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What's Causing Your
Dizziness?
WebMD Medical
news
What Is Dizziness?
Almost
everyone has had a feeling of unsteadiness or a whirling
sensation in their heads at some point in their lives.
Usually it's chalked up to dizziness, but dizziness is a
broad term that can mean different things to different
people. It's a common complaint, but it can be serious.
It has no specific medical meaning, but there are four
common conditions that can be considered types of
dizziness:
Vertigo. The feeling
of motion when there is no motion, such as you spinning
or your environment spinning. Spinning yourself round
and round, then suddenly stopping, can produce temporary
vertigo. But when it happens in the normal course of
living, it signals a problem with the vestibular system
of the inner ear -- the body's balance system that tells
you which way is down and senses the position of your
head. About half of all dizziness complaints are
vertigo.
Lightheadedness. Also
called near syncope, lightheadedness is the feeling that
you are about to faint. It is commonly felt by standing
up too quickly or by breathing deeply enough times to
produce the sensation.
Disequilibrium. A
problem with walking. People with disequilibrium feel
unsteady on their feet or feel like they are going to
fall.
Anxiety. People who
are scared, worried, depressed, or afraid of open spaces
may use "dizzy" to mean frightened, depressed, or
anxious.
Frequent
dizziness sufferers may complain of more than one type
of dizziness. For instance, having vertigo may also make
them anxious.
Dizziness can be a one-time event, or it can be a
chronic, long-lasting problem. Nearly everyone who is
dizzy will get better. This is because a person's sense
of balance is a complex interaction between the brain,
each ear's separate vestibular system, and the sense of
vision. When one component breaks down, the others
usually learn to compensate.
What Causes It?
Vertigo can be
caused by many things:
-
Infection, such as the ones that cause the common
cold or diarrhea, can cause temporary vertigo via an
ear infection. This inner ear infection is generally
viral, harmless and goes away usually in one to six
weeks, but drugs are available if it is severe.
-
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo -- positional
vertigo or BPPV -- is caused by movement of the
otolith -- a tiny calcium particle the size of a
grain of sand -- from the part of the ear that
senses gravity to the part that senses head
position. The person feels as if their head is
turning when it isn't. A two-minute therapy done
right in the doctor's office can move the otolith
back where it belongs and fix the problem. This
therapy, called the epley maneuver, cures vertigo
80% of the time.
-
Meniere's disease is a disorder characterized by
long-lasting episodes of severe vertigo. Other
symptoms of Meniere's disease are tinnitus (ringing
in the ear), hearing loss and pressure or fullness
in the ear.
-
Dandy's syndrome is a feeling of everything bouncing
up and down. It can happen to people who take an
antibiotic that is toxic to the ear. It usually
improves over time.
-
Less
common, deadly diseases can also cause vertigo, such
as stroke.
Lightheadedness
usually is caused by some surrounding circumstance
impairing blood flow to the brain when a person is
standing up. Blame this problem on our ancestors who
learned to walk upright -- putting our brain above our
heart.
It's a
challenge for the heart to keep the brain supplied with
blood -- and it's easy for this system to break down.
When blood vessels in the brain become dilated, or
expand, due to high temperature, excitement or
hyperventilation, alcohol consumption, or prescription
medications such as antidepressants, a person can become
lightheaded. There can also be more serious causes, such
as a stroke and heart disease.
Disequlibrium can be
caused by:
-
A
kind of arthritis in the neck called cervical
spondylosis, which puts pressure on the spinal cord.
-
Parkinson's disease or related disorders that cause
a person to stoop forward.
-
Disorders involving a part of the brain called the
cerebellum. The cerebellum is the part of the brain
responsible for balance and coordination.
-
Diseases such as diabetes that can lead to loss of
sensation in the legs.
Dizziness in the form of
anxiety is often, but not always, caused by
depression. It can also be due to an anxiety disorder or
phobia.
Various
medications can also cause dizziness as a side effect.
Read more about chronic dizziness |
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