Dizziness or lightheadedness is a feeling that is fairly common. The causes are many and range from those that are generally harmless to life threatening conditions. When this feeling is experienced once in a while, there is no cause for worry. However, one should seek medical attention immediately if the problem is recurrent or if it is associated with other symptoms such as headache, loss of consciousness, hearing loss, visual blurring and so on. You need to understand a number of important things when seeking dizziness treatment in Toronto.
Differentiating dizziness from vertigo is important. While the former is a feeling of lightheadedness, the latter refers to a sense of spinning environment. Vertigo is caused by a problem affecting the semicircular canals of the ear. One of the forms of this condition is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (also known as BPPV). Symptoms are usually experienced when one changes their body position.
Another commonly encountered cause is Meniere disease. This disease is caused by accumulation of fluid within the middle ear. This too compromises the function of semicircular canals. Causes of real dizziness include tumors (such as acoustic neuroma), a sudden drop in blood pressure, hypoglycemia, some drugs, motion sickness, heat stroke and dehydration.
Severity is assessed by keeping track of the episodes. You can achieve this by getting yourself a diary to record every the attacks. Apart from giving an insight about the frequency, such information will also be used to study related symptoms. After treatment has been initiated, response to therapy will be easy to monitor.
Since there are numerous causes, proper evaluation is necessary to single out the most likely. The doctor will take a history from you and perform a comprehensive physical examination. The history will seek to establish the timing of your symptoms, the body positions in which it occurs as well as the frequency and severity. Depending on the findings, some tests will be requested. CT scans and MRI are often useful in this area. In some situations the cause may not be found.
Treatment modalities to be employed will depend on the cause. It should be noted, however, that in some cases, the cause is not found. Treatments that have been tried with variable success rates include lifestyle changes, home therapies and pharmacotherapy. When the cause is migraines, patients are advised to avoid trigger factors and to use reliever medications. Meniere disease, on the other hand, is managed by dietary modification and surgical intervention when this fails.
Athletes are at a high risk of suffering from heat stroke, dehydration and hypoglycemia. All these are established causes of dizziness. Such athletes need to be well prepared with water and a source of glucose whenever they go out to train or to compete. The same risk exists in persons that engage in strenuous physical activities particularly in areas with high ambient temperatures.
Dizziness is on most occasions harmless. Its treatment is not easy because of the numerous causes and the fact that it means different things to different people. Many cases subside with time even without treatment. When it is associated with other symptoms and when it persists for long periods of time, you need to seek medical intervention for proper evaluation.
Differentiating dizziness from vertigo is important. While the former is a feeling of lightheadedness, the latter refers to a sense of spinning environment. Vertigo is caused by a problem affecting the semicircular canals of the ear. One of the forms of this condition is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (also known as BPPV). Symptoms are usually experienced when one changes their body position.
Another commonly encountered cause is Meniere disease. This disease is caused by accumulation of fluid within the middle ear. This too compromises the function of semicircular canals. Causes of real dizziness include tumors (such as acoustic neuroma), a sudden drop in blood pressure, hypoglycemia, some drugs, motion sickness, heat stroke and dehydration.
Severity is assessed by keeping track of the episodes. You can achieve this by getting yourself a diary to record every the attacks. Apart from giving an insight about the frequency, such information will also be used to study related symptoms. After treatment has been initiated, response to therapy will be easy to monitor.
Since there are numerous causes, proper evaluation is necessary to single out the most likely. The doctor will take a history from you and perform a comprehensive physical examination. The history will seek to establish the timing of your symptoms, the body positions in which it occurs as well as the frequency and severity. Depending on the findings, some tests will be requested. CT scans and MRI are often useful in this area. In some situations the cause may not be found.
Treatment modalities to be employed will depend on the cause. It should be noted, however, that in some cases, the cause is not found. Treatments that have been tried with variable success rates include lifestyle changes, home therapies and pharmacotherapy. When the cause is migraines, patients are advised to avoid trigger factors and to use reliever medications. Meniere disease, on the other hand, is managed by dietary modification and surgical intervention when this fails.
Athletes are at a high risk of suffering from heat stroke, dehydration and hypoglycemia. All these are established causes of dizziness. Such athletes need to be well prepared with water and a source of glucose whenever they go out to train or to compete. The same risk exists in persons that engage in strenuous physical activities particularly in areas with high ambient temperatures.
Dizziness is on most occasions harmless. Its treatment is not easy because of the numerous causes and the fact that it means different things to different people. Many cases subside with time even without treatment. When it is associated with other symptoms and when it persists for long periods of time, you need to seek medical intervention for proper evaluation.
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