Although used interchangeably, the words “dizziness” and “vertigo” actually represent different disorders. Dizziness describes a feeling of lightheadedness like that experienced before losing consciousness. Caused by such conditions as prolonged hunger, hypotension, dehydration, allergy and medications, dizziness subsides with the correction of the underlying cause. Vertigo feels as if the room is furiously spinning around you. The whirling sensation intensifies, and then ebbs. Unlike dizziness, vertigo often becomes chronic, and requires medication.
Prevalence
Debilitating vertigo disrupts a person’s life as he finds himself unable to function in a job or at home. The Vestibular Disorders Association reports that in 1992 U.S. doctors reportedly saw 5,417,000 cases of dizziness and vertigo, with 30 to 40 percent of unexplained origin. People over the age of 65 made up approximately 30 percent of the reported cases.
The Labyrinth
The whirling sensation of vertigo causes problems with balance. An attack comes on suddenly, without warning and can drop the person to the floor. Vision, which plays an integral part in balance, gets overridden by the balance organ, the labyrinth. The labyrinth sits just inside the brain in the middle ear and consists of the cochlea--a shell-shaped organ--and three semicircular canals. Besides balance, it controls the ability to sense the position of the body in space. Vertigo, sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting or even hearing loss, results from disturbance of the labyrinth.
BPPV
A troubling but treatable condition, BPPV--benign paroxysmal positional vertigo--brings on an episode of vertigo due to head movement. Sudden turns or changes in position set a calcium crystal in motion, gently rubbing against the fine, sensitive hairs within one of the semicircular canals. That light contact disrupts the flow of fluids and results in vertigo and instability. Though rarely serious, this condition strikes fear in sufferers. According to iVertigo.net, BPPV makes up approximately 50 percent of all vertigo cases, and, thankfully, has a nearly 90 percent cure rate.
Causes
A brain tumor can bring about vertigo. Meniere’s disease can incapacitate a person. Meniere’s disease affects about 12 out of every 1,000 people worldwide, according to Medscape Today. Along with vertigo, the patient experiences hearing loss, ringing in the ears and vomiting, symptoms that can last for several days. The disorder labyrinthitis occurs when the labyrinth becomes inflamed. The nervous system disease multiple sclerosis, also lists spells of vertigo as one of its identifying symptoms.
Treatment
For vertigo symptoms, the doctor prescribes meclizine (Antivert). For persistent nausea and vomiting the drug promethazine (Phenergan) helps significantly. An effective method used in patients with BPPV consists of exercises aimed at coaxing the calcium crystal into repositioning itself in the semicircular canals. The Epley Maneuver takes place in a doctor’s office and takes one session to accomplish its goals. The patient implements a series of exercises called the Brandt-Daroff exercises at home. For some individuals, these maneuvers work better than medications.
