Feeling dizzy? Know the signs and solutions for vertigo

Vertigo is a sense of dizziness or spinning often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and difficulties in walking. Even if you try to lie down, your head keeps spinning, and you may even vomit. Healthcare practitioners attribute these symptoms to vertigo. The motion sickness and nausea you feel while travelling in vehicles or enjoying rides in an amusement park are not the only symptoms of vertigo. Constant headaches, unexplained buzzing in the ear, uncontrolled eye movements and a sense of heaviness inside the ear are other symptoms of vertigo.

Vertigo is often confused with acrophobia, or fear of heights. Problems with the balance mechanisms of the brain, central nervous system or inner ear cause it. The balancing mechanism and movement of our body are based on the messages that are sent to the brain by the smaller structures in the inner ear. The problems with this mechanism are the reason why you feel vertigo. This condition is not related to height and could happen anywhere.

Meanwhile, acrophobia is an intense fear of heights accompanied by nausea and loss of balance when you look down from a height. Canaliths are small crystals of calcium carbonate that are attached to the otolithic membrane of the inner ear. Vertigo occurs when the canalith particles break loose and move into the semicircular canals of the inner ear, making you sensitive to movement. Besides, fluid buildup inside the ear too may also cause vertigo, loss of hearing and low bangs in the inner ear. Viral infections inside the ear and migraine are the other major reasons for vertigo. Multiple sclerosis, stroke and tumours in the brain could also lead to vertigo.

In an interview with ETV Bharat, Dr Bhushan Joshy, neurology consultant at the Pune Manipal Hospital, said that identifying the exact reason for vertigo is vital in the treatment of the condition. In most cases, the condition could be cured through therapies that could last for weeks. However, lifestyle changes and extensive treatment are prescribed for those who suffer from constant vertigo.