Vertigo is a feeling as if the patient moves or rotates , or as if the objects move or rotate around the patient , who is usually accompanied by nausea and loss of balance .
Vertigo may last only a few moments or may continue for several hours or even days .
Patients often feel better when lying still , but vertigo can continue even if the patient does not move at all .
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo .
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo is a disease that is often found , in which vertigo occurs suddenly and lasts less than 1 minute .
Changes in head position ( usually occurs when the patient lie down , get up , rolling over on the bed or turning back ) usually trigger the vertigo episodes .
This disease appears to be caused by the deposition of calcium in one of the semicircular canals in the inner ear .
This type of vertigo is terrible , but it is not harmful and usually disappears on its own within a few weeks or months .
Not accompanied by a loss of hearing or ringing in the ears .
CAUSE
Sensing the position of the body and control the balance through the organ of balance located in the inner ear .
This organ has a nerve that is associated with a specific area in the brain .
Vertigo can be caused by abnormalities in the ear , in the nerve that connects the ear to the brain and in the brain itself .
Vertigo can also be associated with abnormalities of vision or changes in blood pressure that occurs suddenly .
Common causes of vertigo :
1 . State of the environment
- Motion sickness ( carsick , seasick )
2 . Medications
- Alcohol
- Gentamicin
3 . Disorders of circulation
- Transient ischemic attack ( temporary disturbance of brain function due to reduced blood flow to one part of the brain ) in the vertebral artery and the basilar artery
4 . Abnormalities in ear
- Precipitated calcium at one of the semicircular canals in the inner ear ( causing benign paroxysmal positional vertigo )
- Inner ear infection because of bacteria
- Herpes zoster
- Labirintitis ( infection of the labyrinth in the inner ear )
- Inflammation of the vestibular nerve
- Meniere's Disease
5 . Neurological Disorders
- Multiple sclerosis
- Skull fracture with injury to the labyrinth , persarafannya or both
- Brain tumors
- Tumors that suppress the vestibular nerve .
SYMPTOMS
Patients feel as if he is moving or spinning ; or patients feel as if it is moving or spinning around .
Diagnosis
Before starting treatment , should be determined the nature and cause of the vertigo .
Abnormal eye movements showed abnormalities in the function of the inner ear or the nerves that connect the brain .
Nystagmus is rapid eye movement from left to right or from top to bottom .
The direction of movement can help in diagnosis. Nystagmus can be stimulated by moving the patient's head suddenly or with a drop of cold water into the ear .
To test the balance , the patient was asked to stand and then walk in a straight line , first with eyes open , then with eyes closed .
Hearing tests can often determine the ear abnormalities that affect balance and hearing .
Other tests are CT scan or MRI of the head , which can indicate bone disorders or tumor pressing on nerves .
If an infection is suspected , able to take a sample of fluid from the ears or sinuses or of the spine .
If the suspected impairment of blood flow to the brain , the angiogram examination , to see any blockage in the blood vessels leading to the brain .
TREATMENT
Treatment depends on the cause .
Drugs to reduce mild vertigo is meklizin , dimenhydrinate , perfenazin and scopolamine .
Scopolamine primarily serves to prevent motion sickness , which is contained in the form of a skin patch to work for a couple of days old .
All the above drugs can cause drowsiness , especially in the elderly . Scopolamine in the form of a skin patch has the least effect of drowsiness .
