Doctors warn against using 'first aid measure' for fainting circulating on social media

"[For] first aid press hard in the centre of [area] under the nose," reads the Indonesian-language sticker text on a Facebook video uploaded on November 5, 2023.

"First aid when losing consciousness. PRESS BETWEEN THE NOSE AND LIPS," the caption reads.

The 51-second video appears to show a man who passed out regaining consciousness after a woman slaps his face and presses down on his philtrum -- the groove in the space between the nose and the upper lip.

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on November 28, 2023

The video has been viewed more than 11.9 million times after it was shared alongside similar false claims on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and SnackVideo.

It was also shared by Malaysian Facebook users here and here.

A reverse image search on Baidu found the video was shared by a Chinese social media user based in Chinese metropolis Shanghai on TikTok sibling app Douyin on October 11, 2023.

"Emergency incident on the metro, luckily staff got there quickly, wishing this grandpa a quick recovery, filmed live," the simplified Chinese caption reads.

The signs and metro seat colour matches those of Shanghai's Metro Line 15 (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in the false posts (left) and the video from Douyin (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the video shared in the false post (left) and the video from Douyin (right)

The video also circulated on Chinese social media such as Weibo, with users leaving comments praising the woman for her "quick thinking in pressing down on the philtrum" and saying the method really works.

But doctors told AFP proper first aid procedure for unconsciousness involved seeking professional medical care and performing CPR, depending on the situation.

'Inappropriate and unnecessary'

Slapping a person or pressing on their philtrum could delay treatment, potentially causing brain damage in cases where the fainting is caused by cardiac and respiratory arrest, warned Dr Mursyid Bustami, former executive director of the National Brain Centre Hospital in Jakarta (archived links here and here).

Instead, the first steps to be taken when someone passes out is to determine whether they are really unconscious by firmly patting the person's shoulder or other body parts without hurting them and calling for emergency services, Mursyid said on November 22, 2023.

CPR should immediately be carried out in cases where a heartbeat or breathing is no longer felt, he said (archived link).

The longer the brain goes without oxygen in such cases, the more severe the damage to the organ, Mursyid warned.

"With inappropriate and unnecessary actions, we may be late in providing CPR assistance and it will badly affect the person who lost consciousness," he said.

Dr Bobi Prabowo, head of the Indonesian Association of Emergency Medicine (Perdamsi), said on the same day that it was "just a coincidence" the man in the video regained consciousness after being slapped and having his philtrum pressed.

He said these actions are not in accordance with the Basic Life Support (BLS) procedures followed by first aid or emergency responders when treating a person who has fainted due to cardiac arrest, respiratory distress or an obstructed airway (archived link).

The BLS states that the steps to be taken include checking for responsiveness, breathing, calling emergency services, and finding an automated external defibrillator (AED) -- a machine that analyses the heart's rhythm and if necessary, delivers a shock -- as well as starting CPR (archived link).