Dizziness

Dizziness can be the primary, and sometimes the only, complaint prompting patients to seek medical attention. More often, it is a minor symptom of an underlying condition. Medically, dizziness is considered true vertigo when the patient feels their surroundings or objects spinning around them, or they themselves are spinning relative to their environment. Besides this subjective sensation, "true vertigo" is accompanied by an external sign: rhythmic eye twitching (nystagmus) when focusing on a single point.

Dizziness occurs due to excessive stimulation or damage to the body parts responsible for maintaining balance. The balance system is located in the three semicircular canals of the inner ear, which are positioned perpendicular to each other.

These canals contain fluid and sensory cells. Changes in body position move the fluid, stimulating the sensory cells, which transmit signals via the auditory nerve to the brain, providing the sense of body position in space.

The balance system is connected through numerous neural pathways to the muscles of the head, neck, torso, and limbs, which reflexively maintain body equilibrium. The balance center is closely linked to the autonomic nervous system, so dizziness is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sweating, pale skin, and fear.

Most cases of dizziness result from stimulation of the fluid in the inner ear’s semicircular canals. Dizziness can occur with heart, blood, or vascular diseases, regularly with anemia, high or low blood pressure, very fast or slow heart rate, or arteriosclerosis, as well as with digestive organ disorders: stomach, intestines, liver, or gallbladder.

Dizziness can also be psychogenic, triggered by "nervous tension" and appearing as a symptom of neurosis in people with "weak nerves," or in those with fears of enclosed spaces, spinning, or heights. High-altitude dizziness affects sensitive individuals, women during menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause.

Dizziness accompanies brain disorders like tumors, hemorrhages, or abscesses, and may precede an epileptic seizure. Infectious diseases, neurological conditions, allergies, or ear infections can also cause dizziness. Head or ear injuries are commonly followed by dizziness, which may persist for months.

Any prolonged dizziness requires a medical examination, regardless of its intensity. Mild but recurring dizziness can be more dangerous than episodes with vomiting.

Determining the cause of persistent dizziness requires multiple specialist evaluations: neurologists, ophthalmologists, ENT specialists, radiologists, internists, and laboratory tests.

Some people, especially older adults, report dizziness when getting out of bed. Blood, like any fluid, flows downward due to gravity. When standing, blood reaches the brain due to blood pressure pushing it upward.

When blood pressure drops, the brain is the first to sense it, causing dizziness, fainting, or collapse. After a fall, blood reaches the brain more easily in a lying position, allowing quick recovery of consciousness. During sleep, bodily functions slow, the heart beats more slowly, and blood pressure is lower.

If a person suddenly gets up in the morning, the rapid change in body position can cause dizziness or even loss of consciousness, as the body cannot quickly raise blood pressure to adequately supply the brain. This leads to dizziness.

Therefore, it’s not advisable to jump out of bed suddenly. Sudden rising is not a sign of youth but of carelessness. Before getting up, stretch and move briefly in bed for less than a minute.

Divers’ dizziness is extremely dangerous and often the first symptom of severe disorders that can endanger life. It may indicate low oxygen or high carbon dioxide levels in the blood.

Dizziness in divers using compressed oxygen can signal oxygen poisoning. It can also occur when transitioning between warm and cooler water layers, or vice versa.