Dizziness – what to do?

treatment of dizziness

If you feel that the dizziness attacks are affecting your quality of life, or if you experience worrying accompanying symptoms in addition to the dizziness, you should see your family doctor. In the next step, you can contact a neurologist, an otolaryngologist, and a specialized dizziness centre. “Dizziness is generally easy to treat,” assures Strupp. “That’s why those affected should not be afraid to consult a specialist.”

Make diagnosis easier

To make the diagnosis more accessible for the doctor, the expert recommends thinking about the following aspects before visiting the doctor:

• What kind of vertigo is it (spinning or staggering)?
• Are there individual dizziness attacks or permanent dizziness?
• Does the dizziness become noticeable at rest or only after changes in body position?
• Are there any accompanying symptoms, such as ear ringing, hearing loss, headaches, or dizziness?

The treatment of dizziness always depends on the underlying cause. This should be thoroughly researched to improve the patient’s quality of life in the long term. For the short-term treatment of vertigo attacks, so-called antivertigo drugs can be taken, which relieve the feeling of dizziness.

Dizzy again and again – what to do?

Some people get dizzy in the same situations over and over again. We have selected three typical situations where dizziness occurs more frequently. Prof. Dr. Michael Strupp explains what the complaints can be attributed to in specific situations:

• Dizziness when getting up in the morning
•  Strupp: “If the dizziness occurs when getting up in the morning and turning over in bed, the cause is probably benign positional vertigo. This can be treated very well, so you should see a doctor if the symptoms persist.”
• Dizziness when bending
•  Over Strupp: “If dizziness occurs when bending over, a distinction must be made as to whether it occurs when bending over or walking up. If the dizziness becomes noticeable when bending over, there is probably a benign positional vertigo behind the symptoms. On the other hand, if you get dizzy when you get up from a squat, problems with blood pressure may be responsible for the symptoms. A failure of both vestibular organs is also a possible cause in older patients.”
• Dizziness when driving by car/boat
•  Strupp: “With motion sickness, the dizziness is caused by the fact that different information is passed on to our brain via the various sensory organs. To avoid discomfort, for example, when driving a car, one should not concentrate on anything static inside the vehicle. It is better to be a quasi-active co-driver as well.