy is guaranteed by the vital body systems: cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine ones and their main indicators (blood pressure, heart rate and respiration, body temperature, sweating, metabolic rate).
If we talk in general about autonomic dysfunction, it is a pathological condition of the body, characterized by a symptom-complex of psycho-emotional, sensorimotor and vegetative activity disorders associated with suprasegmental and segmental autonomic imbalance of various organs and systems functions. That is, it is the autonomic nervous system dysfunction, which leads to a “failure” in the work of the internal organs and body systems.
The peculiarities of neurocirculatory asthenia based on the contradictions between the body rapid growth and supportability of ensuring this growth with the vessels. The lag in vascular support often turns into precollaptoid states – a direct result of blood pressure variations – from which the blackouts in adolescents result.
The list of complaints of neurocirculatory asthenia is varied and along with the blackouts may include:
- Heart pain (piercing and short-term or aching and prolonged);
- Headache;
- Heart malfunction;
- Feeling short of breath;
- Pulse and blood pressure instability;
- The feeling of fear, sweating, dizziness, weakness.
It is worth noting that in 80-90% of children with autonomic dysfunction born as a result of fast, rapid, more rarely prolonged labor, with the use of various types of obstetric aid. That is, even the smallest birth trauma, which can be accompanied by cervical spine injuries, can have negative impact with the years.
Also, among the main reasons of teenager’s blackouts is the development of degenerative processes in cervical spine. The most common and dangerous is juvenile osteochondrosis.
Cervical spine abnormality (functional instability and juvenile osteochondrosis of cervical spine) brings a lot of unpleasant sensations, which is associated with the nearby vessels and nerve trunks involvement in pathological process. Therefore, along with blackouts, the first symptoms include cerebralgia, neck crunch, dizziness and fatigue. Also, the child may have fainting, neck, shoulders or arms pain senses.
Signs of functional instability and juvenile cervical spine osteochondrosis development may be motor dysfunctions, impaired hearing or vision. These symptoms indicate a lack of oxygen in the brain due to the clamping by a displaced vertebra or vertebral artery disk.
The other, but no less important, reasons of child’s blackouts are:
- Strong emotional or physical exhaustion;
- Oversensitivity to any environment and internal state changes (high air temperature, stuffy room, emotional tension, fear);
- Low blood pressure (complaint: “I see blackouts when I get up in the morning”)
- Poor nutritional status, energy decline;
- Diabetes;
- Some infectious diseases.
Therefore, we strongly recommend you to not hesitate and visit the doctor, because the sooner you detect the disease and begin treatment – the better result you will achieve!
You can make an appointment for a consultation with a pediatric neurologist by calling the call centre (044) 238-22-31 or children’s department (044) 272-11-82.
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