My experience with Vertigo

Have you ever thought how it would feel if suddenly one morning you get out of bed and the whole room starts spinning? I bet the first thing you would try to do is lie down again and maybe close your eyes, guess what even after closing your eyes and lying on the bed if you feel like the room is spinning and you are about to fall off the bed.

That is one of the most miserable feelings you could have. This is something that happened to someone close to me and he had to be rushed to ER. The doctors diagnosed it as Vertigo and we were not aware of what it is and how dangerous it is, so I thought of digging a little information about it and I was surprised and thought of sharing some of the information about it so that if god forbid you experience it or see someone who you know is going through it then it might be helpful. Vertigo is one of the most common health problems in adults.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about 40 percent of people in the United States experience feeling dizzy at least once during their lifetime. Prevalence is slightly higher in women and increases with age.

First and foremost, Vertigo, or dizziness, is a symptom, not a disease  so don’t get scared. The term vertigo refers to the sensation of spinning or whirling that occurs as a result of a disturbance in balance (equilibrium). It also may be used to describe feelings of dizziness, lightheadedness, faintness and unsteadiness. The sensation of movement is called subjective vertigo and the perception of movement in surrounding objects is called objective vertigo.

Vertigo usually occurs as a result of a disorder in the vestibular system (i.e., structures of the inner ear, the vestibular nerve, brainstem and cerebellum). The vestibular system is responsible for integrating sensory stimuli and movement and for keeping objects in visual focus as the body moves. Benign paroxysmal position vertigo (BPPV) is a common cause for dizziness. When the head moves, signals are transmitted to the labyrinth, which is an apparatus in the inner ear that is made up of three semicircular canals surrounded by fluid.

The labyrinth then transmits movement information to the vestibular nerve and the vestibular nerve carries the information to the brainstem and cerebellum (areas of the brain that control balance, posture, and motor coordination). There are a number of different causes for dizzy spells. One of the most common one is some calcium crystals coming off and causing false signals to your brain of movement even though you are steady.

The good news is that this is harmless and goes away on its own but the bad news is that there is no medication so during the period you suffer it, you are helpless. Doctors do give medication but that is generally to relax your brain by making you drowsy. There are some exercises that can be done to help alleviate the feeling so contacting a physiotherapist after visiting a primary care doctor is recommended. 

This is something that I did not know of a couple of weeks back but I found it helpful and so thought of sharing with everyone. 

Ruchi Baid