Dizziness occurs in children for many different reasons. Sometimes it occurs due to health issues and other times an external influence is responsible, such as exposure to chemical products. Ongoing or severe dizziness may indicate a serious medical problem and should always be reported to a doctor.
Diabetes
If a child has diabetes, dizziness can occur due to hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar levels. If too few carbohydrates are eaten, a child's glucose level will be low. Dizziness will often begin suddenly when hypoglycemia occurs. This symptom often occurs in conjunction with confusion, hunger, lack of body strength and sweating, notes the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Medications for Diabetes
Dizziness can also appear in children with diabetes due to medications they take. Some drugs that can cause dizziness in kids with diabetes include chlorpropamide (Diabinese), glimepride (Amaryl), and glipizide (Glucotrol, Glucotrol XL), reports the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Frequent checkups and blood tests are required to ensure that the medications are being administered at appropriate doses to keep glucose levels in the safe range.
Heat Illness
Heat exhaustion and heat stroke both cause dizziness in kids, reports the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Other symptoms of heat illness are nausea, pale skin, low pulse and coma. Getting overheated, often during outside sports activities, is very dangerous for kids. It can cause death. Keeping kids hydrated during sports is an important safety precaution that will help prevent dizziness and heat injuries.
Inner Ear Infection
Labyrinthitis (a viral infection in the inner ear), is another cause for dizziness in children, reports the BBC. This infection will make a child experience problems with equilibrium and can cause problems with balance when walking.
Anemia
Anemia is another serious cause of dizziness in children, reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. This disease occurs if the child does not consume enough iron-rich food such as red meat or kidney beans.
Vaccines
Some vaccines given to children will cause dizziness too. Some vaccines that have caused dizziness in kids include the human papillomavirus quadrivalent (types 6, 11, 16, 18) and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMRII), reports the Food and Drug Administration.
Exposure to Methamphetamine Labs
Children who are being raised in home used as a methamphetamine laboratory to create drugs often experience dizziness due to toxic fumes in the air, notes the Department of Justice. Children in a methamphetamine laboratory home are also exposed to secondhand smoke as parents use drugs. This will also often cause dizziness in a child.
Inhalants
Kids who use inhalants such as glue, spray paint, cleaning fluid, whipped cream dispensers and corrections fluid to get high often experience dizziness, notes the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The chemicals in the inhalants damage the brain, blood vessels and myelin in the body, causing problems with shaking and dizziness.
References
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): Diabetes in Children
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease: Heat Stroke in Kids
- BBC: Kids and Inner Ear Infections
- Food and Drug Administration: Vaccinations for Kids and Dizziness
- United States Department of Justice: Dizziness in Kids who Live in a Meth Lab Home
