When you feel dizzy and light-headed as though you are going to faint, sit down and put your head between your knees. If you're in an appropriate place, lie down with your feet and torso elevated so that your head is lower than your heart. That's the secret of preventing a faint-getting your head lower than your heart so that blood can rush to your brain.

Natural home remedies
In India, instead of smelling salts, people take a couple of strong whiffs of half an onion to bring them around.

If it's a scorcher of a day and you're feeling every degree of it, or if you're in a very warm room that's making you feel faint, just run cold tap water over the insides of your wrists. If there are ice cubes around, rub them on your wrists. Relief is almost immediate.

A friend of ours is a paramedic. When one of her patients is about to faint, she pinches the patient's philtrum-the fleshy part between the upper lip and nose. That prevents the faint from happening.

If you're prone to fainting spells-a case of the vapors, perhaps-keep pepper handy. Sniff a grain or two and sneeze. The sneeze stimulates the brain's blood vessels and may help prevent fainting. It's good to remember, since not many households have smelling salts, but just about all have black pepper.

Check your eating habits. Are you eating regularly at mealtimes? Are you eating good, wholesome meals with a sufficient amount of protein, and without an excess of sweets and refined foods? Sometimes low blood sugar or a poor diet can cause a person to faint.

CAUTI0N: If you faint and don't know why, consult a doctor. Fainting can be a symptom of an ailment that needs medical attention.