Dizziness When Standing Up

Dizziness can be described as a sudden spinning sensation along with lightness in the head. When it is experienced while standing up, you may feel like you are losing your body balance. This can happen to people of any age group, but elderly people experience it more frequently.

If proper supply of blood to the brain gets interrupted for a short period of time, sudden dizziness is experienced as it affects the functioning of the muscles and peripheral nervous system.

Dizziness is experienced when a blood vessel present in the brain is compressed by a tumor. Another cause is transient ischemic attack where blood flow to the brain is 'temporarily' disrupted (for about a minute, on an average) due to a brief blockage in the artery.

In these cases, once the blood vessels start functioning normally and blood supply to the brain is restored, symptom subside and there is no permanent damage to the brain. However, a more serious cause of neuromuscular problem is stroke where disruption in blood supply due to narrowing down of blood vessels or blood clots lead to damage in the brain cells.

Since the inner ear helps us to maintain the body balance, any problem here can lead to lack of balance. Small calcium particles are spread all over the three ear canals. Due to vertigo, these tiny particles cluster in one place and cause irritation to the nerves of the ear. As a result, dizziness is experienced.

When there is improper circulation of blood in the body, brain does not get sufficient amount of oxygen required for its functioning. This may result in dizziness when standing up. This problem in circulatory system may arise due to low blood pressure or high blood pressure. In more serious cases, irregular blood flow is triggered by coronary heart disease.

One may feel dizzy after taking certain medicines. These medicines are: hypertension medications, cardiovascular medicines, diuretics, antidepressants, sedatives, tranquilizers, pain killers and some antibiotics.

Dizziness can be a symptom of several other health conditions like anemia, diabetes, head injury, migraine, internal hemorrhage, dehydration, weakness due to aging or prolonged illness, hormonal problems due to malfunctioning of thyroid gland or pituitary gland and psychological problems like anxiety, panic attack and depression.

Symptoms that are commonly seen with dizziness are:

• Feeling faint
• Blurred or double vision
• Palpitations, etc.

These episodes usually last for a few minutes. But, if the condition worsens with time and is accompanied by inability to hear, tingling and numbness, dryness in mouth, breathing difficulty and chest pain, it may indicate a more serious problem.

There is no treatment for dizziness in particular. The actual cause has to be treated.

• The treatment for serious conditions like heart attack, tumor and stroke should start on an emergency basis which may require surgery.

• When you feel dizzy due to vertigo, just lie down on a flat surface and roll over from one side to the other. This will break down the cluster of calcium particles inside the ear and you will get relief instantly.
• For dehydration, IV fluids have to be administered to the patient.
• For infectious diseases, suitable medicines are given to treat the infection.

• In chronic anemia, blood transfusion may be required along with medicines.
• When dizziness is a side effect of some medicines, doctor should be informed about it so that they may change those medicines.

• Recurrent dizzy spells due to aging cannot be prevented. So, doctors discuss the matter with family of the patient about the possible safety measures that should be taken at home to avoid any serious injury.

Timely assessment of the cause is important to prevent worsening of the situation. If you tend to get dizziness when standing up quite often for some harmless reasons or weakness, then you should be careful and stand up slowly. Take plenty of rest, eat healthy food, keep yourself hydrated drinking plenty of water to improve your health condition.

Disclaimer:This is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.