What to Do for Dizzy Spells

From something as innocuous as a one time occurrence due to skipping a couple of meals, to something which occurs as a routine and completely blacks one out, dizzy spells can be symptoms of a myriad of health issues ranging from low blood glucose and weakness due to malnutrition, to nervous disorders and many other serious and chronic ailments.

A dizzy spell can be caused by any one of the five broad biological conditions - inadequate blood supply to the brain, too much oxygen going to the brain too quickly, sudden distortion of visual cues, disorders or infections of the inner ear, side effects of anticonvulsants and sedatives on the brain and the nervous system.

Furthermore, dizziness is a broad term which can be classified into 4 specific conditions:

• Vertigo (when you feel your surroundings are spinning while you stand still or vice versa)

• Hyperventilation (feeling dizzy or getting a blurred out kind of feeling when stressed or under a panic attack due to breathing too fast and too deep)
• Lightheadedness (that feeling of your head about to float away)
• Disequilibrium (when you feel off-balance or about to fall for no reason or while keeping perfectly still).

Vertigo is a result of a disorder of the vestibular organs in the inner ear and this is usually a chronic condition which is mostly accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

Lightheadedness occurs as a result of muscular weakness and lowered blood pressure and this condition is usually felt when attempting to make sudden movements like standing up suddenly in a jerk.

This is followed by fainting or brief black out and mostly caused by malnutrition or due to muscular weakness caused by a serious illness, especially a cardiovascular disease. Disequilibrium can be caused by infection or disease of the sense organs that take in and process spatial information and impart a sense of balance such as the eyes and the inner ears.

Before you take any curative measures, the first thing you should do as soon as you feel a little dizzy is to stop whatever you are doing at the moment and become totally still. If you are standing, sit down and if you are sitting, stay that way or lie down if possible.

This way, the dizzy spell will pass in a few moments and will probably leave you somewhat weak for sometime after it is gone. Do not attempt to make any movements or put any strain upon your body or mind, just breathe easy and relax. Call for help if there are people nearby - though in such cases, people usually rush for aid when they see anybody collapsing.

If this condition has been happening to you for quite sometime now, try and identify any pattern - do you often skip meals? Are you on a weight loss diet? Do you have hypoglycemia? If your answer to any of these is in the affirmative, then you probably need to get something to eat which is nutritious and glucose-rich such as fruit juices, sugar candies, etc.

If these dizzy spells started after getting affected by some sort of infection or any other physical ailment, chances are that the dizziness and that ailment are related to each other.

Any repetitive or constant case of dizziness should be medically diagnosed to pinpoint and treat the root cause of this externally manifesting symptom. When talking about managing episodes of dizziness, keep dehydration in mind.

Often, lack of sufficient fluid intake can cause the brain to go into these brief stand by modes which are actually signals for you to drink up more liquids. Dehydration may lead to this condition in warm seasons, as well as after rigorous workouts if your body is not well hydrated.

People who rush in to help a person who is feeling dizzy or off-balance must make sure that the affected person is laid down on his/her back and has enough room around himself/herself so that he/she can breathe freely.

To facilitate breathing, clothes should be loosened and restrictive clothing items such as belts, scarves, cravats, and neckties, should be completely removed. After that, the person must be made to chew on candies or drink sweetened coffee or glucose drink to restore the normal blood glucose levels.

If the condition is due to low blood pressure, some salty food should be given to him/her to raise his/her blood pressure. Once the person has totally revived, he/she should be made to eat something nutritious slowly and in small quantities.

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