In traditional Chinese medicine, vertigo is seen as a common symptom and is mainly manifested by dizziness and blurred vision. This can happen in a variety of daily activities, such as preparing dinner in the kitchen, walking at the station, shopping at the supermarket, or even waking up in the morning. These symptoms may cause inconvenience in daily life, such as unsteadiness on standing, nausea, vomiting, sweating, paleness, etc.
It's important to note that vertigo is not just a physical symptom, it can also trigger psychological anxiety and discomfort. For some people, even mild vertigo can be cause for concern, as they can occur inadvertently, putting an individual's safety and quality of life at risk.
While vertigo is a common symptom, along with colds and headaches, its appearance is not always inconsequential. It is important to properly recognize and manage vertigo symptoms, especially if they occur frequently or interfere with the quality of daily life. In both TCM and Western medicine, there are a variety of approaches that can be used to treat and manage vertigo, including medication, lifestyle modification, and physical therapy.
What do you need to do when vertigo strikes suddenly?
Stabilize your body: When you experience dizziness, stop all activities immediately. Look for the nearest stable object, such as a wall or chair, to support your body. This is crucial to significantly reduce the risk of falls due to loss of balance, which in turn can prevent possible brain damage.
Adopt a safe position: When accompanied by nausea or vomiting, lie down quickly and switch to the lateral decubitus position. This position helps to prevent vomit from being aspirated into the trachea, avoiding a possible risk of choking.
Symptom analysis and simple management: If you only have dizziness and no other serious symptoms (such as nausea or vomiting) and do not have diabetes, you can try drinking some sugar water after basic stabilization. If the symptoms are relieved, you can use the assistance of others or press on the Neiguan acupoint to relieve the discomfort. Located about two inches above the horizontal stripe on the wrist, the Neiguan point is easy to find and can help relieve symptoms.
Prevention of aspiration: When you are in a state of vertigo, you should have a plastic bag or vomiting bag, as well as paper and a towel, to cope with possible vomiting and prevent aspiration.
Seek medical help: If you are unconscious, persistently severe dizzy, or vomiting repeatedly, you should immediately call the emergency number 120 for medical assistance.
What are the common vertigo disorders?
Vertigo caused by ear stones (called otolithiasis)
This condition is often referred to as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and the cause is unknown, but it is generally thought to be related to the detachment of small stones (otoliths) in the inner ear. These small stones may be displaced by a head injury or structural changes in the ear due to age, and when the head is moved, these detached stones flow through the ear, causing inconsistent irritation in the left and right ears and causing vertigo. Typical symptoms include brief episodes of vertigo (lasting no more than a few minutes) related to head movements (e.g., lying down, rolling over, getting up) and may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, etc.
Inner ear fluid imbalance (ear fluid imbalance in the original text)
Also known as Meniere's disease, this is a balance and hearing problem caused by an excessive buildup of fluid in the inner ear. It mainly affects the age group of 40 to 60 years, and the incidence is higher in women than in men. Symptoms include prolonged periods of vertigo, nausea, and vomiting, which may last for several hours, and are often accompanied by sensory pressure in the ears, tinnitus, and gradual hearing loss.
Dizziness migraine (vestibular migraine in the original text)
It is a genetically predisposed condition with recurrent dizziness that may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting or headache. This disease is characterized by variable symptoms and similarities with many vertigo disorders, so it requires special attention in diagnosis.
Sudden hearing loss with vertigo (sudden deafness with vertigo in the original text)
This is a sudden-onset phenomenon of hearing loss accompanied by vertigo. These symptoms can be very severe and include a sharp spinning sensation, nausea, vomiting, profuse sweating, etc. Because these symptoms can be confused with high blood pressure, cerebrovascular problems, or cervical spondylosis, diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss may be delayed.