[TowerTalk] Passing Out When Looking Up

[Ward Silver]

> As he described   he looked to the SKY and that was IT  He Fainted

This is a common precursor to trips to the Emergency Room for older
adults, usually male.  The most usual situation is working on a ladder
- like cleaning gutters or putting up lights or something.  Pass out,
fall off ladder, go to the hospital.

The doctors on the list can clarify/correct but the cause is
restricting blood flow in the arteries at the base of the brain when
tipping one's head back.  It seems to be a condition that becomes more
pronounced with age.

You can test this on the ground.  Stand straight and tall - then tip
your head back as far as it will go without bending your back.  A few
seconds of readjustment in equilibrium is more or less normal.  If the
condition persists or if you get really dizzy or worse, you have a
problem to have checked out by your doctor.  It is better to find this
out at ground level than aloft.

73, Ward N0AX