Vertigo
Other than a famous Alfred Hitchcock film,
vertigo is a feeling of spinning, whirling, tilting, or falling.
It can often be accompanied by imbalance, nausea, and vomiting.
It is important to understand that vertigo is a symptom, not
a medical condition, illness, or disease. There are many causes
of vertigo, some minor and some more serious.
Most vertigo symptoms are related to problems within the vestibular system. This includes the inner ear,
the vestibular nerves, and the brain stem. The vestibular
system is responsible for sending messages throughout the
body as to the position and movements of the body. In other
words, the vestibular system is responsible for maintaining
our sense of balance.
Most of these cases are characterized as
poitional vertigo. This is when the calcium particles of
the inner ear build up or break down, causing mixed signals
to go to the brain, which in turn sends mixed signals to the
other senses, causing vertigo. Most positional vertigo is
the result of ear infections or head injuries. Positional
vertigo is very treatable, with simple, non-evasive procedures
such as head movement exorcises and prescription or over the
counter medications. While these treatments are quite effective
and successful, recurrences of vertigo may occur.
Although about sixty percent of vertigo cases
are the result of positional vertigo, other more severe medical
conditions could be present with the symptom of vertigo. These
more serious conditions include drug toxins, a series of small
strokes, a serious stroke, a brain tumor, multiple sclerosis,
Parkinson’s disease, and other illnesses. Although all
of these illnesses and medical conditions can be accompanied
by the symptom of vertigo, they are actually very rare. Meniere's disease is a major cause of vertigo.
These more serious medical conditions require
very different treatment. Prescription medications, over the
counter medications, therapy, nursing assistance, and surgery
are just a few of the possible treatments that may be employed
with these more severe causes of vertigo. In these cases,
the vertigo will likely go away permanently once the cause
of the vertigo is treated.
Another, extremely rare possible cause for
vertigo in men is Klinefelter’s Syndrome. This medical
condition involves males having an extra X chromosome in their
make up. Side affects vary with seriousness, but do typically
include vertigo. There is not very much known about this medical
condition, and often symptoms of vertigo and other symptoms
of the condition are treated rather than the condition itself.
If you experience any type of vertigo, you
should contact your personal care physician immediately for
a consultation to discuss possible testing, diagnosis, and
treatment of the cause of your vertigo. |
