True or false?
People often confuse the true and false dizziness. True vertigo always involves a sense of rotation or rocking of his own body, or things that surround it. In this case, it may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting, sometimes there is also ringing in the ears.
Under false vertigo is usually understood a diverse set of unpleasant sensations - sudden weakness, dizziness, blackouts, a feeling of emptiness in the head, appearing before syncope, with a sharp change of body position or reducing pressure or blood sugar levels. Weakness and blurred vision may also be symptoms of anemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, a lack of certain vitamins. There is even the term "psychogenic dizziness", which indicates the state of sudden weakness and fog in the head, causing a nervous overexertion, prolonged stress or overwork.
Sometimes also referred to as a sense of vertigo imbalance, instability, signaling some diseases of the central nervous system.
Causes of dizziness
As a rule, dizziness indicates a problem with the vestibular system, at least - the defeat of the nervous system. Most of the complaints of dizziness associated with common and easily treatable disease caused by stimulation of the vestibular apparatus otoliths - "hearing stones", located in the inner ear and stimulates receptors organ of balance. The disease is called Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, a feeling of rotation surrounding objects at the same time there is the pan and tilt head, seizures may appear and then disappear for a few years.
Other common causes of true vertigo:
- Meniere's disease;
- Basilar migraine;
- Vestibular neurons
- Inflammation of the inner ear;
- Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine;
- A brain tumor;
- Traumatic brain injury;
- Taking certain medications that have toxic effects on the inner ear, including antibiotics;
- Cerebral circulatory disorders, including stroke.
Diagnosis and treatment
Short-term one-off attack of mild dizziness usually does not cause panic and do not require treatment to the doctor. However treat this lightly as it is not necessary - if dizziness is celebrated more than three times during the month, it is necessary to visit a doctor to find out why this is happening.
Immediate treatment for medical assistance in the following cases:
- Dizzy spell lasts more than an hour;
- Dizziness accompanied by severe vomiting, headache, muscle weakness, fever;
- During the attack the patient lost consciousness and fell.
Be sure to call the doctor if the dizziness started in patients with hypertension or diabetes.
To determine the cause of the unpleasant state need to contact your physician for general therapeutic treatment and testing. Then you may need consultation of the neurologist, ophthalmologist or otolaryngologist. Among the studies, appointed to investigate the causes of dizziness include X-rays of the skull and cervical spine, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.
Help with vertigo is not always limited to the treatment of the underlying disease - in some cases limited to symptomatic treatment specialists. Often prescribed physiotherapy, massage.
Considerable importance diet, abstinence from alcohol and nicotine, and special exercise. From sports activities that require control of balance and quick-change movements need to be for some time to give up.
If you feel dizzy ...
If the attack caught you on the street - step aside from the flow of people and try to sit up. Do not hesitate to ask others to help you - even if you spend up to the nearest store or pharmacy, where you can relax a bit. Do not continue the way until you are sure that you will feel better.
Sometimes dizziness overtakes drivers behind the wheel of the car - to continue in this case can not be better to find a way to stop to avoid an accident.
If dizzy at home - it is better to go without making any sudden movements. If possible, measure blood pressure.
Deciding to call a doctor, do not take any drugs before he came not to distort the symptoms. You can only get up after discontinuation of dizziness, while quickly jump out of bed can not in any case.
The house where he lives patient suffering from frequent bouts of dizziness, floor lay a thick carpet better. At the bottom of the tub, lay a rubber mat to prevent slipping, bedside lamp and put the phone so that to them it was easy to reach.