Dizziness is used to describe several sensations, such as feeling woozy, weak, faint, or unsteady. Dizziness creates a sense that you and the surrounding area are moving or spinning. Dizziness is a common reason that makes adults visit a doctor. Frequent dizzy spells can affect your life, but dizziness signals a life-threatening condition in rare cases. When it gets uncomfortable, call Alexandria dizziness treatment experts and find a way to end dizziness episodes.
Causes of dizziness
- Motion sickness
Continuous movements from being in a vehicle, such as a boat, car, or airplane, can interfere with the ear’s inner structure, causing nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. This is referred to as seasickness or motion sickness. Taking certain medications or being pregnant increases one’s sensitivity to motion, and you are at risk of having motion sickness. Symptoms of motion sickness often subside once you set your foot on solid ground.
- Migraine
A migraine is a recurring headache that causes a pulsing or throbbing pain on one side of the head. Sometimes people have dizziness before the start of a migraine episode. Other symptoms, or auras, can come before a painful migraine headache. Auras affect a person’s speech, vision, and motor control.
- Cardiovascular disease
Conditions affecting the cardiovascular system, like plaque buildup in the arteries and congestive heart failure, can result in dizziness. People can have dizziness or feel lightheaded after or even before a stroke or heart attack. If you have cardiovascular disease, you can experience signs and symptoms like shortness of breath, a persistent cough, an irregular heartbeat, and tightness or discomfort in the chest.
- Stress
Chronic or long-term stress can contribute to health problems like anxiety, diabetes, depression, heart disease, or immune dysfunction. During a stress response, your brain emits hormones that affect the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The hormones raise the heart rate, narrow blood vessels, and cause rapid breathing. These responses can cause lightheadedness or dizziness.
- Anxiety
Dizziness is a symptom of anxiety. The relationship between the two differ among people. Some people can get anxiety attacks, which trigger dizziness, and others can have a rapid onset of dizziness, triggering an anxiety attack. A stressful event like an exam can trigger anxiety attacks. You can feel disoriented, dizzy, and nauseated during an anxiety attack.
- Vertigo
People use the terms dizziness and vertigo interchangeably. These conditions create the same sensations, but they are slightly different. When you feel dizzy, you can feel disoriented or woozy. Vertigo refers to a temporary sensation of movement. Vertigo makes people feel like the environment surrounding them is tilting or spinning. It happens because of the development of issues in the inner ear.
Experiencing severe or sudden dizziness can be alarming, but the dizziness can disappear on its own and does not require quick medical attention. Dizziness is a symptom that suggests medical conditions like low blood sugar, stress, or anxiety. Dizziness can cause loss of balance or fainting. This can be dangerous if a person is operating a heavy machine or driving. You must use caution if you feel like you’re going to be dizzy. You should also speak with your healthcare provider if you experience recurring or severe dizziness.
