Dizziness usually has a minor cause, but as a symptom, it can be the cause of very dangerous falls among patients. If you experience dizziness or a loved one complains about it, be sure to contact a doctor.
Dizziness is a subjective sensation of spinning, rocking, instability or imbalance. I will explain it vividly. “I am standing and the world is spinning around me.” This is a symptom that is typical of damage to the peripheral part of the vestibular organ in the inner ear or the vestibular nerve, which is the organ of equilibrium. “I am walking and I cannot stay on my feet.” Such a symptom is most often associated with damage to the central part of the vestibular system, i.e. the nuclei of the vestibular nerve and their connections with other brain structures, such as the brainstem, cerebellum and the cerebral cortex – explains Prof. dr hab. n. med. Konrad Rejdak, head of the Department and Clinic of Neurology at the Medical University of Lublin, president elect of the Polish Neurological Society.
Dizziness is very common and can be with us throughout our lives. They concern 5-10 percent. population, and their frequency increases with age – after the age of 65 as much as 30 percent feel them. people. Dizziness is often accompanied by other symptoms, such as tinnitus, imbalance and spatial orientation disorders, nausea, vomiting.
When the labyrinth goes crazy
Dizziness can be a symptom of damage to virtually any part of the equilibrium system. – The causes of vertigo are usually mild and transient. However, we also have a whole list of serious causes – that is, neurological diseases that may not be very common, but collectively make up a large proportion. What most often happens to us is a disorder of the vestibular system in the inner ear, in which we have a labyrinthine system. Positional dizziness is very common. This means that placing the head in a certain position can cause very unpleasant sensations of dizziness, spinning the world around. They are accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and balance disorders. It often happens that when we go to sleep and turn our head to the right or left, we feel this unpleasant phenomenon. These are temporary disorders and quite mild, but they can last for weeks and, if they are misdiagnosed, they cause very unpleasant ailments – says Prof. Rejdak.
Watch out for falls!
We very often underestimate dizziness, explaining to ourselves that it is the result of the aging process, stress or exhaustion. However, the consequences of not treating dizziness can be serious. Dizziness may be accompanied by imbalance, manifested by walking. From them, it is a straight path to falls, which are so dangerous, especially for seniors. Due to the serious consequences of falls in the form of injuries and the related disability, morbidity and mortality, they are classified as great geriatric problems.
It is estimated that every year in Poland every fourth person falls, and about 10 percent. of all falls ends in the hospital. Prolonged convalescence and bed rest can cause serious complications such as deep vein thrombosis and pneumonia. In addition, after such an event, a senior may develop a post-fall syndrome, which is characterized by the fear of another fall. It results in limiting one’s life activity, not leaving the house, which leads to a decrease in physical fitness and thus an increased risk of another fall.
Post-accident syndrome affects 20-65 percent people who have fallen. So the conclusion is obvious: report dizziness to your GP as it can have very serious consequences.
How a family doctor can help
– In most cases, the family doctor is the one who can tell if it is quite common dizziness due to irritation of the labyrinth and inner ear. Then, he or she will either refer the patient to an ENT consultation or to a neurologist if he / she becomes suspicious that the symptom is constant, persistent and has features related to impaired neurological functions. However, in most situations, he or she can undergo emergency treatment that will alleviate the symptoms and lead to their disappearance in a short time. If this happens, it means that the causes of vertigo were mild – reminds prof. Rejdak.
In order to relieve the patient of dizziness, its cause should be found, but it can also be treated symptomatically. Symptomatic treatment is necessary to reduce the stress and discomfort of vertigo, but it is not the only one.
– Troubleshooting should always be performed to find the cause. If we find such a cause, the patient should be treated causally. But sometimes the immediate cause of the vertigo cannot be detected. Diagnostic difficulties in dizziness are caused, among other things, by the fact that it is a subjective symptom. Symptomatic treatment then remains. It involves the use of drugs that act on the vestibular system. This is how betahistine preparations work by influencing the histamine receptors in the labyrinth and vestibular structures.
Drugs that improve cerebral circulation and those that inhibit the gag reflex, i.e. reduce the phenomena accompanying dizziness, such as those used in motion sickness, are also helpful. So we soothe unpleasant sensations, but we also closely observe the patient if there is any more serious cause behind the dizziness – explains Prof. Rejdak.
Not only pharmacotherapy
In positional vertigo, special maneuvers and exercises are performed, but these may only be performed under the supervision of a specialist. You cannot do it yourself. Of course, situations that make you dizzy or aggravate should be avoided. For example, if they are related to heart failure and the patient has low blood pressure in addition, they should not make sudden head movements or suddenly get out of bed. First, he should sit down, wait a moment, and then take a vertical position. These are natural methods of avoiding provocation and irritation of the labyrinth.
I started feeling dizzy about a year ago. I am a person who is very afraid of disease, so I didn’t go to the doctor right away. But as the dizziness began to worsen and I felt anxiety to leave the house so as not to fall over, my daughter signed me up to the family doctor. I told the doctor that I felt dizzy in the morning, but also during the day when I was making sudden movements. The doctor reassured me that it was nothing dangerous, not to worry. My dizziness is called positional dizziness. She prescribed a medication for me and referred me to an ENT specialist for special exercises. The exercise wasn’t very enjoyable, but it made me feel better
Grażyna Kałużyńska, 70s
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