Dizziness Health Video

The word "dizzy" is used to describe everything from feeling faint or lightheaded to feeling weak and unsteady. Dizziness that creates the sense that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving is called vertigo. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments of dizziness in this video.

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Contact a doctor for severe headaches
Contact a doctor for convulsions or vomiting
Contact a doctor if you lose consciousness

About this Author

Dr. Susan McGladdery is a medical graduate from Oxford University in the UK and has a Master's Degree in Medical Sciences from Cambridge University. She has been a member of the Royal College of Physicians since 1991 and a member of the American Academy of Urgent Care since 2006. She trained as a Family Physician in the UK in Oxford and then in London. In a medical career that spans over 20 years, she has worked as a doctor in 5 countries on 3 continents and cared for patients from a multitude of different nationalities and backgrounds. Dr. McGladdery joined FirstMed Centers in mid 2002 and became Regional Medical Director in 2003.

SUSAN MCGLADERRY, BM, BCH, MRCP: Hello. My name is Dr. Sue McGladerry. I'm the medical director from the FirstMed Centers in Budapest, Hungary. I would like to talk to you a little bit about dizziness. This refers to lightheadedness or feeling as if you might faint, also unsteadiness or loss of balance and, for some people, vertigo, a feeling that you or the room is spinning or moving. Most causes of dizziness are not serious and quickly restore on their own or easily treated. What are the causes? In the case of lightheadedness or faint feeling, not enough blood gets to the brain, for example when there is a sudden drop in the blood pressure. This can occur in dehydration from vomiting, diarrhea, fever, or other causes. It can be due to a rapid change in position especially as we age and this is known as postural hypotension. It may also be due to flu or low blood sugar, the common cold, or allergies. There are some more serious conditions that can lead to lightheadedness including heart problems such as an abnormal heart rhythm or even a heart attack, stroke, and shock, in which case there is a severe drop in blood pressure, for example with sepsis. If any of these serious disorders is present, there are usually other symptoms. Another cause of dizziness is vertigo and most commonly this is due to benign positional vertigo and labyrinthitis. BPV, benign positional vertigo, is a vertigo that happens when you change the position of your head. Labyrinthitis on the other hand usually follows a cold or flu and is due to a viral infection of the inner ear. There is another condition known as Meniere's disease which is an inner ear problem and in this case, there is vertigo, loss of balance, and ringing in the ears. Infrequently, vertigo may be due to stroke, multiple sclerosis, seizures, a brain tumor, or a bleed in the brain. In such conditions, other symptoms are usually accompanying the vertigo or the balance problem. You need to call your emergency number if someone with dizziness also has a head injury, fever, headache, or very stiff neck, this can indicate meningitis, convulsions and or vomiting, chest pain, or palpitations, difficulty breathing, signs of stroke, or faintness and loss of consciousness that last for more than a few minutes.