Doctors find simple cure for common form of vertigo

NEW YORK -- Picture this: you awaken in the morning, sit up in bed, and the room starts spinning.

Is it a stroke, a brain tumor, a heart attack?

It's actually one of the most common types of vertigo, dizziness.

It's a benign problem, but it is one of the scariest issues the ear, nose and throat doctors see.

One doctor told me she keeps some open time in her schedule for these patients who call the office in a panic and have to be seen that day.

The condition is called benign vertigo, and the problem is in the inner ear.

It scared Miriam Gallardo, when she lay down on an exam table during a class in ultrasound technology.

"I looked to just talk to one of my colleagues, and everything was spinning like totally out of control," said Gallardo. "It was so scary I took my blood pressure, it was 157/110, that's how scared I was. A stroke? prior to a heart attack? I just couldn't figure it out."

It turned out to be a very common problem called benign positional vertigo, benign attacks of dizziness with a change of position, that have to do with the inner ear.

There, tiny crystals migrate into three little canals which help you know if you're sitting up, lying down, or bending over.

The crystals shouldn't be in the canals, and they irritate nerve endings there.

"When you turn your head suddenly, where there's extra movement, the body feels it's moving when it's actually not moving," said Dr. Monica Okun of Lenox Hill Hospital.

Your ears tell you one thing, your eyes tell you another.

The result in your brain is dizziness, sometimes nausea and vomiting. It can strike suddenly at any age.

ENT specialists put patients through a number of head positions.

The maneuvers force the stray crystals to exit the tiny canals and go back where they belong.

The results are immediate: dizziness gone.

It may come back in 20 percent of people.

"If I'm feeling off and a little dizzy, I go immediately to the exercises to prevent it, and it works," said Gallardo.

Don't assume that all attacks of dizziness are due to this benign condition.

There are many causes of dizziness and you should at least tell your doctors about an attack like this.

The doctor may send you to an ear, nose and throat specialist to get some more answers.

Get more Health News »

health news, dr. jay adlersberg

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•