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Dizziness describes a number of subjective symptoms, which the patient may describe as feelings of lightheadedness, floating, wooziness, giddiness, confusion, disorientation or loss of balance. Medical terms include vertigo, disequilibrium, pre-syncope or syncoptic episode. Causes may stem from a variety of failures of equilibrioception
Equilibrioception

Equilibrioception or sense of balance is one of the physiology senses. It helps prevent humans and animals from falling over when walking or standing still....
, hypotension
Hypotension

In physiology and medicine, hypotension refers to an abnormally low blood pressure. This is best understood as a physiologic state, rather than a disease....
, cerebral hypoxia
Hypoxia

Hypoxia may refer to:* Hypoxia , a phenomenon that occurs in aquatic environments* Hypoxia , a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply...
 or a reaction to environmental chemicals or drugs.

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Vertigo (medical)

Vertigo is a specific type of dizziness, a major symptom of a balance disorder. It is the sensation of spinning or swaying while the body is actually stationary with respect to the surroundings....
 is a specific medical term used to describe the sensation of spinning or having the room spin about you.






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Dizziness describes a number of subjective symptoms, which the patient may describe as feelings of lightheadedness, floating, wooziness, giddiness, confusion, disorientation or loss of balance. Medical terms include vertigo, disequilibrium, pre-syncope or syncoptic episode. Causes may stem from a variety of failures of equilibrioception
Equilibrioception

Equilibrioception or sense of balance is one of the physiology senses. It helps prevent humans and animals from falling over when walking or standing still....
, hypotension
Hypotension

In physiology and medicine, hypotension refers to an abnormally low blood pressure. This is best understood as a physiologic state, rather than a disease....
, cerebral hypoxia
Hypoxia

Hypoxia may refer to:* Hypoxia , a phenomenon that occurs in aquatic environments* Hypoxia , a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply...
 or a reaction to environmental chemicals or drugs.

Vertigo

Vertigo
Vertigo (medical)

Vertigo is a specific type of dizziness, a major symptom of a balance disorder. It is the sensation of spinning or swaying while the body is actually stationary with respect to the surroundings....
 is a specific medical term used to describe the sensation of spinning or having the room spin about you. Many people find vertigo very disturbing and often report associated nausea and vomiting.

Otologic
Otology

Otology is a branch of biomedicine which studies normal and Pathology anatomy and physiology of the ear as well as its diseases, diagnosis and treatment....
 causes of vertigo:

If the vertigo arises from the inner ear, it is severe and has associated nausea
Nausea

Nausea is the sensation of unease and discomfort in the stomach with an urge to vomit....
 and vomiting. One common cause of otologic vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). Alternate causes of vertigo originating from the inner ear include Ménière's disease
Ménière's disease

M?ni?re's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can affect Hearing and balance. It is characterized by episodes of dizziness and tinnitus and progressive hearing loss, usually in one ear....
, superior canal dehiscence syndrome
Superior canal dehiscence syndrome

Superior canal dehiscence syndrome is a rare medical condition of the inner ear, first described in 1998 by of Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, USA,...
, and labyrinthitis
Labyrinthitis

Labyrinthitis is a balance disorder. It is an inflammatory process affecting the Labyrinth s that house the vestibular system of the inner ear....
.

Central nervous system causes of vertigo:

If vertigo arises from the balance centers of the brain, it is milder, and has accompanying neurologic deficits, such as slurred speech, double vision
Double vision

Double vision refers to Diplopia, the perception of two images from a single object.Double vision may also refer to:*Double Vision, a Malaysia TV production house...
 or nystagmus. Alternately, brain pathology can cause a sensation of disequilibrium which is an off-balance sensation.

Often vertigo can be treated by the Epley maneuver
Epley maneuver

The Epley maneuver is a maneuver used to treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo . It is often performed by a doctor but can be performed by the patient at home....
.

Disequilibrium


Disequilibrium
Equilibrioception

Equilibrioception or sense of balance is one of the physiology senses. It helps prevent humans and animals from falling over when walking or standing still....
 is the sensation of being off balance, and is most often characterized by frequent falls in a specific direction. This condition is not often associated with nausea or vomiting.

Pre-syncope

Pre-syncope, or a syncoptic episode, is lightheadedness
Lightheadedness

Light-headedness is a common and often unpleasant sensation of dizziness and/or feeling that one may be about to fainting , which may be transient, recurrent, or occasionally chronic ....
, muscular weakness and feeling faint as opposed to a syncope
Syncope (medicine)

Syncope is the medical term for fainting, a sudden, usually temporary, loss of consciousness generally caused by insufficient oxygen in the brain either through cerebral hypoxia or through hypotension, but possibly for other reasons....
, which is actually fainting. Pre-syncope does not result from primary central nervous system pathology, nor does it originate in the inner ear but is most often cardiovascular in etiology. In many patients, lightheadedness is a symptom of orthostatic hypotension
Orthostatic hypotension

Orthostatic hypotension is a form of hypotension in which there is a sudden fall in blood pressure, typically greater than 20/10 mm Hg, that occurs when a person assumes a standing , usually after a prolonged period of rest....
. Orthostatic hypotension occurs when the blood pressure drops significantly when the patient stands from a supine or seated position. If loss of consciousness occurs in this situation, it is termed syncope.

See also

  • Motion sickness
    Motion sickness

    Motion sickness or kinetosis is a condition in which a disagreement exists between visually perceived movement and the vestibular system's sense of movement....
  • Balance disorder
    Balance disorder

    A balance disorder is a disturbance that causes an individual to feel unsteady, giddy, woozy, or have a sensation of movement, spinning, or floating....
  • Vertigo (medical)
    Vertigo (medical)

    Vertigo is a specific type of dizziness, a major symptom of a balance disorder. It is the sensation of spinning or swaying while the body is actually stationary with respect to the surroundings....
  • Syncope (medicine)
    Syncope (medicine)

    Syncope is the medical term for fainting, a sudden, usually temporary, loss of consciousness generally caused by insufficient oxygen in the brain either through cerebral hypoxia or through hypotension, but possibly for other reasons....
  • Equilibrioception
    Equilibrioception

    Equilibrioception or sense of balance is one of the physiology senses. It helps prevent humans and animals from falling over when walking or standing still....
  • The spins
    The spins

    File:133017695O403893276.jpgThe spins is a term used to describe an adverse reaction of intoxication that causes a state dizziness and nausea, causing one to feel as if he or she is "spinning out of control"....
    , a state of dizziness and disorientation due to intoxication


External links

  • Online Community for Sufferers of Vertigo and Dizziness