By Admin 
Blood donation is a great task, which saves many lives. However, some people complain like giving blood or immediately after, feeling lightness or fainting. This is a common problem and is usually not a major cause of concern. This can happen due to some common responses of the body. Let’s know the reasons behind this and ways to avoid it.
The main cause of dizziness
There can be many physical and mental reasons behind dizziness during blood donation:
- A sudden decline in blood pressure: This is one of the most common reasons. When about half a liter of blood is extracted from your body, the total amount of blood in the body is reduced for some time. This can cause blood pressure to fall suddenly. Due to lack of enough blood and oxygen to the brain, you may feel dizzy or feel lightning.
- reaction to nervousness or stress (Veso-Vaigal Reaction): This is a common physical reaction that can be caused by stress, nervousness, or pain. Seeing blood or needle, some people feel fear or anxiety. Due to this mental response, your venue vein gets stimulated, which slows the heartbeat and wide the veins of blood. As a result, both blood pressure and heartbeat fall, which reduces blood flow to the brain and you may get dizzy or you may also be unconscious.
- Dehydration in the body: If you do not drink enough water or other fluids before blood donation, then your body can be already less water. A large part of blood is water. In such a situation, when you give blood, there is further deficiency of fluid in the body, due to which blood pressure can fall even further.
- rapid rise: immediately after blood donation, standing or moving quickly can also cause a sudden change in blood pressure, which can cause dizziness. The body needs some time to coordinate with the amount of new blood.
How to avoid dizziness and what to do?
Some easy steps can be taken to reduce the possibility of dizziness:
- Drink plenty of water before donating blood: Eat plenty of water and other fluids (such as juice) 24 hours before blood donation. Drink good amount of water on the day of blood donation.
- Eat nutritious food: Eat a healthy and balanced diet before blood donation. Do not go on an empty stomach at all. Include iron -rich things (eg green leafy vegetables, pulses, dry fruits) in your food.
- Stay calm: If you are afraid of needles or blood, close your eyes during blood donation, take deep breaths, or try to focus on something. The staff of the blood donor center can also help you.
- Relax after blood donation: After giving blood, lie down on the chair for at least 10-15 minutes. Do not try to get up immediately.
- Take a light breakfast: After blood donation, take juice and biscuits or any light snack found at the center. This will help normalize your blood sugar and fluid levels.
- wake slowly: When you are asked to get up, get up slowly and stand near the chair for some time, then start walking.
Disclaimer: Some information given in the news is based on media reports. Before implementing any suggestion, you must consult the concerned expert.