My poor mom has been suffering from severe vertigo for so long now. She really struggles with it and there’s not much anyone can do to fix it or help. Vertigo specifically is a false sense of motion or spinning. It is considered a type of dizziness.
Dizziness can be caused by an inner ear disturbance, motion sickness, or as a side effect of some medications. In some cases, it can be and underlying medical issue. Doctors will usually diagnose you based on what your exact symptoms are.
For the most part, vertigo is caused by some type of inner ear imbalance. But it also takes into play the other sensory organs like your eyes and other sensory nerves. Your eyes try to figure out where you are in terms of space but also how your body is moving. Your other sensory nerves send your brain signals about the movements. The inner ear determines the gravity and forward and back movement of your body.
When you have an inner ear issue, your brain receives false signals from inside of your ear that doesn’t make sense with what your eyes see. When your brain is trying to comprehend what’s going on you get vertigo.
Vertigo poses an issue because it increases the chance for falling or hurting yourself. The best thing to do is to see your doctor and make sure they run blood tests as well as any balance tests. They may recommend an MRI or a CT scan to rule out anything going on in your brain.
It’s really important to be aware of yourself in case a round of vertigo hits. When an episode starts, lie down immediately but slowly to help alleviate the symptoms. Try to avoid alcohol, salt, caffeine and tobacco as those can trigger an episode.
There are many other types of vertigo but the one of the ones most talked about lately is Serious issues of vertigo can be caused by BPPV – Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. This is caused by the little calcium crystals in your inner ear dislodging and moving. This type of vertigo is usually accompanied by bouts of nausea as well. Doctors can usually diagnose this through in office testing and can prescribe a type of therapy (Epley Maneuver) that moves your head around to help get those crystals back in place.
I feel so bad for my mom because they can’t figure out what’s wrong with her. Her vertigo is so severe she actually gets nystagmus – involuntary eye movement which makes here overall feeling even worse (details in a future Science Sunday). They’ve tested her for so much with no conclusive answers. If you can think of anything to help her please let me know!! Seeing her suffer is not a good feeling.
I hope this can help anyone who gets vertigo or knows someone who experiences it to understand what is going on with their body. But you should do your own research and see your doctor if you feel you have vertigo.
Xoxo, Z
