How many of you have experienced dizziness before? I have honestly been dealing with this for many years and know just how difficult it can be. It used to be difficult to explain to others because I didn’t completely understand why it was happening, so I didn’t feel I had a right to try explaining it. When I experience dizziness today, the best and most effective way to help someone understand is, to say it feels like I am trying to walk a straight line intoxicated and it isn’t working.

Over the past few days, I to have had these dizziness times more frequently. I am not sure if it is stress, over-tired, the weather changing or all three of them combined. What I can say is it has been extremely frustrating and I just want it to STOP!

I think many people confuse dizziness and vertigo, whereas they are similar they are different at the same time. Dizziness is not simply a disease on its own, but a symptom of a disease. Dizziness is a feeling of being lightheaded, woozy and or unbalanced. These issues affect sensory organs, such as ears and eyes and can cause fainting. There are many causes for dizziness, which include dehydration, migraines, medications, alcohol or problem in the inner ear where balance is regulated.

Vertigo and disequilibrium both cause dizziness, but they have their differences. Vertigo is known as a spinning sensation and disequilibrium is the loss of balance. Beign Paroxymsmal Postional Vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of vertigo. BPPV occurs when changing positions too fast and is short-term dizziness.

Meniere’s Disease is a disease that affects the inner ear. This can cause fluid to build up in the inner ear with associated ear fullness, hearing loss, and tinnitus. This disease can trigger dizziness and vertigo.

POSSIBLE CAUSES OF DIZZINESS ARE:

• A sudden drop in blood pressure
• Heart muscle disease
• The decrease in blood volume
• Anxiety Disorders
• Anemia ( low iron)
• Hypoglycemia ( low blood sugar)
• Ear infection
• Dehydration
• Heatstroke
• Excessive exercising
• Motion Sickness
• Dizziness can also be caused by Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, malignant tumor or another brain disorder.

DIZZINESS CAN BE FELT IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT SENSATIONS INCLUDING:

• A false sense of spinning
• Lightheartedness or feeling faint
• Unsteadiness
• Loss of balance
• Feeling like you are floating or swimming

If sudden dizziness occurs alongside any of the following, it becomes a lot more URGENT to notify your doctor IMMEDIATELY:

• Head injury
• Headache
• Neck ache
• High fever
• Difficulty speaking
• Hearing loss
• Blurred vision
• Numbness or tingling
• Droopiness of the eye or mouth
• Chest Pain
• Ongoing vomiting

12 STEPS TO HELP PREVENT DIZZINESS

1. IMMEDIATELY sit or lie down when feeling dizzy and do not get up until the dizziness has stopped. This is easy and could save you from falling because of losing balance.
2. Utilize a cane or walker to help you with stability.
3. When walking up or down the stairs, ALWAYS use the HANDRAILS! Personally, this has helped me many times when I felt a little dizzy halfway down the stairs and knew I would not make it without falling if I wasn’t holding onto something. So handrails can be your best friend that will never let you fall!
4. Try doing activities to help improve balance.
5. Do your best to AVOID moving or changing positions suddenly.
6. If you experience frequent dizziness without any warnings, it might be best to AVOID driving a car.
7. Caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco can trigger dizziness and possibly even make things worse, so try AVOIDING these substances!
8. At a minimum try drinking 8 cups of water daily, get 7 or more hours of sleep a night and AVOID stressful situations the best you can.
9. Eat a HEALTHY diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins to help prevent dizziness.
10. If you feel a certain medication is contributing to your dizziness, talk to your doctor about changing the dosage or the medication altogether. REMEMBER, you know your body better than anyone else and should be heard by your doctor.
11. Over the counter medications, such as Meclizine (Antivert) or an antihistamine as they both help with nausea and dizziness. These medications can cause additional drowsiness, so be sure you will not have to be active or productive after consuming these medications.
12. Ensure to rest in a cool place and drink plenty of water if your dizziness is caused by being overheated and or dehydrated.

6 REMEDIES THAT MAY HELP WITH DIZZINESS

1. Dehydration: Of course various things that can cause dizziness, but we need to understand that dehydration is the most common contributor. If you are feeling tired, thirsty and urinate less while you are dizzy, you should try to drink more water and stay hydrated because it should help you!
2. Ginger: It has been said that ginger helps relieve symptoms of motion sickness, nausea, and dizziness. There are numerous ways to consume ginger including adding to your diet, Ginger Tea or you can take ginger supplements.
3. Vitamin C: The Meniere’s Society has suggested the consumption of Vitamin C can reduce vertigo. Just a few ideas for you regarding foods that are rich in Vitamin C: oranges, grapefruit, strawberries and bell peppers.
4. Vitamin E: The supplements for Vitamin E may prevent coronary heart disease, support immune function, prevent inflammation, promote eye health and lower risks of cancer. Another important thing about Vitamin E is, by maintaining the elasticity in the blood vessels, it helps prevent circulation problems. A few foods that contain Vitamin D are wheat germ, seeds, nuts, kiwis and spinach.
5. Vitamin D: I think it is pretty amazing how much Vitamin D helps us. It promotes healthy bones and teeth, supports immune, brain and nervous system health, regulates insulin levels, and supports lung function and cardiovascular health. Some foods that contain Vitamin D are fatty fish, beef liver, orange juice, cheese, and egg yolk.
6. Iron: People that have anemia are encouraged to get more iron because their levels change. A few foods that contain iron are red meat, beans, poultry, and dark leafy greens.

I know this post is slightly longer than I normally do, especially now that I am back working full-time, but this was important to me because of the insane dizzy spells I have been dealing with for the past few days. I would be lying to you if I said they didn’t scare the hell out of me because they do! On a plus side though, at least I haven’t fallen because my last fall was disastrous.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and you are feeling well. I also really want to thank you for taking time to not only read this long post, but to also leave great comments. The weekend definitely flew by fast, but I guess that is just how life goes! No pressures to answer this question, but do any of you deal with dizzy spells and if so how to you manage them? Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love , comfort and many positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa