Vertigo Facts
A Short Guide to Vertigo Facts
Vertigo is more than dizziness – it is a feeling that the room is spinning around you. It's very disorienting, but can be cleared up by specialists and medications, once you find the cause.
• There are no statistics for how many people experience vertigo, because the symptoms can be difficult to describe, and there are differences in the criteria by which vertigo is measured. There are some things we do know about vertigo. Facts indicate that over ninety million people in the United States, aged 17 and older, have experienced a balance issue or dizziness, whatever the cause.
• Many people over 70 report that they have problems with dizziness and balance, and it often affects the quality of their everyday living.
• If you're healthy, you probably take your sense of balance pretty much for granted. This is because you don't experience difficulty walking over uneven surfaces or in the dark. Vertigo facts tell us that balance depends on many things – among them are proper input from eyes, muscles, joints and ears. Also important is the way your brain interprets the information it receives, and lastly, the way your brain sends out signals to the eyes, muscles and joints to carry the movement through.
• People who suffer from vertigo have some part of that equation that doesn't function properly. Vertigo is normally diagnosed by first having an MRI, to rule out tumors or other growths as the reason for your dizziness and vertigo. Facts confirm that after a “clean” MRI, you will probably be scheduled for a hearing test, and then balance testing, which is a three to four hour process designed to challenge your eyes, inner ears and muscles and joints to see where the problem is.
• Based on your balance test results, treatments may include physical therapy, and a repositioning of the “crystals” from your ear canals back into the inner ear where they should be. If migraine is associated with your vertigo, your ear/nose/throat doctor may prescribe a medication to open the blood vessels in your brain, to relieve your migraine-induced vertigo. Normally they start with amitriptyline or Imitrex (tm) if this is the course they take.
• Your physician may suggest or prescribe other ways to treat your vertigo. Facts indicate that you can modify your diet to exclude foods which may be exacerbating your vertigo. There are also various surgeries that may be done, if your testing reveals that they are needed.
• There are organizations like VEDA (Vestibular Disorders Association) that can work with you and provide information along the way in your dealing with vertigo. In this way, you can read up on vertigo facts, and arm yourself with information, and this will help you in the challenges you face if you are affected by vertigo.