Dizziness and Vertigo: Vertigo is a condition that causes dizziness. If you have vertigo, you may experience dizziness only for a short time (minutes). However, in some people, vertigo dizziness can last for hours or even days. People who have this condition may also have a feeling sick (nausea) and sickness (vomiting). They also may have lost their balance. Vertigo is usually caused by problems within the internal(inner) ear.
What is Dizziness?
- It is an imprecise term that is being used for a variety of complaints, including a vague feeling of unsteadiness for acute vertigo.
- Common physiological causes of dizziness reduced blood supply to the brain, loss of visual cues, disturbances in the inner ear and dysfunction of the nervous system due to various drugs.
- Clinically this term is widely used to address the anxiety experienced dizziness, during palpitations, syncope and chronic pain
What is Vertigo?
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Vertigo is a type of headache that may last only for a short time (minutes) or that can last for hours or even days. People who have vertigo have a false sense of their surroundings moving or spinning. It is usually accompanied by pain (nausea) and loss of balance.
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This condition can also cause a person with the condition of being sick (vomiting). Vertigo is a symptom and not the condition itself. In most cases there are medical conditions that cause vertigo. However, sometimes the cause is unknown.
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Drugs to treat vertigo help to ease nausea and vomiting, and some can also relieve headaches. These drugs are usually only given for a short period of time (up to 14 days).
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In many cases, your doctor can determine what condition is causing vertigo and then will advise on treatment for this condition.
Causes of vertigo
- The most common causes of vertigo problems with the inner ear - for example, infection or inflammation. As we move our head, inner ear tells us where our center.
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This is done by sending signals to the brain and this helps us to keep our balance. If there is a problem with the inner ear that causes us to feel sick (nausea) and dizziness.
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Other conditions that can affect the inner ear and cause vertigo, including Meniere’s disease, intoxication and toxicity of the ear caused by drugs.
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A common cause of vertigo in the elderly is benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo.
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This causes intense headache (brief episodes of vertigo) when you move your head in a certain direction.
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It was thought to be caused by small fragments of debris in the inner ear.
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Less commonly, vertigo can be caused by conditions that make changes to certain parts of the brain - for example:
- A stroke.
- Migraine.
- Multiple sclerosis.
- A brain growth (acoustic neuroma).
- Double vision (diplopia).
- Drinking too much alcohol
Treatment of Vertigo
- Treatment of vertigo depends on what has caused it. For example, if you have an ear infection the doctor may prescribe antibiotics.
- For other causes of vertigo doctor may give you specific exercises to do. The rest of this leaflet is only discuss drugs that help to alleviate the symptoms of dizziness and nausea caused by vertigo.
- There are separate leaflets called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, Meniere’s disease, vestibular neuritis and Labyrinthitis, Headache and Migraine.
Note: Vertigo sometimes referred to as the ‘fear of heights’ - this is not true. The proper term for the fear of heights is Acrophobia.
Any cure for vertigo and how do they work?
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Some medications may be prescribed to help with symptoms of vertigo. They include prochlorperazine or antihistamines such as cinnarizine, cyclizine or promethazine.
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These drugs are the same people who used to help treat every feeling sick (nausea) and drunk. They work by blocking certain chemicals within the brain. Prochlorperazine block a chemical called dopamine; this helps with severe pain.
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Antihistamines block histamine, which helps with mild disease and sickness (vomiting) and vertigo. Betahistine is an antihistamine that can be prescribed to patients with Ménière’s disease, to prevent attacks from happening. It is estimated that these drugs increase blood flow around the ear.
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These medicines come in different brands and is available as tablets, capsules, liquids and injectables. Some are available as a tablet that dissolves between the upper gums and the mouth (sublingual tablet).
How well do these drugs of vertigo work?
There is no good research which tells us how well these drugs work. However, they had been prescribed to treat vertigo for many years.
Which medicine is usually prescribed for vertigo and dizziness?
- Treatment options depend on what is causing the vertigo and the severity of your symptoms. If you have a severe feeling sick (nausea), your doctor may prescribe prochlorperazine.
- The advantage of this drug is that it is available as an injection or as a tablet to dissolve between the upper gums and the mouth (sublingual tablet). It may be better suited for people who are very ill and sick (vomiting).
- If you have mild nausea, the doctor may prescribe antihistamines such as cinnarizine, cyclizine or promethazine. It will also help to treat dizziness.
- Vertigo and dizziness sound the same, because they both share some of the same characteristics, but they differ in many ways.
- Stationary rotation sensation when the patient is referred to as dizziness, temporary sensation of rotation in which patients feel they are rotating or moving environment is referred to as vertigo. This article emphasizes the distinction between the two terms, which will help one to better understanding.
Side effects
- It is not possible to list all the possible side effects of each drug in this leaflet. However, as with all drugs, there are a number of side effects have been reported. If you want more specific information for your drugs, see the information leaflet that comes with your medication.
- Most side effects are not serious and everyone can react differently to these drugs. Common side effects include drowsiness, constipation, headache, fatigue, difficulty sleeping (insomnia) and indigestion.
- Prochlorperazine may cause muscle twitching shoulders, face and neck. It usually disappears after the drug is discontinued.
What is the difference between Vertigo and Dizziness?
- Vertigo is a definite symptom and dizziness is an imprecise term.
- Sensation of rotation when the patient is stationary is named dizziness, while sensation of rotation during which the patient feels that their surroundings are spinning or moving is named vertigo.
- Vertigo is typically related to nausea, vomiting and unsteadiness, but dizziness may or might not.
- Disorder in the vestibular apparatus or its central connections are liable for vertigo, but dizziness could also be resulted from disorders within the multiple body parts including internal(inner) ear, eyes, musculoskeletal system and the nervous system.
Summary:
Dizziness is the range of various sensations such as feeling faint, unstable, weak and woozy. Dizziness is something that create the false feeling of vertigo. Vertigo is basically a sensation of spinning, moving and off balance.
Do and Don’t during feeling of vertigo and dizziness?
There are belongings you can do to alleviate the vertigo symptoms once they occur, and to scale back the amount of episodes you have got.
Do
- Lying still in a quiet, dark room to reduce the feeling of spinning
- Move your head carefully and slowly during daily activities
- Seated immediately when you feel dizzy
- Listen smooth music
- Turn on the lights if you get up at night
- Use a stick if you are at risk of falling
- Sleep with the head slightly elevated on two or more pillows
- Get out of bed slowly and sit on the edge of the bed for a while before standing
- Try to relax - anxiety can make bad vertigo
Don’t
- Do not bend over to pick up items - squat to lose, not
- Do not stretch your neck - for example, while reaching up to a high shelf
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is the list of questions people are wondering about:
1-What is the treatment of hypertension?
Hypertension is a medical condition in which the blood pressure is raised to the normal level.
Hypertension is the most commonly known as “High blood pressure” and mostly occurring disease in the Cardiovascular system. Hypertension can be treated by low salt intake, lowering cholesterol level, healthy lifestyle, and the use of medications.
2- Does yoga prove helpful during the treatment of stress?
Yes, The most popular benefit of yoga is its ability to reduce stress, tension, fatigue and pain. Yoga also works to reduce the pain associated with other types of medical conditions such as headaches, neck, shoulder and back pain, arthritis, depression and fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, asthma and more
3- What are the symptoms of migraine?
Here is the list of most common symptoms of migraine
- Food cravings
- Neck stiffness
- Depression
- Hyperactivity
- Fatigue or low energy
- Frequent yawning
- Irritability
4- What are the causes of stress?
There is a lot of causes of stress but here we will listed the most common ones which are as follows:
- Work and personal pressure
- Change in the pattern of life
- Uncertainty
- Overburden work
- Depression or anxiety
- Insomnia
- Anger and restlessness
- Making bad decisions
5- What are the symptoms of psychological stress?
The symptoms of psychological stress are:
- Low emotions.
- Restlessness.
- Irritability.
- Panic.
- Overthinking.
Conclusion
After reading the whole scenario of dizziness and vertigo we conclude that vertigo and dizziness are difference in the feeling of sensations but they are same in results. But the sensations related to both dizziness and vertigo may make you lose your balance.
Vertigo is simply a type of dizziness. During vertigo you feel strong sense of moving and spinning.But in Dizziness you may experience moving, spinning, off balance, wobbly, woozy, loosing consciousness and about to faint.
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