Dizziness is the most common condition seen now a day. Dizziness is often used by patients as a vague term. It is not a medical term. The term dizziness means various sensations ranging from whirling to light-headedness of unsteadiness. The most common type is the spinning of one’s surroundings. This is associated with nausea, vomiting, or sudden sweating.
Some of the other conditions that are somewhat related to vertigo are:
- Feeling of light-headedness which is described by the patient as stupor, blackout, or disorientation.
- Presyncope is a condition in which the patient has a feeling of collapsing with darkening sight or ringing in the ears losing consciousness.
- Vertigo is a specific type of dizziness. It is the medical term for dizziness. Vertigo has no relation with fear of heights. But some people experience the symptoms of vertigo when looking down from a great height.
Dizziness Types
Acute severe dizziness
The patient has a sudden onset of severe dizziness. This attack is not experienced by the patient previously.
Symptoms
- Blurring of vision
- Faintness
- Feeling of rotation or spinning as well as non-rotatory swaying.
- The feeling of unreality and syncope
- Impaired ability to walk.
- Light-headedness
- Nausea and vomiting
- A patient has a problem with imbalance.
- Sudden onset with severe and constant dizziness
- Unsteadiness
- Weakness
Cause of Acute severe dizziness
- Conditions like amnesia, dysprotienemia, sarcoidosis
- Diseases like Diabetes and hypothyroidism
- Drugs and toxins. Use of drugs like anticonvulsants, hypnotics, antihypertensive). Use of alcohol. Use of drugs that reduces pain, which pacifies the mind.
- Head trauma
- Herpes zoster often affects the ear. This is known as Herpes zoster oticus
- Infectious diseases like syphilis, viral, and other bacterial meningitis.
- Low blood pressure
- Multiple sclerosis
- Seizure disorders
- Use of quinine
- Use of streptomycin and gentamycin
Vestibular neuritis
In this condition, the vestibular nerve is involved.
Symptom
- The patient has true vertigo- It is characterized by the visualized spinning of the environment.
- Symptoms are severe for 1 to 2 days and it may decrease in intensity after weeks to months.
Other causes of acute severe Dizziness
- Nystagmus– It is a medical condition in which there are alternating slow and fast movements of the eyes. The patient prefers to keep his eyes closed.
- Stroke-Patients of stroke often present with symptoms of dizziness. Sometimes true dizziness can be seen. Nausea vomiting is common.
Recurrent attacks of dizziness: In this condition, the patient complains of attacks for a longer duration.
This is mainly seen in a condition known as Meniere’s disease.
Symptoms of this condition are:
- Severe episodes of dizziness
- The patient has true vertigo with nausea, vomiting, and imbalance.
- The patient has hearing loss with loud roaring tinnitus (ringing in ears) with ear fullness.
- Episodes last for hours.
Recurrent positional dizziness
In this condition, dizziness is felt as a result of certain head positions. In medical terms, it is known as Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).
Symptoms
- Recurrent short-duration attacks of dizziness which is caused by head position.
- Dizziness episodes last less than 1 minute and the patient is normal between episodes.
- Nausea and mild light-headedness can persist longer than 1 minute.
Head positions that can trigger vertigo are:
- When a patient lookup.
- Turning over the bed.
- Getting in or out of bed.
Other causes:
- Migraine in which headache occurs as a result of stimuli such as light, sound, or motion. This will increase the tendency of headaches. Along with this patient can have a genetic tendency.
- Panic disorder-Dizziness is the most important symptom of this condition.
Causes of vertigo
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
Acute vestibular neuritis (Labyrinthitis)- Labyrinth is part of the inner ear which has organs responsible for hearing and balance. If inflammation occurs in this part it can lead to vertigo.
- Meniere’s disease
- Migraine
- Cervical migraine
- Anxiety disorder
Physiological Vertigo– Motion sickness can also result in dizziness. It is seen in few people that during traveling by different means of transport like by car, ship or plane, they feel dizzy.
Sometimes vertigo can also be seen after trauma. It is seen after minor head injuries. It is due to a combination of the inner ear or brain disorder.
Benign or malignant ear tumors.
Psychogenic vertigo– Vertigo can often occur as a result of anxiety disorders like neuroses or depression.
Condition like acoustic neuroma can cause dizziness. It is a tumor of the vestibulocochlear nerve.
Some autoimmune inner ear disease can cause dizziness. Specific conditions like Cogan’s syndrome. Wegener’s granulomatosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren’s syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis can cause dizziness.
Other Causes of Dizziness
- Cervical arthritis can cause dizziness.
- Cholesteatoma– It is a condition in which skin growth occurs in the middle ear behind the eardrum.
- Mal de debarquement is a sensation of rocking or movement that persists after a cruise or other form of travel.
- Conditions in which middle ear pressure changes like and allergies can result in dizziness.
- Otitis media is a bacterial infection of the middle ear that can cause dizziness. Besides this bacterial infections like meningitis can also spread to the inner ear and can cause dizziness.
- At times dehydration can produce light-headedness and dizziness.
- Defective heart valve which involves the aortic valve (medically known as aortic stenosis) can cause defective blood supply to the body and produces dizziness.
- Heart attack can cause dizziness. It occurs as a result of a lack of blood to the brain.
It is seen that 50% of cases of vertigo are related to disease of the inner ear, 5% of cases are caused
by disease of the nervous system, 5% occur seen as a result of drug usage, 15% occur as a result of psychological and psychiatric causes, 25% of cases of vertigo cause are unknown.
Homeopathic Medicine for Treatment of Dizziness
Belladonna
It is useful in cases where the attacks are violent and sudden in onset. The patient has heat and redness in the body with throbbing and burning. It is given to a patient who lives in a world of his own. He lives in his own world. He has hallucinations and sees monsters. He has delirium and becomes furious in which he bites, strikes another person. It is given when a patient has vertigo with falling to the left side or backward. He is sensitive to the least contact. The patient often has severe throbbing and heat. Pain has fullness, especially in the forehead. This headache is worse from light, noise, lying down, and in the afternoon. It is given when a patient has vertigo which is associated with nausea when turning quickly round in a circle or when waking from morning sleep. This medicine is given when a patient’s dizziness is relieved in the open air and feels worse in a room. A patient has fits of dizziness both when at rest or in motion. Along with dizziness patient has dullness of mind. A patient has a loss of consciousness and falling with anguish mind. It is given when a patient has luminous vibrations before the eyes. He has vertigo when rising from a resting position.
Dosage-30 potency, 4 pellets to be given after 4 hours for 5 days.
China
It is a very good remedy for vertigo when a patient suffers from loss of blood. He has vertigo with fainting from anemia. Along with vertigo patient has the heaviness of the head with fainting, loss of sight, ringing in the ears. It is given when a patient has giddiness and sleeplessness. He has felt that he is awake all night. He has dizziness on raising the head which falls backward. He has an intense throbbing headache which is better by moving the head up and down.
Dosage-200 potency, 4 pellets,3 times a day for 5 days.
Phosphorus
It is given when a patient has painful dizziness with a violent pressing headache. The patient also suffers from fever with chilliness and shuddering without thirst. He has an uncomfortable feeling in the whole body. It is given when the patient is unable to collect his senses in the morning after rising. There is a feeling of heaviness and giddiness. It is given when a patient has vertigo when rising from a seat. The patient has a difficult sight. Vertigo is often seen which is followed by nausea. He has a sensation as if he would fall forward in the morning and after dinner. He has nausea in the afternoon, heartburn with a red face, and a sensation as if something had lodged in the throat. It is given when a patient has felt as if heavy pressure from above downward in the forepart of the head. He has violent vertigo when before or after a meal.
Spigelia
It is a remedy that is given when giddiness occurs as a result when looking downward. This is related to nausea. It is given when a patient complains of vertigo in the open air when turning the head while walking. Vertigo is seen when walking often seen with instability in motion. He has a tendency to fall to the left side. It can also be given when a patient has vertigo with loss of consciousness. It is given when a patient has uneasiness in the chest and abdomen as if stool would come on.
Dosage- 30 potency, 4 pellets, to be given 3 times a day.
Bryonia
It is given when a patient has vertigo when rising from a chair. This sensation often disappears after walking. Dizziness is felt the whole day. He feels as if he is intoxicated. It is given when a patient has the weakness of limbs. Vertigo is often seen when sitting straight in bed with nausea and fainting. Vertigo while walking in the fresh air, always going off when sitting down.
Dosage- 30 potency, 4 pellets, to be given 2 times a day.