Beware of Sudden Dizziness That Develops During the Day!

If you experience complaints such as "Everything is spinning," "The ground is slipping from under my feet," "I'm swaying to one side," "My head feels empty," or "My vision is going dark," these symptoms may be a sign of vertigo. Vertigo, which first appears with symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, and fainting, can significantly impair quality of life if left untreated. Hisar Hospital Intercontinental Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist Prof. Dr. Tayfun Apuhan provides information on the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of vertigo.

Vertigo may be caused by the ear or by neurological problems

Vertigo is mostly a false sensation of displacement that can occur with dizziness. It is a kind of motion illusion in which a person feels that objects are spinning around them, even though this is not actually happening, or feels that they themselves are spinning around objects when they close their eyes. It is most often caused by inner ear disorders, namely the displacement of inner ear crystals. Although the ear is the cause of 70% of all true vertigo cases, neurological dizziness can also lead to vertigo.

Severe dizziness lasting for days is its most important symptom!

Vertigo is usually diagnosed by examination. Depending on the patient's condition, how the complaints started, how long they lasted, accompanying additional symptoms, whether there is a chronic disease, and medication history, the tests requested will largely help with diagnosis.

When the duration of dizziness is examined in detail, dizziness that lasts only a few seconds or minutes can often be seen in positional vertigo (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). In a more severe picture, where dizziness lasting for days is accompanied by nausea and vomiting, inflammation of the balance nerve comes to mind. In episodes of lightheadedness, dizziness, darkening of vision, and fainting, neurological and cardiological diseases may be suspected.

Vertigo can also arise due to a brain or ear problem

Vertigo caused by ear problems is called "peripheral," and vertigo caused by brain diseases is called "central vertigo." Dizziness due to ear diseases is accompanied by symptoms such as tinnitus, hearing loss, a feeling of pressure in the ear, nausea, vomiting, ear discharge, and abnormal eye movements. In dizziness due to neurological diseases, headache, swallowing difficulties, numbness in the body, paralysis, and abnormalities in eye movements may occur. Other complaints that may accompany dizziness can be highly variable. However, many patients have only dizziness. Changes in consciousness are seen in disorders related to the brain's balance center or of psychogenic origin. Loss of consciousness is also frequently encountered in brain and brainstem hemorrhages.

Positional vertigo can be easily diagnosed with a few tests

Among the causes of positional vertigo, the disease develops due to the displacement of crystals within the fluid-filled canals of the inner ear with head movements. This condition is characterized by dizziness lasting a few seconds or minutes, triggered by sudden head movements. Typically, it develops when the patient turns over or gets up in bed, or suddenly turns their head to one side. Raising the head upward and bending forward to pick something up from the floor are the most common triggering movements. For diagnosis, the disease is attempted to be diagnosed with the Dix-Hallpike (DH) test, lying down and rolling tests. In the Dix-Hallpike (DH) test, the patient is suddenly brought from a sitting to a lying position, and at this time the head is placed in a specific position. After waiting approximately 20 seconds, the patient is returned to a sitting position. If typical eye movements do not occur, the test is repeated for the other side. Observing typical eye movements in this test is important for diagnosis. Since the diagnosis can be easily made with maneuvers, an additional test may not be needed.

Medication use is not recommended in the treatment of vertigo

Because the underlying problem generally does not produce full symptoms in vertigo, medication treatment is not preferred. Since drug side effects may cause sleepiness and lightheadedness in terms of the course of the disease, it is recommended not to use medication as long as possible. As a sleeping position, patients must lie with their head raised. Sudden head movements should be avoided, and the exercise programs prescribed under medical supervision must be followed.