Vertigo: What Is It?
Can you imagine what it would feel like if you suddenly felt the sensation of spinning out of control; or felt your surroundings spinning uncontrollable around you? Can you imagine how frightening that would be? It could be very devastating if you were in a huge crowd, like the mall, for instance; and you would suddenly feel the sensation of falling or floating through the air. Maybe you are at work and suddenly things started spinning or you became woozy and unbalanced.
Two weeks ago a young lady, was driving on the freeway. A very dangerous and frightening thing happened to her. Suddenly everything was spinning around her. The sensation got worst when she had to move her head to check traffic from the rear. She felt nausea and dizzy. She pulled off to right shoulder of the freeway, laid her head on the stirring wheel to collect herself. After resting for ten minutes or so, she was able to make it home.
When she got home she was dizzy, she felt nausea, and the spinning had resumed. She didn’t know what was going on, she had been dizzy before, but, this was different. She said; every thing around her was spinning. It was as if she felt the earth moving beneath her feet. The feelings was hard for her to explain, she compared it to times when she was a little girl; and people would playfully pick her up and spin her around really fast; then set her back down on her feet.
At home, that night, the young woman took medicine to relieve the nausea and went to bed. The feelings was so uncomfortable, she had to lie down hours before her regular bed time. She eventually fell asleep. She woke up the next morning and announced that she felt much better. No more dizziness or spinning or nausea. Whatever it was, it had disappeared. She was able to go to work.
The first hour at work; she felt fine. Then the spinning came back, only, this time it was much worst than the night before. It was a very frightening experience for the young woman. The dizziness and the spinning got so bad; the woman couldn’t concentrate on her work. She shut off her computer and went to an urgent care clinic, near her job, to be seen by a physician.
After an examination, the doctor asked her if she ever had a serious ear infection or any serious problems with her ears. That was an easy question. For years the young lady has been seeing a doctor, on and off for serious ear problems.
The physician explained that he asked the question because of his findings. The young lady was suffering from vertigo, something she never heard of before. One of the causes of vertigo is a malfunction in the inner ear or central nerve system. Labyrinth, an organ in the inner ear, is important to maintain balance. The labyrinth works together with the eyes; the bones and joints; to maintain the body’s position. Labyrinthitis is an inflammation of the inner ear, which can be associated with vertigo.
So many of us are not familiar with the term vertigo, however, vertigo is one of the most frequent health disorders among adults. National Institute of Health reports that 40 percent of adults in the United States alone experience vertigo at least once in a lifetime.
Vertigo is not a disease. It is a balance disorder; an illusion that you or your surroundings are spinning, floating or falling through space, or rocking. Your eyes may uncontrollably jerk; you may experience ringing in the ears. You may experience nausea or vomiting. Vertigo is a grave discomfort.
The two major types of vertigo are:
Subjective Vertigo: The person feels they are spinning.
Objective Vertigo: The person feels objects around them are spinning.
True vertigo is a severe form of dizziness that is a spinning or moving illusion. Most individuals with true vertigo may experience tinnitus (ringing or noise in the ear) or hearing loss. This is the more severe type and the person may experience nausea and vomiting. A virus similar to the herpes virus causes an infection that causes swelling and inflammation of the labyrinth, if not treated successfully this infection may cause vertigo. Central disorders, such as the brain stem are more chronic, but less severe and are not associate with hearing loss.
Vertigo can be treated. The physician may prescribe medication to reduce nausea and dizziness. An individual may need up two weeks bed rest. It usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to recover from labyrinthitis. However, mild dizziness and spinning may last for several years. If any Cp readers ever experienced vertigo or have friends or relatives who experienced vertigo, you may want to share your experience.
