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Vertigo is the sensation of spinning or having one’s surroundings spin about them. It is not a disease or disorder but a symptom of underlying disorder.
Dizziness is altered sense of balance and place
It invariably happens that patient won’t be able to describe his sensation precisely and hence people often use the terms dizziness, giddiness and vertigo interchangeably.
Yes, in fact stress can directly or indirectly cause vertigo or dizziness and recently since the onset of pandemic I have seen tremendous increase in such cases.
A Neurotologist or a Vertigo and balance disorder specialist is a doctor having special training to treat patients having symptoms of Vertigo or giddiness. in your first visit you can expect the doctor take a detailed history symptoms and a thorough clinical examination directed towards identifying the cause of your symptoms.
Most of the times vertigo can be very well managed with oral medication. Rarely admission in hospital is necessary when some serious cause is suspected or patient is having very severe symptoms. Having said that it is imperative to take an expert opinion and not depend on OTC medications.
There are plenty of tests available for vertigo but not all are required in every single patient. The doctor determines the tests required for individual patient based on his or her symptoms and examination findings.
A spinning sensation for few seconds on trying to get up from bed/ lying down position could be BPPV which needs to be treated by physical therapy i.e., different manoeuvres.
Other causes could be postural drop in blood pressure or may be related to other disorders of balance system.
Yes, the causes of vertigo are varied. Benign conditions like BPPV which can be treated by manoeuvres, Migraine, Menière’s disease to sinister conditions like Stroke, Demyelinating disorders, or even CP angle tumours.
Hence anyone having even mild symptoms of vertigo should not ignore them and consult a doctor.
As I have mentioned Vertigo is just a symptom of underlying disorder and thus the cure depends on that disorder.
Definitely it is possible to identify the cause and treat the patient accordingly.
Visit your nearest doctor and get yourself checked thoroughly. If you are having recurrent attacks then get an expert opinion from a neurotologist who shall guide you for further management.
One form of physical therapy I have already described for BPPV. Physical Therapy are various exercises which help in initiating Vestibular Compensation which is essential for maintaining balance when there is any problem in the inner ear mainly vestibular labyrinth as the brain tries to compensate for function of the damaged labyrinth.