Vertigo what is it how to treat

Check if it's vertigo Vertigo feels like you or everything around you is spinning — enough to affect your balance. Help with vertigo There are things you can do to ease vertigo symptoms when they're happening, and to reduce the number of episodes you have.

Do lie still in a quiet, dark room to reduce the spinning feeling move your head carefully and slowly during daily activities sit down straight away when you feel dizzy turn on the lights if you get up at night use a walking stick if you're at risk of falling sleep with your head slightly raised on 2 or more pillows get out of bed slowly and sit on the edge of the bed for a while before standing up try to relax — anxiety can make vertigo worse. Non-urgent advice: See a GP if you:.

Urgent advice: Get advice from now if you have vertigo and:. Ask your GP practice for an urgent appointment. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Vestibular rehabilitation outcomes in patients with a history of migraine. Otol Neurotol. Vestibular exercises improve central vestibulospinal compensation after vestibular neuritis.

Epley JM. The canalith repositioning procedure: for treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Contraindications to the Dix-Hallpike manoeuvre: a multidisciplinary review. Int J Audiol. Randomized trial of the canalith repositioning procedure. The canalith repositioning procedure for the treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a randomized controlled trial. Mayo Clin Proc. Hilton M, Pinder D. The Epley canalith repositioning manoeuvre for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Short- and long-term outcomes of canalith repositioning for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Long-term outcome of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

A double-blind cross-over placebo-controlled study. James A, Thorp M. Clin Evid. Blakley BW. Staged stent-assisted angioplasty for symptomatic intracranial vertebrobasilar artery stenosis. J Neurosurg. Isolated acute vertigo in the elderly; vestibular or vascular disease?. Acta Neurol Scand. The interrelations of migraine, vertigo, and migrainous vertigo. Johnson GD.

Medical management of migraine-related dizziness and vertigo. Migraine-associated dizziness: patient characteristics and management options. Efficacy of antimigrainous therapy in the treatment of migraine-associated dizziness. Am J Otol. Panic, agoraphobia, and vestibular dysfunction. Am J Psychiatry. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors for dizziness with psychiatric symptoms.

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Randomized controlled trial of vestibular rehabilitation combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy for dizziness in older people. Practical selection of antiemetics. Am Fam Physician. This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference.

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Contact afpserv aafp. Want to use this article elsewhere? Get Permissions. Read the Issue. Sign Up Now. Next: Treatment of Cholesterol Abnormalities. Mar 15, Issue. Treatment of Vertigo. A 18 , 19 , 20 The modified Epley maneuver also is effective in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. B 16 Vestibular suppressant medication is recommended for symptom relief in patients with acute vestibular neuronitis.

C 6 , 7 , 8 Vestibular exercises are recommended for more rapid and complete vestibular compensation in patients with acute vestibular neuronitis.

B 23 , 24 , 25 Effective treatments for vertiginous migraine include migraine prophylaxis e. B 13 , 30 , 31 , 32 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can relieve vertigo in patients with anxiety disorders.

Strength of Recommendations Key clinical recommendation Label References The canalith repositioning procedure Epley maneuver is recommended in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Figure 1. Figure 2. Read the full article. Get immediate access, anytime, anywhere.

Choose a single article, issue, or full-access subscription. Earn up to 6 CME credits per issue. This disorder can happen when an infection causes inflammation of the inner ear labyrinth. Within this area is the vestibulocochlear nerve.

Apart from dizziness with vertigo, a person with labyrinthitis may experience hearing loss , tinnitus, headaches, ear pain, and vision changes. Learn more about labyrinthitis. An infection causes vestibular neuritis , which is inflammation of the vestibular nerve.

Vestibular neuritis causes vertigo that may accompany blurred vision, severe nausea, or a feeling of being off balance. This noncancerous skin growth develops in the middle ear, usually due to repeated infection. This disease causes a buildup of fluid in the inner ear, which can lead to attacks of vertigo with ringing in the ears and hearing loss. It tends to be more common in people between the ages of 40 and 60 years.

The exact cause is unclear, but it may stem from blood vessel constriction, a viral infection, or an autoimmune reaction. There may also be a genetic component that means that it runs in some families. The inner ear contains structures called the otolith organs, which contain fluid and particles of crystals of calcium carbonate.

In BPPV, these crystals become dislodged and fall into the semicircular canals. There, each fallen crystal touches sensory hair cells within the cupula of the semicircular canals during movement. People typically experience periods of vertigo that last less than 60 seconds, but nausea and other symptoms may also occur.

Learn more here about BPPV. Nausea and dizziness are common problems during pregnancy. Hormonal changes appear to play a role , as they affect the characteristics of the fluid in the body. A study surveyed 82 women during pregnancy. More than half of them reported experiencing dizziness during the first two trimesters, while one-third reported dizziness in the third trimester. Nausea is common throughout pregnancy, but it tends to reduce as the pregnancy progresses.

Many women in the survey linked nausea with dizziness. Balance problems were also common, but these tended to worsen during the second and third trimesters. The authors suggested that during pregnancy, hormonal changes bring about alterations in the inner ear. They proposed that as time goes on, the woman gets used to the new balance in the ear, and the symptoms of nausea and dizziness improve.

The worsening of balance problems could be due to the changes in body weight and posture that occur during pregnancy. In , scientists published research involving four case studies. In addition to causing a person feelings of being unbalanced or spinning, vertigo can lead to the following symptoms:. Benign positional paroxysmal vertigo or BPPV is the most common type of vertigo.

A buildup of deposits in the inner ear causes BPPV. With BPPV, certain movements may cause dizziness and a spinning sensation for a short time. BPPV is a common condition. Most people have a lifetime prevalence of 2. Also, BPPV recurs 50 percent of the time , according to a report published in the journal Advances in Otolaryngology.

Medications, such as steroids, can reduce inner ear inflammation, and water pills can reduce fluid buildup.

For people who have recurrent episodes of vertigo, a physical therapy called vestibular rehabilitation can help. Vestibular rehabilitation encourages the central nervous system to compensate for inner ear problems.

Anyone who has reoccurrences of vertigo should see their doctor. For most people, vertigo is usually not harmful, but the underlying cause needs to be identified. A doctor can also prescribe medications and other treatments to lessen symptoms, especially if home remedies do not help.

Read the article in Spanish. Certain exercises may help relieve vertigo, improve balance, and reduce the risk of falling. Learn more about these exercises and other treatments…. Most balance problems happen either because of brain or inner ear problems, or due to physical issues, such as a broken bone or muscle injury. Vestibular neuritis is inflammation or irritation of the vestibular nerve. It can cause vertigo and nausea, among other issues.

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