Dizziness is a term used to describe everything from feeling faint or lightheaded to feeling weak or unsteady. Dizziness that creates the sense that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving is called vertigo.
Dizziness is one of the most common reasons adults visit their doctors — right up there with chest pain and fatigue. Although frequent dizzy spells or constant dizziness can keep you from doing much of anything, dizziness rarely signals a serious, life-threatening condition. Treatment of dizziness depends on the cause and your symptoms, but is usually effective.
There are three main types of dizziness:
- Faintness/lightheadedness
- Vertigo
- Disequilibrium
Difference Between Faintness And Vertigo:
Faintness is the feeling of a lack of strength with a sensation of impending loss of consciousness. An impairment of circulation is a common cause; blood loss or dehydration, as well as heart problems, can impair circulation. However, low blood sugar, low oxygen levels in the blood, acute infections, and drug reactions can also cause lightheadedness.
Vertigo is a sensation of spinning or whirling, or a hallucination that the room is spinning. Disequilibrium is a feeling of falling to one side or the other. It causes a loss of balance.
Alternative Names:
Light-headedness – dizzy; Loss of balance; Vertigo
Common Causes:
Light-headedness occurs when your brain does not get enough blood. This may occur if:
- You have a sudden drop in blood pressure
- Your body does not have enough water (is dehydrated) because of vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and other conditions
- You get up too quickly after sitting or lying down (this is more common in older people)
- Light-headedness may also occur if you have the flu, low blood sugar, a cold, or allergies.
More serious conditions that can lead to light-headedness include:
- Heart problems, such as a heart attack or abnormal heart beat
- Stroke
- Bleeding inside the body
- Shock (extreme drop in blood pressure)
- If any of these serious disorders is present, you will usually also have symptoms like chest pain, a feeling of a racing heart, loss of speech, change in vision, or other symptoms.
Vertigo may be due to:
- Benign positional vertigo, a spinning feeling that occurs when you move your head
- Labyrinthitis, a viral infection of the inner ear that usually follows a cold or flu
- Meniere’s disease, a common inner ear problem
Other causes of lightheadedness or vertigo may include:
- Use of certain medications
- Stroke
- Multiple sclerosis
- Seizures
- Brain tumor
- Bleeding in the brain
Symptoms of Dizziness:
A person with dizziness might experience a lot of other symptoms apart from being tired and imbalanced. The following are some of the symptoms relating to light-headedness.
- Excessive tiredness
- Fainting
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- State of confusion
- Head reeling or vertigo
- Weakness
- Numbness on the face
- Hearing deficiency
- Blurred vision
- Squeezing pain in the chest
- Persistence of heart beat
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of balance
- Speech impairment
Diagnostic Tests:
Your doctor will perform a physical exam, focusing on your heart, head, ears, and nervous system Then Follow These tests also.
- Blood pressure measurements and tests
- ECG
- Hearing tests
- Neurological tests
- Balance testing (ENG) may be required
- MRI
Treatment of Dizziness:
Light-headedness is said to be a temporary state of sensation that disappears without any treatment. Quite often the treatment for dizziness is based upon the cause of its occurrence. Light-headedness caused due to dehydration and loss of fluids might be treated to control vomiting by giving IV fluids to the patient. Medications like antihistamines, sedatives and anti-nausea treatment might be provided in severe condition. In the case of heart problems, dizziness is treated with specialized medication and treatment. A heart stroke or attack may need emergency hospitalization. A surgery might become important for Meniere’s disease. Patients suffering from fever or infection might be given medicines to control it. Treatment for the increase of electrolyte levels is given if the blood count is observed to be low in a blood test.
Prevention:
Promptly treat ear infections, colds, flu, sinus congestion, and other respiratory infections. This may help prevent labyrinthitis and Meniere’s disease.
If you have a cold, the flu, or other viral illness, drink plenty of fluids to prevent getting dehydrated.