By admin At Media Health Group, we make daily symptoms like giddiness and make them understandable or comprehensible. We are big on giving our users help with the causative factors, treatment methods, and proper care advice so that they can handle it confidently and not with worry.
If you start feeling faint, dizzy or imbalanced especially without cause, it can cause you to be worried. Giddiness which is also known as dizziness is not a defect, it is just a symptom. It might be likened to feeling like you are spinning, lightheaded or not balanced.
Another thing that can be alerting is that dizziness can be caused by cardiovascular issues, anxiety, ear problems, or neurological imbalance.
In this article, we will go through 6 knowledgeable reasons for giddiness, aid you in comprehending what makes you feel so imbalanced and when to seek help.
Almost every case of giddiness is caused by the vestibular system of the inner ear, which is the part that handles balance. Some popular cases are:
Vestibular neuritis
- The vestibular nerve gets infected by viral infections.
- The symptoms are inclusive of nausea, chronic dizziness that lasts for days, vomiting.
- It usually goes gradually over a few weeks.
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo
- Little calcium crystals known as otoconia found in the semicircular canals get displaced.
- The symptoms include short but severe spinning that occurs when the head moves.
- It usually lasts below 1 minute.
- It can be cured with Brandt or Epley maneuver.
Ménière’s disease
- Build up of fluid in the inner ear leads to ear blockage, constant vertigo, and tinnitus.
- It is usually severe and can be handled by a diet with low salt or proper medications.
A good percentage of giddiness are connected to the way your heart and its circulation operates:
Presyncope
- This is a feeling of almost fainting, bad vision, and fatigue.
- It happens due to bad flow of blood to the brain.
Orthostatic hypotension
- When you get up too fast, your blood pressure goes down.
- You might likely feel dizzy, lightheaded or even sweat a lot.
- Happens a lot in elderly people, people on some medications, or dehydrated people.
Some other cardiac causes are heart obstruction, arrhythmia, or mini stroke. These might also come with some symptoms such as confusion or chest pain.
How your inner ear, joints, and vision functions determines how balanced you will be. When there is an issue with that, it might lead to giddiness. .
Positive Romberg Sign which is a test for joint loss
- Patients are asked to stand, feet adjoined, closed eyes and arms side by side for a minute.
- It has a positive outcome of falling eyes shut or imbalance.
- It might mean sensory dysfunction and can be caused by peripheral neuropathy, vitamin B12 deficiency, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, or neurosyphilis.
Some other neurological causes are ischemia, cerebellar ataxia, structural lesions, or Parkinson’s disease. More discovery is made using a positive Romberg.
Daily triggers are:
- Anemia which is a low oxygen supply to the brain that can cause dizziness.
- Lack of hydration which happens more in dry weather or after doing proper exercise.
- Exposure to heat in susceptible people and can cause dizziness and heat stroke.
- Low blood sugar which is often found in people that diet, or diabetics.
Some other triggers are medications like antidepressants, exposure to weather, or hypoxia.
Anxiety
- Dizziness comes with sweating, racing heart, or fright.
- The vestibular function can be affected by stress hormones like cortisol.
- You can help it by undergoing stress management and therapy.
Vestibular migraine
- The symptoms stay for minutes or even days, especially when there is vision or hearing impairment.
- Dizziness that doesn’t come with headache which is caused by stress mostly.
- Mostly seen as normal dizziness.
At times, giddiness might be a warning sign that will need immediate check:
Warning Signs:
- Constant lack of balance that causes falls.
- Sudden dizziness that comes with, lack of vision, fatigue, facial drop, or impaired speech.
- Cases that keep happening and are not due to lifestyle.
- Dizziness that comes with, breath seizure, or chest ache.
When Help is Needed:
- If there is a persistence or increase of symptoms.
- If feelings go over few minutes without any reason.
- If it is connected to neurological issues.
No, not really. Giddiness is mostly accompanied with imbalance, lightheadness, and head spinning. There are also various causes that are hidden.
No. BPPV can be usually treated with basic options such as Epley and it goes away in either days or months.
A positive Romberg test means issues with joints or sensory function and not vestibular or cerebellar disease. It also helps with examination for cases like neuropathy, B12 deficiency, or spinal problems.
Yes, specifically when it is combined with less fluids, heat, or intense exercise. Drinking water often makes it go away immediately.
You should go for immediate care, if your giddiness is accompanied with impaired speech, facial droop, chronic headache, or fatigue.
There is a huge spectrum for giddiness which ranges from BPPV or lack of hydration to more severe signs like neuropathy or TIA. It is important to understand the form, what causes it and its symptoms to help you deal with it better.
At Media Health Group, we are big advocates of changing symptoms to power. It becomes better if you know the causes for giddiness.