Variations are possible. Dizziness can be a symptom of more than 80 diseases

What kind of disease is vertigo?

What is vertigo? This beautiful word denotes an unusual disease that is characterized by an unstable, unsteady gait, falling, and dizziness of a person who thinks that all surrounding objects are in motion, although this is actually not the case.

The most effective way to determine true vertigo (or simply dizziness) is to discover that dizziness and loss of balance do not appear just like that, but, for example, after riding on rides or swings.

The insidious tablet

We all know that after visiting doctors, the number of prescribed drugs increases. And sometimes in the long list there are medications that cause dizziness - antidepressants, diuretics, antihypertensives, anti-inflammatory drugs... By canceling them or replacing them with others, you can get rid of the fact that the ground is disappearing from under your feet.

It is known that some antibiotics can cause unilateral ear damage and dizziness. Here is another reason why you need to be more careful in using antibiotics and not grab them without serious reasons.

Causes of vestibulo-atactic syndrome

The development of vertigo disease in humans is usually a reflection of pathologies of certain body systems responsible for the balance and position of the human body relative to other objects.

The nerves responsible for these functions are located in the cerebellum and cerebral cortex. Information impulses about the physical location of the human body and its movement are received there.

The reason for the appearance of dizziness is the malfunction of the described system of nerve centers, when, due to pathology formed in the “informant” organs, incoming impulses are recognized incorrectly, are distorted and enter the brain in the wrong form.

Dizziness can be classified as either central or peripheral.

Vessels are rarely to blame

Dizziness is often mistaken for a stroke. Here are the most common cases.

A woman wakes up in the morning, turns on her side in bed and experiences severe dizziness, which makes her freeze. Relatives or the patient herself immediately call an ambulance. The ambulance arrives, the patient’s blood pressure rises from fear, sweating appears, but the dizziness does not disappear. Doctors diagnose a stroke and take the sufferer to the hospital. And already in the hospital, the doctors and the patient herself understand that the problem lies in the inner ear.

Or another situation. Production meeting. A man suffering from age-related farsightedness sits wearing new glasses that were prescribed to him for reading. He looks through the papers, glances at his colleagues on the other side of the long table and at the charts pinned on the wall. And he does everything wearing new glasses designed for close work. The planning meeting ends, the man gets up and immediately, losing his balance, falls off his feet. Stroke? No, it’s just that in this situation the eye could not cope with accommodation - it could not fixate on the desired object. After focusing vision on an object several meters away, a person cannot sharply focus on an object nearby, which causes an imbalance.

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A whirlwind of problems. Why do older people often suffer from dizziness?

In the first case, a woman needs the help of an ENT specialist, and an office worker needs the help of an ophthalmologist. But, as a rule, patients first go to a therapist or a neurologist. And, if these doctors know the problem of dizziness well, they will refer the patient to the right specialist.

By the way, vascular dizziness, which the emergency doctors suspected in these two patients, is extremely rare. Dizziness accompanies stroke in only less than one percent of patients. A stroke very rarely causes dizziness, which prevents a person from turning their head, standing up, or doing normal activities. However, every fifth patient with complaints of dizziness is hospitalized with suspected stroke.

Symptoms of central vertigo

The central form of vertigo develops gradually; it can be characterized by mild symptoms that are permanent. Signs of central vertigo include:

• - unusual heart rhythm;
• - increased sweating;
• - attacks of nausea.

These signs of vertigo appear very weakly; an incorrect reaction of the vestibular apparatus is not observed. The transition to a person’s normal state and improvement of well-being occurs quite slowly.

The most common causes of central vertigo are:

• - epilepsy;
• — tumor processes;
• - injuries;
• - improper blood circulation in parts of the brain;
• - migraine.

Clinical studies have confirmed that a person can still develop dizziness of psychogenic origin, that is, arising from certain emotions and experiences - fear, anxiety, neurosis.

Classification

Currently, it is customary to distinguish two groups into which dizziness is divided.

• Central vertigo - occurs with diseases of the brain and disturbances in its functioning.
• Peripheral - they talk about it when the inner ear and vestibular nerve are irritated, or there are signs of their damage.

A separate group includes systemic and non-systemic ones, i.e. physiological dizziness.

When the functioning of a person’s vestibular, visual and muscular systems is disrupted, they speak of systemic vertigo. This condition requires very careful diagnosis and comprehensive treatment.

Non-systemic dizziness has completely different causes - neurogenic. This can be stress, a lack of glucose in the blood, which is caused by fasting or poor diet, and overwork. Children begin to feel dizzy due to long rides on carousels; many people experience bouts of dizziness due to motion sickness on public or sea transport. This condition does not have any serious causes, and soon everything goes away.

Well, those people whose attacks of vertigo occur against the background of any diseases need to undergo a special examination to clarify the true cause.

Peripheral form of vestibulo-atactic syndrome

Peripheral vertigo is characterized by a rather abrupt onset and severe severe manifestations that drag on for more than one day.

Loss of balance, unsteadiness, falls, constant dizziness greatly knock a person out of his usual rut.

This condition is complicated by a deterioration in the normal functioning of the human hearing system, tinnitus, sweating, vomiting, stomach cramps, low blood pressure, and an unusual heartbeat.

The complex of all these signs in medicine is often called “vertigo syndrome” or vertigo-atactic syndrome, vestibulo-atactic syndrome.

The most common cause of the occurrence and development of peripheral vertigo is a dysfunction of the inner ear, which can occur due to:

• - high fluid pressure in the internal structure of the ear;
• - toxic effects of certain medications, for example, antibiotics, as well as alcohol-containing drinks, tobacco products;
• — improper functioning of blood vessels in the structure of the hearing organs;
• - accumulation of calcium salts, it provokes aggravation of vertigo disease; in this case, dizziness appears only in certain positions of the neck and head, this condition can last only a few seconds;
• - inflammatory processes of the hearing organs that occur due to previous infectious or viral diseases.

When the ground disappears from under your feet

Why are older people so afraid of dizziness? Because it often leads to the so-called “6 P” problem. It deciphers sadly - a fall, a fracture, a bed, pneumonia, bedsores and, alas, a funeral. An older person knows: a fall that occurs because “the head is running” can be followed by a list of very dangerous consequences. The feeling of fear from losing balance settles so deeply in the elderly patient that he is simply afraid to leave the house and becomes a recluse. Meanwhile, timely treatment will get rid of the problem and restore the joy of being.

Question and answer Why do you feel dizzy?

Conditions accompanied by dizziness

Vertigo disease can be non-systemic and systemic. What does it mean? And the fact that the systemic one can occur due to malfunctions and damage to the vestibular apparatus. You can feel it when moving, both the person himself and objects relative to him. This condition may be accompanied by a feeling of panic, a general deterioration in the quality of hearing, and nystagmus.

Non-systemic vertigo is characterized by darkening of the eyes, fainting, muscle weakness, poor health when blood pressure changes, and shortness of breath.

Dizziness during menstruation and menopause

Women have their own reasons for dizziness. They are associated with hormonal changes in the body during PMS, menopause or pregnancy. The rapid loss of hemoglobin by the female body during menstrual periods often leads to anemia and lack of oxygen in the brain. It is these reasons that lead to dizziness, depression, and sudden changes in mood. With the advent of menopause, a woman’s body undergoes serious changes, which are accompanied by pressure surges and increased excitability of the autonomic nervous system.

Diagnosis of vertigo - vestibulo-atactic syndrome

Vestibulo-atactic syndrome is not easy to diagnose. For a full diagnosis of vertigo, you will need an MRI of the head, sometimes the spine, electroencephalography (EEG), echoencephalography (ECHO-EG), rheoencephalography (REG), and x-ray of the skull.

To make a diagnosis, neurologists also carry out:

• Romberg test (the patient is placed with his arms and fingers extended forward, then he is asked to close his eyes, if he begins to stagger and cannot maintain balance, this will tell the specialist about disturbances in the functioning of the cerebellum),
• finger-nose test (touching the nose with a finger with the eyes closed; the diagnosis of vestibulo-atactic syndrome begins to be assumed with tremor of the fingers, inaccurate hit).

The intensity of the manifestations of the disease identified during the examination determines whether the diagnosis will be made - severe vestibulo-atactic syndrome, moderate or mild.

First aid

In case of severe attacks of dizziness, the victim must be given first aid. A person should take a horizontal position, take a few drops (8-10) of atropine 0.1% solution. And, of course, do not forget about ensuring the flow of fresh air. In some cases, it may be necessary to relieve nervous tension with sedatives or tranquilizers.

Further assistance should be provided by a doctor. Only a specialist can identify the cause of dizziness and prescribe effective treatment. It is quite possible that to find out a more complete picture of the disease and an accurate diagnosis, you will need to consult different doctors: a therapist, a neurologist, an endocrinologist, an otolaryngologist.

How to treat vertigo

As with any other disease, in order for the treatment of vertigo to be most effective, it is first necessary to accurately determine the cause of this deviation.

The main therapy prescribed for dizziness is taking medications that improve blood flow in the vessels of the brain, as well as improve blood flow to all parts of the brain.

Similar drugs include Actovegin, Mildronate, Mexidol, Cavinton, Cerebrolysin, Trental, Vinpocetine, Tanakan, etc.

In addition to these medications, various rehabilitation measures will improve the condition: exercises to develop balance, increase strength, coordination, stretching exercises for muscles and tendons.

By the way

About 5% of the world's population suffers from dizziness, and with age the likelihood of its occurrence increases sharply (for example, every second person over 85 years old suffers from it).

Unfortunately, not every doctor can accurately diagnose the symptoms of real dizziness (or vertigo). As a result, up to 75% of diseases that cause discomfort remain unrecognized and without treatment. But not so long ago in our country, with the support of Abbott, special schools began to open for patients suffering from dizziness. They are already in 23 cities of the country (for example, in Samara, Saratov, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnoyarsk) on the basis of specialized centers for the diagnosis and treatment of dizziness. So there is hope that the situation with the diagnosis and treatment of vertigo will improve over time.

Treatment with folk remedies

Fans of alternative medicine and folk remedies have their own recipes for relieving attacks of dizziness. The following are considered effective in these cases: ginger tea, carrot, beet and pomegranate juices. Drinking small portions of parsley seed tea throughout the day will stop the attack. Tea is brewed at the rate of 1 teaspoon of seeds per glass of boiling water and infused for 6-8 hours. Mint, lemon balm, linden blossom - teas made from these medicinal plants also have a positive effect in the treatment of dizziness.

Attacks of dizziness, as such, do not pose any threat to human life. However, in some cases they can indicate serious illnesses. And therefore, if, along with dizziness, symptoms such as severe headache, loss of sensation in the limbs, incoherent speech, and confusion are observed, you should urgently call an ambulance.

Primary appointment with a neurologist: 1850 RUR.

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Exercises for vertigo

To get rid of dizziness, the cause of which is the effect of vertigo, there are many different methods, the most effective of which is considered to be vestibular gymnastics. The set of exercises presented below may cause a stronger feeling of dizziness, do not be afraid, much less stop. Before performing gymnastics, it will be useful to familiarize yourself with the rules for its implementation.

1. You need to do the exercises 2 times every day.
2. Shoes should be comfortable, but it is acceptable to do gymnastics barefoot.
3. It is recommended to perform the exercises for about half an hour.
4. If you have other diseases, it is better to avoid exercise for the period of illness.
5. The results of this method should be recorded together with the attending physician.

Vertigo - gymnastics

Vertigo is a disease that can be corrected with special exercises. When performing this complex, you need to control the pace; you should not rush, so as not to lose your balance and fall.

1. Head turns
   . You need to take a comfortable position, place an object (for example, a pen) in front of your eyes at a distance of 30 cm and turn your head from side to side in the same plane, without taking your eyes off the object.
2. Eye tracking
   . In the same position, you need to take a sheet of paper with printed text and move it from side to side and up and down at a distance of 30 cm from the eyes. The head is motionless, you need to follow the sheet only with your eyes.
3. Rocking on the ankles
   . Starting position: basic stance, looking straight ahead. In this position, you need to start swinging back and forth and from side to side, without lifting your legs.
4. Turning the head while walking
   . The pace is normal. When walking, you need to slowly turn your head to the right and left every third step.

Yoga for vertigo

This type of activity can work wonders, and what is important, without any negative consequences for the body, but provided that in each individual case the asanas are selected correctly. For example, in case of dizziness, it is recommended to avoid inverted poses so as not to aggravate the situation. In yoga, there are some exercises for relieving dizziness and headaches, which are performed with the help of mudras. Vertigo syndrome is included in the list of indications for performing these simple but effective exercises.

Among the neutral and safe poses, the following can be identified (but they do not replace consultation with your doctor):

1. Shalabhasana - locust pose.
2. Anantasana.
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3. Utkatasana - chair pose.
4. Janu-sirsasana.
5. Cobra - Bhujangasana.