Vertigo

Vertigo - Malaysia Health Family medicine and Healthcare

Vertigo is a medical condition where the patient experiences a certain type of motion in the mind. This usually occurs when there is a dysfunction of the vestibular system and that is when the patient seems to believe that the surroundings are actually ‘spinning’.

What happens with vertigo?

The main problem with vertigo is that it can attack you anytime. You can be watching TV or driving and when it attacks, there is no way to get out of it because you literally cannot do much. The external environment will be turning around in circles and you are actually stagnant.

Prevalence

When you experience Vertigo, you are actually experience subtype of dizziness which is often linked to nausea and vomiting. Sometimes known as a sort of imbalance in the mind, it actually creates the illusion that the world around you is spinning.

In most cases, you will not be able to stand or walk or even maintain any form of balance. The spinning seems to be occurring even when you are lying down. Objective Vertigo happens when you feel that the objects are moving about. Subjective Vertigo meanwhile occurs when you feel that you are actually the moving object while pseudovertigo is when you experience the rotation motion within our head which can be quite distressing.

Prevention

One of the biggest challenges of Vertigo is that it can happen to anyone at any age while those in the 50 years and above group have more reported vertigo cases. As such, preventing vertigo from occurring can be quite difficult because this condition can be a silent threat at times. As such, people above 50 years should avoid or minimize situations that can be very dangerous when vertigo attacks like climbing a ladder and such.

Diagnosis

Determining if you have vertigo requires your doctor to carry out several tests and examinations. The first level of diagnosis will involve you describing your feeling. By communicating to your doctor what you felt was spinning, your doctor can further diagnose which type of vertigo you have. However, patients tend to focus on other signs like vomiting and dizziness. To further confirm the suspicion, the doctor will examine your eye movements for any baronial jerks which is quite common because the pattern by which your eye moves will ascertain the findings further. In some cases, further examination using CAT or MRI scans would be required.

Symptoms

The most common factor that can trigger vertigo is when there is a change in your head’s position. Common symptoms reported include movements in the objects of the environment, nausea and vomiting. A lot of patients might mistaken symptoms of vertigo for asthma as they could experience short of breath as well.

Patients with vertigo will report that they felt the environment spinning and the speed will determine the severity of the condition. Some could experience tilting of the environment and even being pulled to one direction. Besides that, sudden and abnormal occurrences of headaches and unable to stand or walk are common while more serious symptoms could involve minor hearing loss or ringing in the ears.

Specialists

If you experience a sudden occurrence of dizziness which you might suspect to be vertigo, the best person to check first would be your family physician. While it can be challenging to make it to the clinic with this condition, your doctor would then give you medication to relieve your condition. As vertigo is caused by an inner ear condition, your doctor might refer you to an audiologist who is trained to treat infections and disorders of the inner ear. You could be referred to an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor or an otolaryngologist if your condition is more serious.

Medication

The treatment for vertigo can be both short and long term. Once your doctor confirms that you have vertigo, he might prescribe prochlorperazine or antihistamines like cyclizine and cetrizine. Such medicines are used to treat people with motion sickness or nausea because they help to block the chemicals from reaching the brain.

Prochlorperazine is designed to block dopamine from reaching your brains that can cause headaches while antihistamines stop histamine that causes vomiting and nausea. Besides that, your doctor could enrol you into a vestibular rehabilitation where you will undergo certain exercises to reduce your dizziness. Apart from that, it has been reported that acupuncture could cure vertigo as well.

Home Remedies

Once you have been diagnosed with vertigo, you will have to take medication. At home, you can use several methods like adopting a physical therapy called a modified Epley Manoeuvre which involves movements of your head and body movements while being seated on a soft surface. While doctors and your therapist will guide you through this exercise, you can practice this on your own at home as well.

Besides that, you need to ensure you have sufficient Vitamin D through health supplements because it has been found that Vitamin D deficiency actually causes vertigo while ensure that you are having sufficient levels of ginkgo biloba and ginger root which can enhance your brain health. During home treatment, avoid drinking caffeine, smoking and alcoholic beverages

Another tested and proven home remedy

By now, you would know that the ear, brain and sensory nerve pathways are the major causes of vertigo. It will inflict the type of dizziness which can be so bad, it would sometimes be impossible to breathe.
One doctor recently found a home remedy that can quickly solve this problem. This is what is known as the half-somersault move. It has since been published online and the video has garnered more than 2 million views and the number is still rising. Millions of people with vertigo problems have since reported that it has helped them out of their dizzy cycle.

Many patients who have been experiencing problems with vertigo found success the very first time they tried this move and it has brought smiles back in to their lives.
What makes this remedy so good is that you do not even need medication for it and it is among the simplest thing you can do without any special equipment or any additional discomfort to the current condition.

  • Ensure that you are standing up or at least try to
  • First, look up. Tilt your head upwards so that you are facing the ceiling of your room
  • It might be a little difficult here because your head is like spinning around at this point
  • Bear with it and then slowly move your head downwards
  • Do this as if you are going to turn and do a somersault
  • At this position, tilt your head towards the left and stare at your elbow (left hand)
  • Hold at this position until the dizziness goes away
  • Slowly move your heard up to the original position
  • Once the dizziness goes away completely, slowly sit down and rest

Making Thyme Tea to cure vertigo

Using plant foods can be very beneficial especially when they can help to prevent the development of chronic diseases. After all, they are rich in nutrients like minerals, fiber and vitamins. One of the plant food that can help to cure vertigo is thyme.
Thyme is very commonly used in the production of pharmaceutical products. Besides vertigo, it helps to enhance muscles which in the long-term can reduce conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, among others. To help regulate blood pressure, thyme has potassium, iron and calcium to get the job done. Here is a recipe to make Thyme tea at home.

What you need?

Prepare the following:

  • About 5 tablespoons of thyme (make sure it is organic)
  • 1 teaspoon of honey – raw and organic ones
  • a cup of water

And you are ready to go!

First, boil the water and then let it cool for about a minute. Throw in the thyme and let it simmer for about 4 minutes. Then, the honey goes in. Take this for several days and you will notice that your vertigo signs will slowly disappear.

Contact us now on how we can help you with Vertigo. +60126725888 (SMS or Whatsapp for international)

References

http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/benign-paroxysmal-positional-vertigo-bppv-when-to-call-a-doctor
|http://www.uihealthcare.org/vertigo/
http://www.webmd.com/brain/vertigo-symptoms-causes-treatment#2

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