Why Am I Dizzy? 7 Possible Causes of Dizziness and How To Treat It

Written by Stephanie Langmaid

• Is It Vertigo?
• Is It an Infection?
• Is It Meniere’s Disease?
• Is It Your Circulation?
• Is It Your Medication?
• Is It Dehydration?
• Is It Low Blood Sugar?
• Is It Something Else?
• More

Many parts of your body — including your eyes, brain, inner ear, and nerves in your feet and spine — work together to keep you balanced. When a part of that system is off, you can feel dizzy. It can be a sign of something serious, and it can be dangerous if it makes you fall.

Your doctor will look at all your symptoms and overall health to figure out what’s going on and how to treat it.

Get medical attention immediately if you’re dizzy and you faint, fall, or can’t walk or have any of the following:

• Chest pain
• Different or really bad headache
• Head injury
• High fever
• Irregular heart rate
• Seizures
• Shortness of breath
• Stiff neck
• Sudden change in speech, vision, or hearing
• Vomiting
• Weakness or numbness in your face
• Weakness in your leg or arm

Does it feel like you’re spinning or the room is moving around you? That’s a classic sign of a particular type of dizziness called vertigo. It’s more than feeling off-kilter and usually gets worse when you move your head. This is a symptom that there is an issue in the inner ear or part of the brainstem governing balance. The most common kind is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV.

Your inner ear is a complicated system of canals filled with fluid. These let your brain know how your head is moving. With BPPV, tiny bits of calcium in part of your inner ear get loose and move to places they don’t belong. The system doesn’t work the way it should and sends your brain the wrong signals.

It’s often caused by the natural breakdown of cells that happens with age. A head injury can cause it, too.

You’ll feel it briefly when you tilt or turn your head, and especially when you roll over in bed or sit up. BPPV isn’t serious and usually goes away on its own. If not — or you’d like to help it along — it can be treated with special head exercises (“particle repositioning exercises”) called the Epley maneuver to get the pieces of calcium back in place. Most people feel better after one to three treatments.

There are other causes of vertigo both in and outside the brain. You can have Meniere disease (described below), labyrinthitis (described below), a tumor called an acoustic neuroma or side effects from some antibiotics. In the brain, it can be caused by a vestibular migraine, multiple sclerosis, malformations of brain structures or a stroke from lack of blood flow or bleed (hemorrhage) in the cerebellum.

Inflammation of the nerves in your ears also can cause vertigo. It can be either vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis. Vestibular neuritis refers to inflammation of your vestibular nerve only while labyrinthitis involved both your vestibular nerve and your cochlear nerve. Both conditions are caused by an infection. Usually, a virus is to blame. But bacteria from a middle ear infection or meningitis can make their way into your inner ear as well.

In this case, dizziness usually comes on suddenly. Your ears may ring, and it may be hard to hear. You also may be nauseated and have a fever and ear pain. Symptoms can last several weeks. 

If it’s caused by a virus and can’t be treated with antibiotics, medication can help make you feel better as the infection runs its course.

This condition brings on intense periods of vertigo that can last hours. You may feel fullness or pressure in one ear. Other symptoms include ringing in your ears, hearing loss, and nausea. You may feel exhausted after the attack passes.

People with Meniere’s disease have too much fluid in their inner ear. Doctors don’t know what causes it, and there’s no cure for it. It’s usually treated with diet changes (a low-salt diet) and medicine to control the dizziness.

Dizziness can be a sign of a problem with your blood flow. Your brain needs a steady supply of oxygen-rich blood. Otherwise, you can become lightheaded and even faint.

Some causes of low blood flow to the brain include blood clots, clogged arteries, heart failure, and an irregular heartbeat. For many older people, standing suddenly can cause a sharp drop in blood pressure.

It’s important to get medical help immediately if you’re dizzy and faint or lose consciousness.

Several drugs list dizziness as a possible side effect. Check with your doctor if you take:

• Antibiotics, including gentamicin and streptomycin
• Anti-depressants
• Anti-seizure medications
• Blood pressure medicine
• Sedatives

Many people don’t drink enough fluids to replace the liquid they lose every day when they sweat, breathe, and pee. It’s particularly a problem for older people and people with diabetes.

When you’re severely dehydrated, your blood pressure can drop, your brain may not get enough oxygen, and you’ll feel dizzy. Other symptoms of dehydration include thirstiness, tiredness, and dark urine.

To help with dehydration, drink plenty of water or diluted fruit juice, and limit coffee, tea, and soda.

People with diabetes need to check the amount of sugar (glucose) in their blood often. You can get dizzy if it drops too low. That also can cause hunger, shakiness, sweating, and confusion. Some people without diabetes also have trouble with low blood sugar, but that’s rare.

A quick fix is to eat or drink something with sugar, like juice or a hard candy.

Dizziness can be a sign of many other illnesses, including:

• Migraines, even if you don’t feel pain
• Stress or anxiety
• Nervous-system problems like peripheral neuropathy and multiple sclerosis
• Tumor in the brain or inner ear

You may have other symptoms besides dizziness with any of these conditions. If your dizziness won’t go away or impacts your ability to function, make sure to discuss it with your doctor to find out the cause and treat it.

Top Picks

Why Am I Dizzy? 7 Possible Causes of Dizziness and How To Treat It

Written by Stephanie Langmaid

• Is It Vertigo?
• Is It an Infection?
• Is It Meniere’s Disease?
• Is It Your Circulation?
• Is It Your Medication?
• Is It Dehydration?
• Is It Low Blood Sugar?
• Is It Something Else?
• More

Many parts of your body — including your eyes, brain, inner ear, and nerves in your feet and spine — work together to keep you balanced. When a part of that system is off, you can feel dizzy. It can be a sign of something serious, and it can be dangerous if it makes you fall.

Your doctor will look at all your symptoms and overall health to figure out what’s going on and how to treat it.

Get medical attention immediately if you’re dizzy and you faint, fall, or can’t walk or have any of the following:

• Chest pain
• Different or really bad headache
• Head injury
• High fever
• Irregular heart rate
• Seizures
• Shortness of breath
• Stiff neck
• Sudden change in speech, vision, or hearing
• Vomiting
• Weakness or numbness in your face
• Weakness in your leg or arm

Does it feel like you’re spinning or the room is moving around you? That’s a classic sign of a particular type of dizziness called vertigo. It’s more than feeling off-kilter and usually gets worse when you move your head. This is a symptom that there is an issue in the inner ear or part of the brainstem governing balance. The most common kind is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV.

Your inner ear is a complicated system of canals filled with fluid. These let your brain know how your head is moving. With BPPV, tiny bits of calcium in part of your inner ear get loose and move to places they don’t belong. The system doesn’t work the way it should and sends your brain the wrong signals.

It’s often caused by the natural breakdown of cells that happens with age. A head injury can cause it, too.

You’ll feel it briefly when you tilt or turn your head, and especially when you roll over in bed or sit up. BPPV isn’t serious and usually goes away on its own. If not — or you’d like to help it along — it can be treated with special head exercises (“particle repositioning exercises”) called the Epley maneuver to get the pieces of calcium back in place. Most people feel better after one to three treatments.

There are other causes of vertigo both in and outside the brain. You can have Meniere disease (described below), labyrinthitis (described below), a tumor called an acoustic neuroma or side effects from some antibiotics. In the brain, it can be caused by a vestibular migraine, multiple sclerosis, malformations of brain structures or a stroke from lack of blood flow or bleed (hemorrhage) in the cerebellum.

Inflammation of the nerves in your ears also can cause vertigo. It can be either vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis. Vestibular neuritis refers to inflammation of your vestibular nerve only while labyrinthitis involved both your vestibular nerve and your cochlear nerve. Both conditions are caused by an infection. Usually, a virus is to blame. But bacteria from a middle ear infection or meningitis can make their way into your inner ear as well.

In this case, dizziness usually comes on suddenly. Your ears may ring, and it may be hard to hear. You also may be nauseated and have a fever and ear pain. Symptoms can last several weeks. 

If it’s caused by a virus and can’t be treated with antibiotics, medication can help make you feel better as the infection runs its course.

This condition brings on intense periods of vertigo that can last hours. You may feel fullness or pressure in one ear. Other symptoms include ringing in your ears, hearing loss, and nausea. You may feel exhausted after the attack passes.

People with Meniere’s disease have too much fluid in their inner ear. Doctors don’t know what causes it, and there’s no cure for it. It’s usually treated with diet changes (a low-salt diet) and medicine to control the dizziness.

Dizziness can be a sign of a problem with your blood flow. Your brain needs a steady supply of oxygen-rich blood. Otherwise, you can become lightheaded and even faint.

Some causes of low blood flow to the brain include blood clots, clogged arteries, heart failure, and an irregular heartbeat. For many older people, standing suddenly can cause a sharp drop in blood pressure.

It’s important to get medical help immediately if you’re dizzy and faint or lose consciousness.

Several drugs list dizziness as a possible side effect. Check with your doctor if you take:

• Antibiotics, including gentamicin and streptomycin
• Anti-depressants
• Anti-seizure medications
• Blood pressure medicine
• Sedatives

Many people don’t drink enough fluids to replace the liquid they lose every day when they sweat, breathe, and pee. It’s particularly a problem for older people and people with diabetes.

When you’re severely dehydrated, your blood pressure can drop, your brain may not get enough oxygen, and you’ll feel dizzy. Other symptoms of dehydration include thirstiness, tiredness, and dark urine.

To help with dehydration, drink plenty of water or diluted fruit juice, and limit coffee, tea, and soda.

People with diabetes need to check the amount of sugar (glucose) in their blood often. You can get dizzy if it drops too low. That also can cause hunger, shakiness, sweating, and confusion. Some people without diabetes also have trouble with low blood sugar, but that’s rare.

A quick fix is to eat or drink something with sugar, like juice or a hard candy.

Dizziness can be a sign of many other illnesses, including:

• Migraines, even if you don’t feel pain
• Stress or anxiety
• Nervous-system problems like peripheral neuropathy and multiple sclerosis
• Tumor in the brain or inner ear

You may have other symptoms besides dizziness with any of these conditions. If your dizziness won’t go away or impacts your ability to function, make sure to discuss it with your doctor to find out the cause and treat it.

Top Picks

Frequent dizziness | ECHR Handbook

Everyone knows the feeling of being slightly dizzy during joyful and happy situations in life or after a few turns in a dance. Such dizziness poses no danger to us, except that we stop noticing others and run the risk of stumbling. However, sometimes dizziness is not associated with high spirits and dance movements, and can be a symptom of more than eighty diseases.

Types of vertigo

There are two classifications of vertigo: frequency and type of occurrence.

The type of vertigo can be characterized as follows:

Vestibular (or central) vertigo

Occurs due to damage to the parts of the inner ear. A person creates a feeling of rotation of both his own body and the movement of objects, or both at the same time. This type of vertigo is often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, impaired balance and hearing, and sweating. When the position of the head changes, all symptoms are aggravated. Unlike non-systemic dizziness, attacks last a long time and recovery occurs over a long period of time: from several days to several weeks. The uncontrolled eye movement that occurs during an attack does not go away as the patient tries to focus on a fixed point and may persist for 25 to 28 days.

Peripheral vertigo

The most common type of vertigo. As a rule, with peripheral dizziness, the patient feels an increased heartbeat and sharp fluctuations in blood pressure, the day before there is congestion and noise in one ear. During and after an attack, uncontrolled eye movement may persist, which disappears when the patient tries to focus on a fixed point. Attacks are longer: the condition may not change for 3 hours. Peripheral dizziness is characterized by suddenness: the state of health deteriorates sharply, but the recovery occurs quite quickly.

Causes of occurrence

Causes of dizziness are conditionally divided into two categories:

Physiological causes of dizziness (or normal) :

• Stress. For example, when frightened, a large amount of stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol) is released, which can lead to a decrease in the functions of certain parts of the brain, up to loss of consciousness.

• Women may experience short-term dizziness during critical days and during pregnancy.

• Hyperventilation of the lungs (oversaturation of oxygen – for example, as a result of scuba diving)

• Dizziness may be due to a sharp drop in blood sugar levels. As a result, pressure decreases, to which the body reacts by inhibiting the work of the central nervous system, which a person feels as a loss of orientation and space.

• Reduced iron levels lead to a lack of blood and tissues, including the brain.

Pathological vertigo occurs with (occurring in certain diseases):

• Tumors of the brain

• Strokes

• Diseases of the inner ear

• Thrombosis

• Cervical osteochondrosis

• Climacteric syndrome

• Ischemias

• Migraines

• Panic attacks

Which doctor treats?

If you often experience dizziness, you should see a neurologist as soon as possible to find out the causes of the attacks. Neurologists practice at the Kuntsevsky Medical and Rehabilitation Center, whose work experience is estimated at tens of years. Their task is to find out the causes of dizziness and draw up a treatment regimen.

Methods of treatment

If you experience frequent dizziness, remember that dizziness is not a disease that needs to be treated. This is just a symptom that indicates that failures occur in the body. Therefore, dizziness can be treated only after a qualified specialist has established the cause and prescribed treatment for the underlying disease.

treatments for vertigo include medication, diet, daily routine and sufficient physical activity.

Rehabilitation and restoration of lifestyle

After the course of treatment, in order to consolidate the result, it is necessary to maintain the body in good shape. For this, complexes of respiratory and vestibular exercises, exercise therapy complexes have been created. For each patient, the specialists of the Kuntsevo Treatment and Rehabilitation Center will develop an individual set of exercises that takes into account the characteristics and limitations of the patient. Swimming, eye gymnastics and balance exercises are recommended for better recovery. To prevent repeated attacks, you can use swinging on a swing with a gradual increase in amplitude.

References:

1. Abdulina, O.V., Parfenov, V.A. Vestibular vertigo in emergency neurology // Clinical gerontology. – 2005
2. Aptikeyeva, N.V., Dolgov, A.M. Vestibular vertigo and ataxia in emergency neurology // Journal of Neurology, Neuropsychiatry, Psychosomatics. – 2013
3. Bronstein, A. Dizziness: a practical approach to diagnosis and treatment / A. Bronstein, T. Lempert – M.: GEOTAR, 2010
4. Veselago, O.V. Algorithms for the diagnosis and treatment of dizziness // Russian Medical Journal. – 2012. – T. 20. – No. 10

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Neurology

Vertigo during menopause. Treatment for dizziness

Female sex hormones play a much larger role in the body than is commonly believed. In addition to its main purpose – to help in the conception and bearing of a child, estrogens also affect most systems, including the central and peripheral nervous, cardiovascular systems. That is why, with estrogen deficiency, unpleasant symptoms can develop: hot flashes, a feeling of heat, malaise, headache, dizziness with menopause and cerebrovascular accident.

Causes of headaches and dizziness in menopause

Against the background of a decrease in estrogen levels, vascular tone is disturbed, pressure fluctuates and a uniform constant blood flow to the brain is disturbed. Deficiency of blood, formed during active brain activity, can lead to hypoxia (lack of oxygen), which forms attacks headaches and dizziness , manifested in the form of seizures. Episodes are possible when objects and people are circling around the body against the background of the appearance of dark spots and flashes of light, changes in the pictures of the surrounding world.

Against the background of such attacks, the following can form:

• incoordination,
• movement disorders,
• problems with movement in space due to “floating” objects or the ground under their feet.

With such attacks of dizziness, with menopause , stops are required to wait out the attack. There may be pre-syncope against the background of a sensation of rotation of objects, malaise, heart rhythm disturbances and nausea. Changes in position can increase the malaise, up to fainting.

Examination by a neurologist

In addition to dizziness, you may experience:

• headache and nausea,
• jumps in pressure and pulse,
• feelings of nausea,
• hot flashes,
• redness of the face and neck.

Similar symptoms and any other ailments that occur during menopause become a reason to see a doctor.

To identify the causes of dizziness and eliminate them, it is necessary examination by a neurologist to exclude all possible causes of neurological disorders. All this is due to the fact that menopause can lead to an exacerbation of some pathologies that were previously present, but proceeded unnoticed. These can be neuritis of the cranial nerves, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, Meniere’s disease or hypertension, endocrine disorders, neoplasms (tumors).

Often, attacks of headaches and dizziness are exacerbated by constant stress, overexertion and bad habits, poor nutrition.

A complete examination by a neurologist allows you to identify all the factors and determine exactly why the head is spinning. The specialist may prescribe some studies and instrumental diagnostics, as well as recommend a consultation with an ENT doctor, ophthalmologist or cardiologist in order to exclude comorbidities.

Based on all the results obtained, the data of the hormonal study and the patient’s complaints, during an examination by a neurologist , a diagnosis is made, treatment tactics and methods for preventing dizziness are determined.

Treatment of headache and dizziness in menopause

With the exclusion of all other causes and the certainty that attacks of dizziness are associated precisely with menopausal changes, then the approach to the treatment of headache and dizziness in menopause must be complex. All drugs and non-drug methods of treatment must be selected individually with a doctor, depending on the additional manifestations and the degree of violation of the general condition. So, if the symptoms are pronounced, and depend on a sharp deficiency of sex hormones, replacement therapy with estrogen preparations in strictly selected dosages and under the control of tolerance may be indicated. In the treatment, non-hormonal drugs that improve the general condition, drugs with a sedative, sedative effect and anti-stress protection can also be used. A course of multivitamins with minerals is shown to replenish the body’s reserves, to prevent anemia and osteoporosis

Additionally treatment of headache and dizziness in menopause involves the use of phytotherapy – soothing, restorative herbal teas (with mint, valerian, fennel or sage), as well as non-drug measures that increase the overall tone of the body and normalize blood circulation, including in the head area brain.

Patients do not always understand that all these unpleasant phenomena are temporary and do not indicate severe pathologies, but are associated with hormonal fluctuations, and will gradually disappear as hormone levels stabilize at a new base level .

How to help with headaches, dizziness in menopause

In addition to all the drugs that will be prescribed by the doctor, it is also important to reconsider your attitude to everyday life, abandoning bad habits, the effects of stress and physical overwork.

Non-drug measures, if performed in combination, significantly help relieve headaches and dizziness, menopause can be more comfortable.

To keep blood vessels in good shape, to be more cheerful and active, to keep pressure under control help: contrast water procedures, dosed physical activity and revision of nutrition . It is important to control weight and salt intake in order to avoid unnecessary strain on blood vessels and pressure build-up leading to high blood pressure, menopausal headaches and dizziness .

Physiotherapy can be shown to normalize the tone of the autonomic nervous system and relieve unpleasant manifestations. Physical therapy, a set of exercises for weight correction and maintaining muscle tone are also shown. It is important to monitor the daily routine – constant lack of sleep, chronic fatigue lead to increased headaches and dizziness symptoms of menopause . It is necessary to stay more and more often in the fresh air, to lead an active lifestyle.

Doctors of the TN-Clinic are the authors of numerous scientific papers and articles on menopause. During their many years of practice, they have helped thousands of women remove unpleasant manifestations. In the treatment, they successfully use both traditional therapeutic methods – hormone therapy, vitamin therapy, homeopathy, dietology, etc., as well as their own author’s methods.

For more than 25 years of work, the doctors of the TN-Clinic have helped tens of thousands of women return to normal life. They will develop an individual treatment program for you, select alternative methods of therapy, if for some reason traditional methods do not help.

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