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Micturition syncope on board: fainting while passing water over the rail
Short answer
Micturition syncope is a brief faint while or just after passing urine.
Ashore the risk is the fall, on board it is going over the guardrail.
Prevention is simple: use the heads, sit down, and at night stay clipped on and tell the watch.
Micturition syncope is a short loss of consciousness that happens while passing urine or straight afterwards. A reflex briefly lowers heart rate and blood pressure, the brain gets too little blood for a moment and the person faints, usually coming round within seconds. Doctors class it as a form of situational syncope. The faint itself is usually harmless. What makes it dangerous is where it happens, and on a boat that is often at the rail, passing water over the side.
Several things that come together on passage make fainting more likely: getting up from sleep for a night watch, a full bladder, alcohol in the evening, tiredness, a warm cabin, too little to drink and fluid lost through seasickness. Men are affected more often because they stand. Women can be affected too, for example after lying down for a long time or with low blood pressure. A man standing alone at the pushpit at night can topple over the low guardrail without a sound, and without a lifejacket and tether he is very hard to find in the dark.
Prevention costs little. Use the heads below, and men should sit down. Anyone who has to stay on deck should be clipped on, wear a lifejacket, kneel or sit, and tell the watch first. Get up slowly after sleeping, sit on the bunk for a moment, drink enough during the day and keep alcohol away from the night watch. Put these points into the crew safety brief. Anyone who has fainted should see a doctor, because a faint can have other causes such as heart rhythm problems. This page gives general information and is not medical advice.
Worth remembering
Seconds
is how long the faint usually lasts
One guardrail
between the deck and the sea at night
At night on board: the heads, not the rail, and clipped on, not alone.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
What is micturition syncope?
A brief faint while or just after passing urine. Heart rate and blood pressure drop by reflex, the person loses consciousness for a few seconds and usually comes round quickly.
Does micturition syncope happen in women?
Yes, though less often than in men, who more often stand to pass urine. Getting up from sleep, too little fluid or low blood pressure can bring it on in women too.
Can micturition syncope be fatal?
The faint itself rarely is. The danger lies in the fall: a head injury ashore, or on board going over the guardrail at night without anyone noticing.
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