Question: Is my niece hyperventilating? In the last 5 months my niece has passed out (fainted), the last episode being 2 nights ago when she was brought the ER.  Tests done confirmed she was very fine physically and a consultation with a psychologist/psychiatrist was suggested by the ER doctors. The ER doctors said she was hyperventilating and suggested some preventive measures including the "brown bag" thing. I am just curious if the diagnosis was right because in all 5 episodes she fainted. I did some quick research and I found that people experiencing hyperventilation do not necessarily faint. Are there any medical doctors/experts in Yahoo! Answers who can clarify this.\n\nAlso, the suggestion that she consults a psychologist or psychiatrist would indicate that her symptoms are psychosomatic, which then is the better professional to consult, a psychiatrist or a psychologist? \n\nIn celebration of everything that is  gloriously New in Yahoo! Anwers, I would appreciate it, if only serious answerers and experts would reply.

Answer: hyperventilation is breathing way too fast. Is she having this kind of symptom before she faints?  What kind of symptoms is she having? (besides fainting)  Fainting can be a symptom of so many things... low blood sugar, circulatory problems, blood pressure, pregnancy, and so on.  I bet if you googled  "fainting" or looked for a medical site that has a rundown of symptoms, you could better decide what is going on.  Seeing a regular doctor for a physical might help also, ER docs aren't the best resource for diagnosing complicated issues.
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