Many people have the spinning sensation of BPPV. The loss of balance it causes puts you at risk for falling. Be extra careful so that you don't hurt yourself or someone else if you have a sudden attack of vertigo. You can reduce your risk of injury by taking personal precautions and making your home environment safe.
Medicines do not cure benign paroxysmal positional vertigo BPPV. But they may be used to control severe symptoms, such as the whirling, spinning sensation of vertigo and the nausea and vomiting that may occur.
Medicines to reduce the whirling sensation of vertigo are called vestibular suppressants. They include:. Antiemetic medicines, such as promethazine Promethegan , may be used if you have severe nausea or vomiting. Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: Anne C. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor.
Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. All insurance policies and group benefit plans contain exclusions and limitations.
For availability, costs and complete details of coverage, contact a licensed agent or Cigna sales representative. This website is not intended for residents of New Mexico.
Selecting these links will take you away from Cigna. Cigna may not control the content or links of non-Cigna websites. Overview Medicare Coverage Options. Broker Resources. Individuals and Families. Health and Wellness. Wellness Library. What causes it? What are the symptoms?
How is it diagnosed? How is BPPV treated? Health Tools Health Tools Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
Actionsets are designed to help people take an active role in managing a health condition. You have a head injury. You have an inflammation of the inner ear or of the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain, a condition called vestibular neuritis. You have ear surgery. Symptoms Symptoms The main symptom of BPPV is the feeling that you or your surroundings are spinning, whirling, or tilting.
It happens when your body's balance sensory systems disagree about what kind of movement they sense. You may find it hard to walk or stand. You may even lose your balance and fall. If your vertigo is bad enough, you may also have nausea and vomiting. Dizziness isn't a feeling that you are spinning. It is a woozy or unsteady feeling. Learn more Dizziness: Lightheadedness and Vertigo.
When to Call a Doctor When to Call a Doctor Call or other emergency services immediately if you have vertigo a spinning sensation and: You passed out lost consciousness. You have symptoms of a stroke, such as: Sudden numbness, tingling, weakness, or loss of movement in your face, arm, or leg, especially on only one side of your body. Sudden vision changes. Sudden trouble speaking. Sudden confusion or trouble understanding simple statements.
Sudden problems with walking or balance. A sudden, severe headache that is different from past headaches. You have chest pain. You have a headache, especially if you also have a stiff neck and fever. You have sudden hearing loss. You have numbness or tingling anywhere on your body, and it doesn't go away. You have vomiting that doesn't stop. You had a recent head injury.
When the inner ear is damaged, people commonly experience severe spinning for several days. If after several weeks the person still has a loss of balance, then physical therapy can help restore this balance.
The reason physical therapy is helpful is that it helps train the brain to compensate for the loss of function in the ear. Just as you can make a muscle stronger by exercising it, you can make the balance system in the brain work better by exercising it.
It's called vestibular rehabilitation, and it is a relatively new form of physical therapy. Not all physical therapists are trained in the practice. Typically the exercises consist of movements that initially make the vertigo worse and balance tasks that are quite difficult. By doing these repetitively, the balance system in the brain learns to function better. Common exercises include moving the eyes from side to side, rotating the head from side to side, rotating the head from side to side while walking down a corridor, and things like this.
Some women with Meniere's disease have worse symptoms during their menstrual period. This is not an uncommon symptom because Meniere's disease is exacerbated by salt retention, and menstrual periods are associated with salt retention.
Yes, vertigo causes extreme anxiety in most people. Anxiety, by itself, does not produce vertigo. However, in association with conditions that do produce vertigo, anxiety can make the vertigo much worse. People with certain anxiety disorders such as panic attacks can sometimes also experience vertigo. BPPV is caused by loose otoconia within the inner ear.
Otoconia are small calcium carbonate crystals that are part of the balance mechanism. In BPPV, these crystals break loose from their normal attachments and are free to tumble around the inner ear. When the involved ear is suddenly put in a downward position, the otoconia stimulate part of the inner ear abnormally. This results in a brief but intense whirling vertigo. Particle position maneuvers are a series of body turns that maneuver the otoconia into a different part of the inner ear where they will not cause symptoms.
It is a very effective maneuver that takes just a few minutes to perform. Labyrinthitis or vestibular neuronitis is a presumed viral infection of the vestibular nerve.
It causes sudden loss of function in the balance system of one ear. The brain normally compares the two ears. When you turn in any direction, the output of one ear to the brain goes up and the output of the other goes down.
The brain looks at the difference between the two ears and says "I'm turning. The brain sees a difference between the two ears, and that produces the feeling of spinning. This is commonly associated with nausea and vomiting and the worst part of it usually lasts for about three days. For several weeks afterward, it is common to feel a little bit off balance.
A simple test that involves you moving quickly from a sitting to a lying position might be done to check your balance. This could bring on symptoms. They can arrange a phone call from a nurse or doctor if you need one. Go to Treatment will depend on the cause. The GP might prescribe antibiotics if it's caused by an infection.
You could also be given special exercises to do to try to correct your balance. If you drive, you must tell the DVLA about your vertigo.
0コメント