Why do I see little white explosions, or "stars" if I stand up too fast sometimes???

Question

Alot of the times, if I stand up to fast, I see a crapload of little white explosions or "stars" when I stand up. I also have seen them sometimes just for no reason. Some people have told me it is your brain cells dying, but Im not quite completely convinced. Someone, if you know what the "stars" are called and why we see them, please, please, PLEASEEEEE, help me out!!!!!! Thank, you

Jessica

Answer 1

it is called postural hypotension. i suffer from the same disorder. it is due to low blood pressure. when we sit there is slight pooling of blood in the lower extremities. and as the blood pressure is already low when we stand up suddenly the blood can not be pumped strongly enough (due to the low BP) to reach the brain. hence there is a sudden temporary depression of the brain function. in fact, i've even passed out once when i jumped up to quickly, once. so just slow down a little, literally.

Answer 2

This is because your brain is not getting enough blood (or oxygen). This can be called a near-syncopal event. or a brown-out. It occurs because as you stand up quickly, you cardiovascular system cannot compensate quickly enough to maintain your blood pressure and therefore blood flow. It takes several seconds or almost a minute to compensate fully. This typically happens in people who have low BP, or have orthostatic hypotension, or are on drugs that interfere with heart rate, heart contractility, vascular tone, etc. like antihypertensive, autonomic meds or psycho-active drugs. Your brain cells would die only if the lack of blood flow (and oxygen) continued for > 5 minutes. But you would also pass out and probably need CPR at that point.

Answer 3

don't get up to soon, it might be an orthostatic hypotension. it's a sudden drop of your blood pressure when you change your position from lying to an upright position. check your blood pressure and see your doctor instead of believing on those craps.