10 Causes of Lightheadedness
10. Blood Loss
A normal healthy adult will have up to 1.5 gallons of blood in their body. Thus, important blood loss has to occur to produce signs and symptoms. Specifically, the first serious symptoms can start to appear with a blood loss of 30%-40% of total blood volume. Blood loss commonly occurs through bleeding, which can be internal and external. Causes of internal bleeding include trauma, gastrointestinal conditions (i.e. esophageal varices, peptic ulcer disease, cancer), infections (i.e. viral hemorrhagic fevers), and hematologic diseases. On the other hand, trauma is the most common cause of external blood loss.
Blood loss can cause a decrease in total blood volume, also known as hypovolemia. Consequently, blood pressure can drop, impairing the blood supply to important organs like the brain. Lightheadedness is one of the symptoms that occurs when the brain does not receive enough oxygen.
Advertisement
