Vertigo is a series of symptoms characterized by sudden dizziness, sensations of the surroundings moving or spinning, and nausea. Patients might also experience headaches of migraine intensity, motion sickness, vomiting, and tinnitus. Hearing loss, although uncommon, may also happen. Vertigo may also cause panic attacks and a racing heart(tachycardia) in some people, although it usually settles on its own and is nothing to worry about.
Vertigo is rarely a condition on its own; it’s rather a symptom or manifestation of some underlying condition or injury/injuries. It is seldom harmful or serious, although vertigo symptoms may cause discomfort and unpleasant bouts of dizziness. This can cause people to feel anxious and uncomfortable during office hours and situations that need them to socialize with other people.
Some vertigo patients often get depressed or experience severe bouts of anxiety owing to this, which further adds to the problem. Treatment procedures for vertigo generally involve treating the underlying condition to get rid of the dizziness, nausea, & other vertigo-like symptoms. Your doctor may also recommend other vertigo treatments like vertigo medicines including the Stugeron Forte tablet, vertigo exercises, & home remedies.
If none of these vertigo treatment methods work as expected, then your doctor may opt to take the surgical route for your case. Otherwise, however, surgeries are extremely rare as forms of vertigo treatment.
Vertigo symptoms
Vertigo can manifest itself in different ways in different individuals. The symptoms may also vary in terms of their intensity, frequency, & duration. However, there are few symptoms that a majority of, if not all, vertigo patients experience. These vertigo symptoms include:
- A sudden dizzy spell
- A sensation of the surroundings moving or spinning around without any external motion present
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headaches, sometimes of migraine intensity
- Sensitivity to light & sound
- Hearing loss
- tinnitus(a ringing, buzzing, whooshing, or whistling sound in the ears)
- Spinning to one side
- Swaying to one side
- Tilting to one side
- Rapid, abnormal eye movements, also known as nystagmus
- Excessive sweating and chills
These symptoms might be mild to moderate in intensity, causing only a little discomfort and trouble. However, for some others, the symptoms might be especially severe and intense enough to cause significant debilitation and trouble.
Vertigo causes
Vertigo causes include a range of conditions, some benign, others more serious. Ear infections, certain injuries, ear surgery, & some central nervous system disorders can bring on vertigo symptoms.
Some of the most common vertigo causes are:
- BPPV(Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo): It is an inner ear disorder that causes the tiny calcium crystals inside the middle ear, to get accidentally dislodged inside the inner ear canal. This leads to dizziness, nausea, headaches, motion sickness, & other vertigo-like symptoms. BPPV is usually triggered by changes in the head’s position. Movements like sitting up suddenly, laying down suddenly, or walking too fast can all cause BPPV symptoms in people.
- Meniere’s Disease: It is an inner ear disorder caused by an excessive build-up of fluid inside the ear. This fluid causes feelings of pressure inside the ear, hearing loss, as well as tinnitus(a ringing or buzzing sound in the ear). Meniere’s Disease can also cause dizziness, headaches, nausea, & other vertigo-like symptoms in people. It usually affects only one ear, although cases, where both the ears are affected, have been seen.
- Vestibular Neuritis: It is an inner ear infection, caused by either bacteria or viruses. Vestibular Neuritis affects the vestibular nerve, which is responsible for carrying balance-related signals back & forth from the brain to the inner ear. When this nerve gets infected, it disrupts the to & fro of balance-related signals, causing balance problems, dizziness, nausea, headaches, & vertigo.
- Labyrinthitis: Labyrinthitis is another inner ear infection. The labyrinth is a structure inside the inner ear that houses the vestibular system. When the labyrinth gets infected, it can cause symptoms like dizziness, nausea, headaches, ear ache, hearing loss, & vertigo. Similar to vestibular neuritis, bacterial & viral infections can lead to labyrinthitis, with differing recovery times.
Other conditions that can cause vertigo to include:
- Any kind of head injuries
- Neck injuries
- Ear surgery
- Middle ear infections
- Central nervous system disorders like Multiple Sclerosis
- Some autoimmune disorders like Lyme disease, Lupus, etc.
- Narrowed arteries, also known as atherosclerosis
- Cardiac arrythmia
- Brain disorders
- Some medications like antihistamines, antidepressants, etc.
- A severe infection
Vertigo treatment
Vertigo treatment usually depends on the exact cause of vertigo. For cases where these causes are known, vertigo treatment consists of mitigating those and bringing relief to the patient. However, in cases the cause(s) are unknown, vertigo treatment is generally symptomatic. Doctors focus on preventing vertigo attacks with certain medications and exercises. If that doesn’t work, a variety of home remedies are also recommended. In some rare cases, surgical alternatives may be considered as a treatment procedure for vertigo.
Generally speaking, vertigo treatment consists of:
Vertigo exercises
These include the well-known Epley Maneuver, the Brandt-Daroff exercises, & the Semont-Foster maneuver. These exercises are also known as canalith repositioning exercises. This helps remove the calcium crystals from the inner ear & reinstate them back into their original position inside the middle ear. This helps most patients feel better and gradually reduces the intensity & frequency of their symptoms. These exercises might work as a one-try regimen for some people, where they get relief immediately after performing them. However, in most cases, these exercises take some time to actually show any significant results. Your doctor may either perform these exercises on you in their office or give you instructions to perform these yourself. If your symptoms don’t get better within a few weeks or are getting worse since starting the exercises. Stop the exercises immediately and visit your doctor. They might start you on another vertigo exercise program, or perform some tests on you to find out the actual problem.
Vertigo medicines
Vertigo medicines like the Stugeron Forte tablet, the Stemetil tablet, & the meclizine tablet are also important aspects of vertigo treatment. They help stabilize a patient during an attack and also relieve the intensity & frequency of the symptoms. When taken regularly, some of these can even help prevent a vertigo attack before it occurs. However, some of these may cause some unwanted side effects, especially when taken with some other medications. It’s best to let your doctor know about any existing medications you take, along with any other chronic conditions you have. This information will help them select better vertigo medicines for you that don’t cause you any sort of harm. If you get an allergic reaction to any of these medications or experience some rather severe side effects, discontinue them immediately and contact your doctor.
Home remedies
Home remedies like sleeping 8 hours every day, drinking plenty of fluids, intaking a healthy diet, & avoiding alcohol can help in vertigo treatment. Taking Vitamin D & Vitamin B12 supplements, as well as Ginkgo Biloba supplements, is also an effective treatment procedure for vertigo. You should also try to reduce your intake of caffeine, alcohol, red wine, chocolate, & excessively fried foodstuffs.
