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.

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symptoms, causes and treatments

Contents

• 1 Meniere’s disease: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
  • 1.1 Meniere’s disease: causes, symptoms, treatment
    • 1.1.1 Causes
    • 1.1 .2 Symptoms
    • 1.1.3 Treatment
  • 1.2 What is Meniere’s disease?
  • 1. 3 Causes of Meniere’s disease
  • 1.4 Main signs of Meniere’s disease
  • 1.5 Diagnosis of Meniere’s disease
  • 1.6 Treatment of Meniere’s disease: basic principles
  • 1.7 Drug therapy for Meniere’s disease
    • 1.7.1 Diuretics
    • 1.7.2 Antihistamines
    • 1.7.3 Corticosteroids
    • 1.7.4 Vasodilators
  • 1.8 Surgical treatments for Meniere’s disease
  • 1.9 Alternative treatments for Meniere’s disease
  • 1.10 Prevention of Meniere’s disease
  • 1.11 Related videos:
  • 1.12 Q&A:
    • • 1.12.0.1 What is Meniere’s disease?
      • 1.12.0.2 What are the main symptoms of Ménière’s disease?
      • 1.12.0.3 How is Ménière’s disease diagnosed?
      • 1.12.0.4 How is Meniere’s disease treated?
      • 1.12.0.5 Can Meniere’s disease be completely cured?
      • 1.12.0.6 What factors can aggravate the symptoms of Meniere’s disease?

Meniere’s disease is an ear disorder that causes dizziness, nausea, hearing loss, and tinnitus. In this article, we will talk about the symptoms, causes, and treatments for Meniere’s disease. Learn how to prevent these problems from occurring and how they are related to the nervous system.

Meniere’s disease is a serious disease of the vestibular apparatus, which, in addition to imbalance, can lead to problems with the coordination of body movements. As a result, patients are at high risk of falling and injury. The disease got its name in honor of the French otolaryngologist who described it in 1861.

Treatment of Ménière’s disease involves a complex therapy that may include medication, physical therapy, diet, and in some cases, surgery. Each method of treatment is chosen individually, and the main criterion is the degree of manifestation of symptoms and the nature of the disease.

Meniere’s disease: causes, symptoms, treatment

Causes

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the ear system that is associated with the nervous system. The causes of this disease are not clear, but the most common theory is that of hydrops of the inner ear, where stagnant fluid in the ear canal becomes the cause of Ménière’s disease.

Symptoms

Symptoms of Ménière’s disease include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, imbalance, tinnitus, hearing loss, headache and fatigue. Symptoms may be short-lived, recurring, or long-lasting.

Treatment

Treatment of Meniere’s disease is aimed at reducing symptoms and preventing new attacks. A doctor may prescribe medications to help reduce nausea and dizziness, as well as lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of seizures. Some patients require surgery or implants to help control symptoms.

What is Meniere’s disease?

Meniere’s disease is a disease of the inner ear that can lead to loss of balance and hearing. It is caused by excessive accumulation of endolymph in the semicircular canals of the inner ear, which leads to their swelling and detachment from the plate. The cause of this disease has not yet been established, but it is reliably known that circulatory disorders and immune mechanisms play an important role in its development.

Mostly, the disease occurs in people between the ages of 30 and 60, but it can also develop in younger people. Meniere’s disease rarely resolves on its own and can lead to impaired quality of life, so it’s important to be aware of its symptoms and treatment options.

Causes of Meniere’s disease

Meniere’s disease is a disease of the inner ear that is characterized by sudden attacks of dizziness, tinnitus, and hearing loss. Despite the fact that the causes of Meniere’s disease are not fully understood, to date, scientists have identified several factors that may contribute to its occurrence.

• Genetic predisposition. Meniere’s disease can be inherited through several generations, so it is important to pay attention to the presence of it among close relatives.
• Autoimmune disorders. In this disease, the immune system directs its attacks to the cells of the inner ear, which leads to damage and symptoms of Meniere’s disease.
• Circulatory disorders. As a result of circulatory disorders, crystals can form in the structures of the inner ear, which can cause dizziness.
• Head injuries. Meniere’s disease may develop after head injury.

Although Meniere’s disease has an unknown etiology, it is important to pay attention to the causes that may contribute to its development. If you have symptoms, you should contact a specialist for qualified assistance and timely treatment.

Main features of Ménière’s disease

Ménière’s disease is a disease of the inner ear that leads to problems with balance, auditory perception and damage to the auditory nerve. The main manifestation of the disease is sudden attacks of dizziness, which are accompanied by nausea, vomiting and instability during movement. At the same time, attacks can occur suddenly and last from several minutes to hours.

In addition to dizziness, people with Ménière’s disease may experience other symptoms, including loss of balance, hearing loss, tinnitus, acoustic hyperactivity, and ear pain.

Meniere’s disease has no cure yet. However, there are methods of treatment and symptom control, including drug therapy, physical therapy, acupuncture, and in recent years, laser therapy and surgery.

1. Dizziness: sharp, sudden and short-lived, with severe attacks.
2. Loss of balance: inability to maintain balance, especially when moving or changing body position.
3. Hearing loss: partial or complete hearing loss, especially in high tones.
4. Tinnitus: ringing, noise or whistling in the ears, which may be constant or accompany vertigo attacks.
5. Acoustic hyperactivity: hypersensitivity to sounds.
6. Ear pain: Ear pain is common, but not always.

Diagnosis of Meniere’s disease

To diagnose Meniere’s disease, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination of the patient. The initial stage includes taking an anamnesis and performing a visual examination of the ear. At this stage, the doctor can determine the presence of various disorders in the work of the ear, as well as the possibility of excluding concomitant diseases.

Doctors also perform provocative tests for a more accurate examination. These may include vertical rotation and dizziness. In this case, the patient is given commands to change the position of his head, after which his reaction is recorded. This helps to determine the presence of nystagmus – rapid and abrupt eye movements.

Computed tomography (CT) is sometimes used for diagnosis. CT scans are considered in order to rule out other types of ear disease. As a result, a more accurate picture of the disease is obtained and the degree of its severity is specified.

Meniere’s total diagnostic time may take some time. On its basis, the doctor is able to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment for the patient.

Management of Ménière’s disease: basic principles

Ménière’s disease is an inner ear disorder that can cause balance and hearing problems. Its symptoms can be very uncomfortable for the patient and may include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and hearing loss. Treating Meniere’s disease can reduce these symptoms and help the patient feel better.

The main principle of the treatment of Meniere’s disease is the control of symptoms. Various methods are used for this, such as the use of diuretics, drugs that reduce pressure in the ear, and other drugs aimed at improving blood circulation and inner ear function.

Often, doctors perform manipulations associated with stimulation of the semicircular canals, which leads to an improvement in the speed and coordination of the vestibular apparatus. Massage of the neck area and back can also have a positive effect on a patient who suffers from Meniere’s disease.

In some cases, surgery may be necessary. This may include developing a semicentric or labyrinth operation to improve vestibular function, such as splitting the vestibular nerve. But, as a rule, this method of treatment is used only for severe cases that are not amenable to other methods of treatment.

Drug therapy for Meniere’s disease

Diuretics

Diuretics are used to relieve pressure inside the ear and reduce swelling in the inner ear. Among these, Furosemide and Hydrochlorothiazide are the most commonly prescribed.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines help reduce allergy symptoms associated with Ménière’s disease such as itching, redness and runny nose. Among the most effective drugs in this group are Diphenhydramine and Meclizine.

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids are used in Meniere’s disease when it is accompanied by inflammation of the inner ear. These medications can help reduce inflammation and improve hearing function. The most commonly prescribed are Prednisone and Dexamethasone.

Vasodilators

Vasodilators help dilate blood vessels and relieve tension in the ear. This can lead to a reduction in the symptoms of Meniere’s disease such as dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Among the most commonly prescribed drugs in this group are Nicardipine and Verapamil.

• Note: This material is not a self-medication guide. It is necessary to consult a doctor for the diagnosis and treatment of Meniere’s disease.

Surgical treatments for Meniere’s disease

Meniere’s disease is an inner ear disorder that causes hearing problems, dizziness and balance problems. Treatment for Meniere’s disease includes a variety of methods, depending on the severity of the symptoms and the stage of the disease. In some cases, when conservative methods do not help, surgical treatment may be the only way to get rid of the disease.

One of the methods of surgical treatment is labyrinthomia, which involves the removal of part of the inner ear. This procedure can be effective in reducing vertigo attacks, but it can also cause additional hearing problems.

Another method is vestibuloneurectomy, which involves removal of the posterior semicircular canal and nerve thrombosis. It can help relieve dizziness and other symptoms associated with Meniere’s disease, but can sometimes cause balance problems and sometime hearing loss.

A less invasive surgical treatment for Ménière’s disease is the vestibular neurotomy, which involves removing only part of the nerve that controls balance. Although this method may help eliminate dizziness, patients may experience additional hearing problems.

Each method of surgical treatment has its advantages and disadvantages, and the choice of method depends on the individual situation of the patient and the doctor’s recommendations. Patients considering surgery should carefully discuss the risks and benefits of each method with their healthcare provider.

Alternative treatments for Meniere’s disease

Meniere’s disease is a disease of the vestibular apparatus that can lead to hearing loss, dizziness, nausea and other unpleasant symptoms. Conservative treatments such as pharmacotherapy and surgery are the standard treatments for this disease. However, there are alternative treatments that can help relieve the symptoms of Meniere’s disease and improve the patient’s quality of life.

Acupuncture is one of the methods of alternative medicine that can be used in the treatment of Meniere’s disease. This method is based on the impact on active points on the patient’s body with the help of thin needles. The goal of acupuncture is to improve the functioning of the body and reduce the symptoms of disease. Several studies have shown the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of Meniere’s disease.

Homeopathy is a therapy based on the use of a minimal amount of medicine in order to stimulate the body’s self-healing. Homeopathy can be effective in treating Meniere’s disease as it can help stimulate sensitive cells and improve vestibular function.

Yoga and meditation are also methods that can help treat Meniere’s disease. Yoga and meditation can help improve the sensitivity and strength of the vestibular cells, reduce stress, and improve blood flow to the brain. These methods may be effective in reducing the symptoms of Meniere’s disease and improving the quality of life of patients.

Although these methods are not the main medical treatments for Meniere’s disease, they can be effective in reducing symptoms and improving the patient’s quality of life. It is important to discuss any alternative medicine methods with your doctor before using them.

Prevention of Meniere’s disease

Meniere’s disease is a chronic disease of the vestibular apparatus, which often leads to severe dizziness, nausea and vomiting. It can appear in people of different ages and is caused by improper functioning of the vestibular apparatus. Although there is no universal method for preventing this disease, there are some recommendations that can help prevent its occurrence.

• Power : It is recommended not to drink alcohol, smoke and consume large amounts of caffeine, as this may adversely affect the functioning of the vestibular apparatus.
• Active lifestyle : Regular exercise, such as walking or running, can improve circulation and nerve function, which may help prevent Meniere’s disease.
• Avoid stressful situations : Stress and excessive fatigue can lead to an imbalance in the body and contribute to Meniere’s disease.
• Healthy sleep : Insufficient sleep can lead to poor functioning of the vestibular apparatus and contribute to Meniere’s disease. It is recommended to sleep at least 7 hours a day and, if necessary, consult a doctor for professional help.

Although Meniere’s disease can occur in people with different lifestyles, the basic rules for prevention include a healthy lifestyle, eating healthy foods, regular exercise, avoiding fatigue and stressful situations, and good sleep. If you are experiencing symptoms of Meniere’s disease, you should seek professional help from your doctor.

Related videos:

Q&A:

What is Meniere’s disease?

Meniere’s disease is a chronic disease of the inner ear characterized by bouts of dizziness, nausea, vomiting and hearing changes.

What are the main symptoms of Meniere’s disease?

The main symptoms of Meniere’s disease are dizziness, nausea, vomiting and hearing loss. There may also be tinnitus and loss of coordination.

How is Meniere’s disease diagnosed?

Diagnosis of Meniere’s disease includes audiometry, which allows you to determine the level of hearing threshold. Vestibular tests are also performed to help detect changes in the balancing system.

How is Meniere’s disease treated?

Treatment for Ménière’s disease may include drugs to improve circulation and reduce inflammation, physical therapy, and dietary advice. In some cases, an operation may be prescribed.

Can Meniere’s disease be completely cured?

Meniere’s disease is not completely curable, but with proper treatment, symptoms can be greatly reduced, allowing the patient to lead a normal life.

What factors can aggravate the symptoms of Meniere’s disease?

Factors that can exacerbate symptoms of Ménière’s disease include stress, changes in barometric pressure, alcohol and nicotine intake, fatigue, and lack of sleep.

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More about dizziness

Systemic dizziness is a condition when a person experiences subjective sensations in the form of movement of space and objects (clockwise or counterclockwise, up or down), a feeling of failure, overturning.

Non-systemic dizziness is characterized by a feeling of loss of consciousness, unsteadiness and “woolness” in the legs.

In some cases, under the mask of dizziness, pathology of the spinal cord, peripheral neuropathy, etc. can be hidden.

The most common causes of dizziness are:

• orthostatic hypotension
• blood pressure instability
• cardiac arrhythmia
• hyperventilation syndrome
• pathology of the vestibular-auditory nerve
• Minier’s syndrome
• vestibular neuronitis
• vertebrobasilar vascular insufficiency
• diseases of the cervical spine
• etc.

Dizziness requires an accurate diagnosis. Dizziness is treated by a neurologist.

We treat neurological diseases, including dizziness, as well as diseases of the musculoskeletal system, which may be associated with dizziness since 1978 – since we created the first in the USSR clinic of vertebrology on the basis of neurological department of the Central City Clinical Hospital in Kiev (vertebroneurology).

What should I do if I feel dizzy?

1. Find the cause of dizziness (diagnose).
2. About possible causes of dizziness .
3. The cause of dizziness will be established by a neurologist using a clinical and instrumental examination. He will do the treatment. The tactics of treating each type of dizziness is selected depending on the diagnosed cause.
4. If the cause of dizziness is a pathology of the vessels of the brain or spine, we will teach the patient to maintain the blood supply to the brain so that dizziness does not bother in the future.

How does dizziness manifest itself?

Symptoms may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting, unsteadiness when walking and noise in one ear or in the ears and head, blurred vision. Also, dizziness may be accompanied by a headache in the entire head or a one-sided headache.

Why is dizziness dangerous?

Such sensations are an alarm signal of your body, signaling a malfunction in one of the parts of the brain, nerve centers, cerebellum, trunk, damage to the vestibulocochlear nerve, vestibular apparatus, inner ear. Dizziness can occur with pathologies of the peripheral nervous system, as well as with violations of cardiac activity and blood composition.

What should I do if I feel dizzy?

If such complaints arise, the first thing to do is to consult a neurologist. The doctor must examine the patient not only clinically (neurologically), but also must conduct a diagnosis. Especially if dizziness is accompanied by nausea and headache. This combination of symptoms occurs with a stroke or such formidable diseases as a tumor.

Dizziness occurs in the following diseases:

It so happened that with the rapid development of medical science and the rapid improvement of diagnostic equipment, it became possible to investigate the deepest disorders of the brain and accurately determine the cause of dizziness.

First of all, this concerns MRI diagnostics of the brain and vestibular nerves, as well as ultrasound diagnostics of the state of cerebral blood flow.

There are many factors that cause dizziness:

1. Tumors of the central nervous system and skull: benign and malignant (cancer) brain tumor. In these cases, dizziness often occurs with a headache). A tumor (usually a neuroma) of the auditory nerve, which, in addition to dizziness, is characterized by hearing loss and the appearance of tinnitus.
2. Vascular diseases of the brain: Stroke. (characterized by headache, dizziness, sensory and motor disorders).
3. Dizziness with vessel aneurysm.
4. Dizziness with a change in the blood flow of the brain, for example, with migraine, vegetovascular dystonia, with an increase in blood pressure.
5. Dizziness with low blood pressure, often manifested by seizures with loss of consciousness and palpitations.
6. Dizziness in atherosclerosis of the vessels of the head and neck. For such a condition, in addition to dizziness, there is a headache, memory loss and often tinnitus.
7. Dizziness in vertebrobasilar insufficiency, in particular – in violation of blood flow in the vertebral artery (characteristic – dizziness, tinnitus, pain in the neck and head)
8. Degenerative (often age-related) diseases of the brain, which are characterized by memory loss, unsteady gait and, of course, dizziness.
9. Inflammatory and demyelinating diseases: Multiple sclerosis, encephalomyelitis, meningitis, arachnoiditis
10. Diseases of the cervical spine: protrusions and herniated discs, instability of the cervical vertebrae. Moreover, such a disease often occurs without any pain manifestations from the neck.
11. Diseases of ENT organs: otitis media, Meniere’s disease, vertigo, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), otolithiasis.
12. Dizziness is characteristic of some mental illnesses: neurotic syndrome, phobias (fears), etc.
13. Dizziness can be caused by diseases of the blood and heart: anemia (anemia), cardiac arrhythmia, infraction (pain in the heart area, heart rhythm disturbance, dizziness), etc.
14. Dizziness caused by certain medications is called iatrogenic (see more)

There can be many reasons. The main thing in diagnosis is to establish the exact cause. At the same time, it is important to exclude complex and dangerous diseases that can lead to disability (for example, a stroke or a tumor).

To do this, perform:

• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the brain.
• MRI of the brain with contrast (with indications that are determined by a standard MRI study).
• In case of dizziness, it is important to assess the condition of the vessels of the brain and neck area. Why MRI reconstruction of the vessels of the head is performed, arterial and venous blood flow is examined.
• The state of blood circulation is examined using ultrasound (Doppler Ultrasound), where the speed of blood circulation is determined, the vessel wall is examined, the presence of intravascular formations, deformations and bends, compression of the vessel from the outside, etc. MRI and ultrasound studies do not duplicate, but complement each other.
• In MRI of the cervical spine, it allows to determine whether dizziness is caused by changes in the spine.
• X-ray of the cervical spine. An x-ray of the cervical spine with functional tests is possible. The upper cervical spine is important. X-ray and MRI provide completely different information about the spine and allow you to choose the right treatment.
• If indicated, they perform a complete blood count, an ECG, an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity and pelvis.

It is extremely difficult to determine the cause of dizziness by external signs alone. It’s even dangerous. Professional inspection and high-quality hardware inspection is necessary.

Dangerous symptoms of dizziness

When dizziness is accompanied by headache. If nausea and vomiting occur. Dizziness with a sharp change in body position (from a lying / sitting position to a standing position). These signs accompanying dizziness need careful analysis and adequate treatment.

What should I do if I have an attack of dizziness?

• In case of dizziness, take a stable position with support (to avoid falling).
• It is advisable to lie down (only if dizziness does not appear when lying down).
• Measure blood pressure, pulse,
• Try to provide access to fresh air.
• Seek medical attention

Treatment of vertigo

You can start treatment when the diagnosis is established.

More commonly used to treat dizziness:

1. Drug therapy, especially in combination with plasma therapy (read more about plasma therapy).