5. The Sight Of Blood
You have to feel sorry for the husband or partner who has the tell the tale of being in the delivery room when their partner was in labor, only to miss the birth thanks to fainting at the sight of the blood and needles! Rather than being a sign of weakness, it is also an unfortunate vasovagal response that was triggered. It is uncommon, but it does happen – just ask nurses who take countless blood samples and they’ll readily recall tales of patients fainting.
The problem with the vasovagal response is that the vagus nerve actually causes a dual action: first, it will send your blood pressure soaring, then it will drop suddenly. However, you can train yourself not to faint at seeing blood. The trick is learning to tense your muscles. Practice sitting in a chair and doing so for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. When you feel faint, invoke muscle tension as it causes your blood pressure to rise steadily enough to allow you to circumvent the passing out response.