Dizziness Symptoms And Causes

Dizziness is a term used to describe a range of sensations, such as feeling faint, woozy, weak or unsteady. Dizziness that creates the false sense that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving is called vertigo. Dizziness is one of the more common reasons adults visit their doctors. Frequent dizzy spells or constant dizziness can significantly affect your life. But dizziness rarely signals a life-threatening condition.

Dizziness can describe several different sensations. Dizziness is an impairment of spatial orientation. A dizzy spell doesn’t always indicate a life-threatening condition, but it can be unnerving. Dizziness can be associated with more serious conditions, such as a stroke or cardiovascular problems. Even on its own, though, if dizziness leads to a fall, it can be dangerous.

Various health issues can cause sudden dizziness and vertigo, and some are more serious than others. For this reason, anyone who experiences a sudden onset of either issue should receive medical guidance. Vertigo is a severe form of dizziness. A person experiencing vertigo feels that they or their surroundings are spinning. Sudden dizziness may require urgent medical care. For example, some problems that can accompany dizziness are signs of a stroke, including changes in vision or speech, numbness, or weakness in the face or one or more limbs.

Symptoms

People experiencing dizziness may feel various sensations, including:

• lightheadedness or feeling faint
• a false sense of spinning
• unsteadiness
• loss of balance
• The feeling of floating or swimming

Sometimes, dizziness is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or fainting. Seek emergency medical help if you have these symptoms for extended periods. You should call your doctor if you continue to have repeated bouts of dizziness. You should also notify your doctor immediately if you experience sudden dizziness along with:

• a head injury
• a headache
• a neck ache
• a high fever
• blurred vision
• hearing loss
• difficulty speaking
• numbness or tingling
• the droopiness of the eye or mouth
• loss of consciousness
• chest pain
• ongoing vomiting

These symptoms could indicate a serious health problem, so it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Causes

Dizziness has many possible causes, including inner ear disturbance, motion sickness and medication effects. Sometimes it’s caused by an underlying health condition, such as poor circulation, infection or injury. The way dizziness makes you feel and your triggers provide clues for possible causes. How long the dizziness lasts and any other symptoms you have also help pinpoint the cause.

Dizziness is common in adults, but it is rarely a sign of a serious condition. Dizziness has many possible causes, including:

problems or conditions that affect the ears such as Meniere’s disease and labyrinthitis, problems with the eyes, problems with the heart, migraine, stress or anxiety, low blood sugar, dehydration or heat exhaustion, a fall in blood pressure when you stand up, problems with the blood flow to the brain, motion or travel sickness, vertigo,viruses and other illnesses, brain, and nerve-related disorders.

Inner ear problems that cause dizziness (vertigo)

Your sense of balance depends on the combined input from the various parts of your sensory system. These include your:

Eyes, which help you determine where your body is in space and how it’s moving

Sensory nerves, send messages to your brain about body movements and positions

The inner ear, which houses sensors that help detect gravity and back-and-forth motion

Vertigo is the false sense that your surroundings are spinning or moving. With inner ear disorders, your brain receives signals from the inner ear that aren’t consistent with what your eyes and sensory nerves are receiving. Vertigo is what results as your brain works to sort out the confusion.

• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). This condition causes an intense and brief but false sense that you’re spinning or moving. These episodes are triggered by a rapid change in head movement, such as when you turn over in bed, sit up or experience a blow to the head. BPPV is the most common cause of vertigo.
• Infection. A viral infection of the vestibular nerve, called vestibular neuritis, can cause intense, constant vertigo. If you also have sudden hearing loss, you may have labyrinthitis.
• Meniere’s disease. This disease involves the excessive buildup of fluid in your inner ear. It’s characterized by sudden episodes of vertigo lasting as long as several hours. You may also experience fluctuating hearing loss, ringing in the ear, and the feeling of a plugged ear.
• Migraine. People who experience migraines may have episodes of vertigo or other types of dizziness even when they’re not having a severe headache. Such vertigo episodes can last minutes to hours and may be associated with headaches as well as light and noise sensitivity.

How To Get Rid Of Dizziness?

Dizziness is the disorienting feeling of being unbalanced or lightheaded. You may feel like you’re about to faint or your surroundings are moving or spinning around you. Both feelings sometimes occur along with nausea or vomiting. Dizziness is not a medical condition on its own. It’s a symptom of an underlying cause.

The treatment of dizziness and vertigo may include medication, physical therapy, and psychotherapy; a few limited cases may require surgical treatment. Before the treatment is begun, the patient should be told that the prognosis is generally good: many of these conditions have a favorable spontaneous course, both because peripheral vestibular dysfunction tends to improve and because there is central vestibular compensation for asymmetrical peripheral vestibular tone. Moreover, most of these conditions can be treated successfully.

Remedies for dizziness

Certain foods and nutrients may help relieve symptoms of dizziness.

Water

Dehydration is a common cause of dizziness. If you feel tired and thirsty and urinate less often when you’re dizzy, try drinking water and staying hydrated.

Ginger

Ginger may help relieve symptoms of motion sickness and dizziness. It may also help treat nausea in pregnant women. You can take ginger in many forms. Add fresh or ground ginger to your diet, drink ginger tea, or take ginger supplements. However, you should always consult your doctor before taking any kind of supplement, even if it’s natural. Supplements can interfere with other medical conditions you have or medications you take.

Vitamin C

According to the Meniere’s Society, consuming vitamin C can reduce vertigo in if you have Meniere’s disease. Foods rich in vitamin C include: oranges ,grapefruits, strawberries, bell peppers

Vitamin E

Vitamin E can help maintain the elasticity of your blood vessels. This can help prevent circulation problems. Vitamin E can be found in:

wheat germ,seeds,nuts,kiwis,spinach

Vitamin D

Vitamin D has been shown to help you improve after BPPV attacks.

Iron

If your doctor thinks you have anemia, they may encourage you to get more iron. Iron can be found in foods such as:

red meat, poultry,beans, dark leafy greens

Exercises and lifestyle practices

When you start to feel dizzy, lying down as soon as possible can often help. If you have a severe case of vertigo, close your eyes while lying down. If you’re overheated, get a cool drink and move to a shaded, air-conditioned area. when you start to feel dizzy, lying down as soon as possible can often help. If you have a severe case of vertigo, close your eyes while lying down. If you’re overheated, get a cool drink and move to a shaded, air-conditioned area.

If you’re prone to dizziness, let your doctor know. That information can help when you’re undergoing treatment. If you’re more aware that you may fall or lose your balance, you may be more prepared to prevent an injury. If you can identify what triggers your dizziness, you can avoid the triggers.

Acupuncture may help treat dizziness. Acupuncture is the practice of inserting tiny, thin needles into specific areas of the skin. In a small study , acupuncture seemed to reduce symptoms of dizziness. A special type of physical therapy called vestibular rehabilitation may help. Physical therapy can also improve balance.