Dizziness: accompanying symptoms

dizziness and nausea

In many cases, dizziness is accompanied by headaches or nausea. Nausea and vomiting can occur, for example, with benign positional vertigo, but also with dangerous causes such as a stroke. They can also indicate Meniere’s disease or an inflamed vestibular nerve. Since nausea and dizziness often occur together, it is impossible to conclude the underlying cause simply from this accompanying symptom.

dizziness and headache

“If dizziness occurs together with a headache, a dizzy migraine is often the cause. This is particularly likely if several vertigo attacks occur spontaneously without hearing impairment,” explains Strupp. “If dizziness occurs for the first time together with a headache, you should rule out bleeding in the brain,” warns the expert.

In vertigo migraines, also known as vestibular migraines, the vertigo attacks can last from a few minutes to several hours. A dizzy migraine can be treated acutely with antiemetics, which combat nausea, as well as classic painkillers such as paracetamol or acetylsalicylic acid. If the dizzy spells become more frequent, prophylactic treatment with a beta blocker, for example, should be considered.

In about a third of the cases, a dizzy migraine occurs without a headache, which poses a challenge for the doctor when diagnosing. In such cases, however, accompanying symptoms such as sensitivity to light and noise, as well as previous migraine attacks, can provide clues to the correct diagnosis.

Dizzy migraines in children

Vertigo migraines are also a common cause of vertigo in children. “If a child suffers from vertigo attacks more than three times a month, you should speak to your paediatrician about prophylactic treatment,” recommends Strupp. Therapy with beta-blockers is suitable to prevent the child from having dizzy spells. However, the administration of magnesium is often sufficient.