This is an automatically translated article.
Dizziness is a symptom that appears in many different disease contexts, is common in older people and tends to be younger at the age of the disease. Patients with dizziness often need to visit medical facilities to be examined and treated appropriately for each cause.1. What is vertigo?
Dizziness is one of the most common reasons why patients visit primary health clinics. Symptoms of dizziness are described by patients with rich characteristics, which can be divided into main groups: dizziness, dizziness and feeling of loss of balance when moving.
Rotational vertigo: Characterized by feeling that the surrounding objects are spinning around or around the object, causing the patient to fall easily. Dizziness can come on gradually or suddenly, causing anxiety and affecting quality of life. Dizziness-type vertigo: Often described as vertigo, prone to syncope, with a higher likelihood of morbidity than cyclic vertigo. Dizziness-type loss of balance: Characterized by an abnormality in the balance of the torso. The patient does not move as steady as usual, even has difficulty standing still. The detailed description of frequent vertigo patterns above helps doctors to classify and orient potential causes below, thereby building a more effective treatment and monitoring regimen. A person may experience only one type of vertigo or a combination of different patterns at different onsets. Dizziness does not appear alone, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, headache, and fatigue. Dizziness has a tendency to recur, so many people experience frequent dizziness, repeated for many times. The frequency of facing symptoms of vertigo in the general population is approximately 30%, is common in the elderly population, and tends to increase in young patients.
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2. Causes of dizziness
Patients very often wonder what dizziness is to find ways to solve them. However, this question is not easy to answer because the causes of dizziness are diverse, involving many different organs such as cardiovascular, neurological, and metabolic abnormalities in the body. Usually, when approaching a patient with vertigo, clinicians need to classify them into two main groups, including peripheral vertigo and central vertigo, based on the cause of the disease.
2.1 Peripheral dizziness
Causes of peripheral vertigo are not related to abnormalities in the central nervous system such as the brain or spinal cord, but are usually located in the vestibular system of the cochlea located in the inner ear. The system of semicircular canals in the inner ear is responsible for orienting the head position and transmitting signals to the brain to maintain the balance of the body. When there are disorders caused by inflammation, viruses, stones, the function of the vestibular system is not complete. The patient will feel dizzy and lose balance. Some specific diseases cause peripheral vertigo such as:
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: This is the most common cause in clinical practice. Patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo very often experience repeated episodes of vertigo when changing head position from low to upright or with head raised, lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes, accompanied by: with nausea and vomiting. Stones in the semicircular canals are formed by crystal deposition, which disturbs the activity of the internal fluid, leading to a deviation in the perception of head position. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is common in people over 50 years of age, with a history of trauma or surgery, or ear infections. Inflammation of the inner ear: The inner ear canal is an area containing components of the peripheral vestibular system including the semicircular canals and cochlear nerve receptors, which contribute to the balance of the body. When pathogens such as viruses and bacteria attack the inner ear, the patient may also experience dizziness, loss of interest, tinnitus and fever. Cranial neuritis VIII: The eighth cranial nerve, also known as the vestibular cochlear nerve, is responsible for maintaining balance in the body. Meniere's disease: This is a rare abnormality in the inner ear. Dizziness caused by Meniere's disease is often very severe, lasting for hours to days, and is accompanied by symptoms of vomiting and persistent hearing loss. The exact cause of Meniere's disease is still unknown.
2.2 Central vertigo
Different from peripheral vertigo, central vertigo is a group of diseases caused by abnormalities in the brain, most commonly the cerebellum, an organ that plays a role in balancing the body. Some specific diseases causing central dizziness include:
Vasomotor headache or Migraine headache: The disease is more common in young people, more women than men. In addition to dizziness, patients also experience severe migraine headaches, pulsating pain. Brain or cerebellar tumors cause dysfunction leading to deviations in movement of the body. Neuroma: An auditory nerve tumor that connects the ear to the brain. The disease is known to be hereditary. Cerebrovascular accident: This is a dangerous cause that should be prioritized to exclude when dizziness occurs in elderly patients with risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, atrial fibrillation,
3. What should people with dizziness do?
Because there are many causes with different degrees of severity that cause frequent dizziness, patients need to see a doctor to be examined, find the cause and treat accordingly. The establishment of a diagnosis should be based on the clinical symptoms experienced by the patient in combination with laboratory measures. Patients should describe in detail the symptoms of vertigo in terms of frequency, when the dizziness started, and accompanying symptoms. Several laboratory indications are used to diagnose the cause of vertigo, including:
Blood count CT scan or MRI of the brain EEG EEG Cranial doppler ultrasound Means of hearing test In some cases , dizziness and lightheadedness may go away on its own without any treatment. If the patient suffers from frequent dizziness, the problem of treating the symptoms of dizziness and solving the cause should be raised. Some medications that help with dizziness are commonly used, such as antihistamines, tanganil, scopolamine or anticholinergics. Antiemetics, sedatives, anxiolytics, and headache relievers are also used in combination depending on the individual situation. When medical treatment is not effective, the doctor may prescribe interventional treatments such as surgery.
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4. Things to note when experiencing frequent dizziness
In addition to taking medication to treat symptoms and treat the cause of dizziness, patients need to note a few things in their lifestyle and diet to reduce the frequency and severity of symptoms of dizziness. Some measures are recognized as effective such as:
Do not change head position suddenly, switch from lying down to sitting or standing slowly so that the body can adapt. Do not do occupations that involve operating machinery or vehicles when experiencing frequent dizziness. Do not abuse alcohol, tobacco and stimulants. Use foods rich in vitamin C, vitamin B6 Drink lots of water, eat lots of green vegetables Avoid eating too salty or too sweet Relax, live in a clean environment, comfortable, away from stress in life. When you have dizziness, you should lie down to rest, limit changing positions and walking a lot because it is easy to lose balance and fall. To register for examination and treatment at Vinmec International General Hospital, you can contact Vinmec Health System nationwide, or register online HERE.
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