text: 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.  also, 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?   in celebration of everything that is  gloriously new in yahoo! anwers, i would appreciate it, if only serious answerers and experts would reply. 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.