Often people confuse dizziness with vertigo or use the two terms interchangeably. They are however, slightly different. Before looking at what we should consider for dizziness, lets first define these two terms.

Dizziness is a symptom where you feel off balance.  Vertigo is a feeling of yourself or your surroundings moving (when they’re not).

When most people have vertigo, they will report the symptom of dizziness. Though not all dizziness events are due to vertigo.

Some causes of dizziness can be serious (such as certain heart diseases, including stroke). Though can also stem from less serious means. Such as mild dehydration. If you think that the cause of your dizziness is serious, contact a doctor straight away.

Common associated symptoms that occur with dizziness include light headedness, confusion, tiredness. Sometimes even nausea, vomiting and fainting.

Dizziness itself tends to get better within a couple of weeks. Though some people may experience it for months or even years. It can be due to many different systems in our bodies, including our visual system, brain / nervous system, cardiac system, ENT (ear, nose and throat) and hormonal system.

Our main centres of balance come from the inner ear, eyes, and joint proprioception – predominantly from the ankles and neck. When experiencing dizziness, we’d suggest checking with people who can assess these areas.

If someone you know is suffering from dizziness, the time to seek medical attention would be if they also have a fever, if they are confused, are short of breath, have chest pain, have fainted, have a change to vision or have muscle weakness in a limb or pins and needles.

Heal > Adapt > Evolve