Dizziness is a common symptom that almost everyone experiences at least once, but not all dizziness has the same cause. If you repeatedly feel dizzy and as if you might collapse, you should consider a range of possible conditions, including Stroke, CVD, and disorders of the vestibular system.
A sensation that the room is spinning or that your body is swaying usually points to rotational dizziness. It is often linked to problems in the ear's vestibular system, and common causes include BPPV, vestibular neuritis, and Ménière's disease. Most cases improve with proper treatment, but medical care is needed if symptoms are severe or keep coming back.
A feeling that everything is going dark or that you are about to faint may be related to syncope. In such cases, blood flow to the brain may temporarily decrease due to orthostatic hypotension, leading to dizziness, fainting, and unsteady walking. If the symptoms recur when you stand up suddenly, or if you have actually fainted before, an accurate evaluation of the cause is necessary.
Among dizziness symptoms, if gait instability is so severe that you cannot sit or stand on your own and can barely walk even while holding onto a wall, you should visit a hospital immediately. In particular, if sudden walking difficulty is accompanied by one-sided weakness, numbness, speech problems, double vision, or a severe headache, Stroke is a possibility and urgent treatment is needed. If you dismiss the symptoms as simple dizziness and leave them untreated, diagnosis of the underlying disease may be delayed, and it can lead to secondary accidents such as falls or fractures.
To make an accurate diagnosis of dizziness, doctors first check the pattern of symptoms, how long they last, what triggers them, and any accompanying signs. They then comprehensively assess pupillary reflexes, eye movements, speech, muscle strength, sensation, and walking ability to determine whether the problem lies in the ear or in the brain and nervous system. If a central nervous system disorder is suspected, the cause is confirmed through imaging tests such as a brain MRI.
Treatment depends on the underlying condition. If an acute cerebrovascular disease such as cerebral infarction is suspected, doctors must quickly decide whether acute-phase treatment is needed based on when symptoms began and the imaging results. Medication such as antithrombotic agents and lipid-lowering agents, along with management of vascular risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, is necessary.
If Parkinson's disease is the cause of gait problems, dopamine-related medication is used, along with exercise and rehabilitation therapy to reduce walking difficulty and balance problems. If peripheral nerve abnormalities or vitamin deficiencies are identified, symptoms are managed through nutritional treatment and correction of the underlying cause.
To maintain balance and prevent falls, it is important to manage daily habits.
Regular aerobic exercise such as walking and lower-body strengthening workouts help maintain physical balance. It is also necessary to drink enough water to prevent orthostatic hypotension and to consistently manage vascular risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.
Older patients, in particular, need to pay even closer attention to fall prevention. Because falls can lead to serious injuries such as fractures, it is advisable to actively use assistive devices such as canes and walkers, and not to force yourself to walk when you feel dizzy. Living spaces should also be kept safe by clearing slippery floors and thresholds and ensuring adequate lighting at night.
Courtesy of Professor Kim Yoon, Department of Neurology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
