Dizziness can be an incredibly disorienting experience. You might feel lightheaded, like you are about to faint. You may start to feel like the world around you is wobbling or spinning. While sometimes dizziness can come and go in a split second, other times it can last for a while and really have a negative impact on your day. Dizziness doesn’t always happen by itself, either. Along with dizziness, you might notice a headache building or experience nausea and vomiting. Dizziness is not actually a specific medical condition but is a symptom of a lot of potential conditions or issues. From car accident injuries to underlying health conditions, dizziness can have a variety of causes. In order to understand how to get rid of dizziness, you first have to understand what is actually causing your dizziness.
13 Possible Causes of Dizziness
There are so many reasons why you might be experiencing dizziness. Here are 13 possible causes of dizziness and how they might affect you:
Illnesses
The common cold or the flu can cause dizziness along with other, more well-known symptoms. A head cold may primarily cause you to experience a runny nose, congestion, and a headache. When the sinuses are involved, they can swell, and a buildup of mucus can also cause other symptoms. A cold or the flu could also lead to an ear infection, which could cause dizziness. An ear infection can make you dizzy or affect your balance due to disturbances with your vestibular system, which helps your body maintain balance and coordination.
Head Injuries
There are several types of head injuries that could cause symptoms like dizziness or a spinning sensation. A concussion is the most common type of traumatic brain injury, and dizziness is a common symptom. Because your inner ear can also be affected by a head injury, this can lead to issues with balance. The nerve that connects the vestibular system to your brain can become aggravated or compressed, leading to dizziness. Damage to your brain itself can also cause dizziness and should be addressed as soon as possible. Head injuries are more common than you might think in car accidents, sports, and slip and fall accidents.
Neck Injuries
Several types of neck injuries can also cause symptoms like dizziness. One of the most common examples of dizziness with a neck injury is known as cervicogenic dizziness. The vertebrae that make up the spine in your neck is known as the cervical spine. When a sudden neck injury affects your cervical spine, it can lead to cervicogenic dizziness, which is sometimes also known as cervical vertigo. Along with neck pain and dizziness, a neck injury may also impact your mobility and range of motion. Whiplash is among the most common car accident injuries. Dizziness and other symptoms are common with a whiplash injury, which can cause strained neck muscles.
Motion Sickness
You may have experienced motion sickness before from riding a roller coaster or a boat. Motion sickness is the umbrella term for what many people call getting carsick, seasick, or airsick. When you get motion sickness, your brain is getting conflicting information from parts of your body that detect motion, like your eyes, inner ears, and muscles. This conflicting information can result in your brain not knowing whether your body is stationary or moving. This confused reaction in your brain can cause you to feel nauseous, dizzy, and break out into a cold sweat. Some people are more susceptible to motion sickness than others, and dizziness is a common symptom of motion sickness.
Medication Side Effects
All medications can cause unintentional side effects. Not everyone will experience the same side effects while taking the exact same medication or dosage. One common example of a medication side effect is dizziness. Certain medications are more commonly known to cause dizziness, lightheadedness, or vertigo. These medications include antibiotics, blood pressure medicine, pain medicine, and medicine for depression and anxiety. If you are experiencing dizziness due to a medication side effect, your doctor may talk to you about changing the dosage or trying an alternative medication.
Anxiety
In addition to medication for anxiety disorders, you can also experience dizziness due to anxiety itself. While anxiety is typically thought of as having to do with thoughts and emotions, it can also impact you physically. Your body can have a physical response to your anxiety, including headaches and dizziness. If you are dealing with an anxiety disorder, you may experience lightheadedness or wooziness. Anxiety and similar psychiatric disorders can cause vestibular symptoms like dizziness and vertigo.
Migraines
People who get migraines will typically experience symptoms other than traditional headache pain. Migraines cause other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. A migraine can also be a common cause of dizziness. A migraine is more than just a type of headache; it actually impacts your neurological system. Dizziness and vertigo can come and go with migraines. If you experience dizziness or vertigo with a migraine, then you may be dealing with vestibular migraines that may occur due to a miscommunication between the nerves in your brain and inner ear.
Dehydration
When you lose too many bodily fluids without replenishing, you run the risk of developing dehydration. Dehydration can occur from simply not drinking enough water or other beverages throughout the day. You can also get dehydrated after a sickness like the stomach flu that has depleted the nutrients in your body. Heat and excessive activity can also lead to dehydration. One of the symptoms of dehydration is dizziness. When your body and brain aren’t getting enough nutrients, it restricts oxygen in your brain and causes lightheadedness and dizziness.
Hypoglycemia
You might be surprised to learn that blood sugar is what provides your brain and body with energy. Hypoglycemia is a health condition where your blood sugar levels are too low. People with diabetes can experience hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Other health conditions can also lead to hypoglycemia. If you experience hypoglycemia, then it can cause symptoms like shakiness, anxiety, lightheadedness, and dizziness.
Inner Ear Issues
There are several different types of inner ear issues and disorders that can lead to dizziness and balance issues. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, also known as positional vertigo, is the most common cause of vertigo. Meniere’s disease is another inner ear condition that can cause vertigo. Labyrinthitis and vestibular neuritis can occur due to inflammation of nerves that control hearing and balance, causing dizziness and balance problems.
Circulation Problems
When your brain isn’t getting enough blood flow, it can cause you to feel lightheaded. You may have experienced this when you stood up too fast after sitting or standing for a period of time. However, poor circulation can also be due to a number of health conditions, and dizziness might be the first sign and symptom. Poor circulation can also cause you to feel a tingling pins and needles sensation, and you may feel unsteady on your feet.
Neurological Disorders
Neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s can affect nerves that control your stability and balance. People with multiple sclerosis may feel lightheaded or off-balance and suffer from dizzy spells. This may cause you to have trouble walking because of how your equilibrium is affected. People with Parkinson’s disease may also experience dips in blood pressure that cause dizziness.
Stroke
The main sign and symptom of a stroke is a sudden numbness or weakness that occurs on one side of the body. A stroke can also cause you to have difficulty seeing out of one or both eyes and can cause confusion and difficulty speaking. Other signs of stroke can include loss of balance, loss of coordination, and dizziness. Any sudden or severe dizziness along with weakness on one side of the body should be addressed as soon as possible by a medical professional.
How to Treat Dizziness
Once you determine what is causing your dizziness, you will be able to pinpoint the best way to experience dizziness relief. Here are several dizziness treatment options, though they will vary depending on the underlying cause.
Stay Hydrated
One of the easiest remedies for dizziness is to stay hydrated! Drinking enough water and fluids helps keep your body functioning optimally. Staying hydrated can help address several unintended causes of dizziness, including dehydration. If you experience dizziness due to low blood sugar, then having something to drink with sugar can also help resolve your dizziness and other symptoms quickly.
Take Vitamins
Several different vitamins can help reduce your risk of dizziness and vertigo. Vitamin C can be found in oranges, strawberries, grapefruits, and bell peppers. Vitamin E is commonly found in spinach, seeds, and nuts and can help support healthy blood vessels. Iron supplements or iron-rich foods like red meat and dark leafy greens can help with conditions like anemia that can also cause dizziness and lightheadedness due to low blood sugar.
Take Ginger
Ginger is a great natural solution to address dizziness and motion sickness. You can take ginger as a supplement, drink ginger tea, or use fresh ginger in your foods. Ginger can also be used to help pregnant women experiencing nausea.
Medications
If you have a health condition that is causing you dizziness, then some medications may be able to help. For example, medications that prevent migraines can help reduce your risk of dizzy spells. Certain medications can also help reduce fluid buildup in the inner ear that can disrupt your equilibrium.
Stretches & Exercises
Certain stretches and exercises can also help reduce dizziness and feeling lightheaded. If you start to feel dizzy, lying down can help. When you are lying down, elevate your feet on a pillow to help restore blood flow to your brain. Once the intensity of the dizziness has passed, you can try stretches or exercises to help reduce dizzy spells in the future. Repetitive movements can help you stay grounded and help with balance, like marching or turning in place.
Chiropractic Care
A chiropractor can also help address what is causing your dizziness and other symptoms. You may have a misalignment in your spine that is affecting your balance and stability. A pinched nerve could also be impacting your healthy functioning and causing you to feel lightheaded and dizzy. Chiropractors use gentle and safe techniques like spinal adjustments to resolve misalignments and restore healthy functioning.
Physical Therapy
A physical therapist can walk you through stretches and exercises in a safe and controlled environment. Whether you are recovering from an injury or dealing with a balance disorder, a physical therapist can help. Physical therapy can help you improve your stability and balance by strengthening your muscles and reducing your risk of falling. Physical therapists provide hands-on treatment, patient education, and prescribed movement to help you experience relief from dizziness.
Vestibular Rehabilitation
Your physical therapist may also offer a type of physical therapy known as vestibular rehabilitation. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy is typically used to treat vestibular disorders and symptoms like dizziness and vertigo. This is an exercise-based program that helps you improve your balance and reduce dizziness. Exercises with vestibular rehabilitation can include vision stability training, posture training, balance retraining, and other mobility and stretching exercises.
Injury Treatment
Treating the root cause of your dizziness is key to experiencing lasting relief. If you are experiencing dizziness due to an injury, then treating that injury will help resolve symptoms. Head and neck injuries should be treated immediately so you can avoid developing more symptoms or dealing with chronic pain and other issues.
AICA Orthopedics offers treatment for car accident injuries, sports injuries, and slip and fall injuries. Whether you recently suffered a concussion or whiplash, our team at AICA Orthopedics is here to help. Visit AICA Orthopedics in College Park and find out how our team can help you. We have a team of orthopedic doctors, neurologists, chiropractors, and physical therapists all in one convenient location in College Park.