Diagnosis | Dizziness and alcohol

Diagnosis

In general, no special diagnosis is required for dizziness that occurs after alcohol consumption. The connection between alcohol consumption and the patient’s symptoms is usually clear. However, if the dizziness persists or occurs independently of alcohol consumption, further diagnosis should be made.

This involves examining the organ of equilibrium in the inner ear and the cerebellum for its functional capability. If it is not clear whether the dizziness is caused by alcohol or whether it has other causes, further examinations are carried out. In order to better classify dizziness that occurs during or shortly after alcohol consumption, the alcohol content in the air breathed can be measured first.

Special devices and self-tests for this are even freely available. An acquisition can thus be considered by the person concerned, provided that the impression exists that the dizziness is caused or encouraged by the consumption of alcohol. Alternatively, an outlet test can be tried to make the connection between alcohol consumption and dizziness more likely.

If the dizziness no longer occurs when alcohol is not consumed, a connection can be assumed. However, it is advisable to wait a sufficiently long time to see whether dizziness occurs without alcohol consumption. This could be four weeks, for example, during which time alcohol should not be consumed.

Therapy

In case of dizziness caused by alcohol consumption, waiting is usually the only solution. Once the alcohol in the body has been broken down and excreted, the dizziness also decreases again. If you drink alcohol, you should definitely have a rich breakfast the next day, with lots of vitamins and enough liquid.

This should help against the hangover. Longer lasting dizziness, which shows no tendency to improve after a few days, should be clarified by a doctor as a precaution. Learn more about this topic here:

  • Hangover after alcohol – What to do?
  • Dizziness therapy

Sleeping can be very difficult with dizziness after alcohol consumption.

The feeling that the whole environment is spinning keeps you awake. In addition, dizziness is often much more pronounced when lying down than when sitting or standing. If you still want to sleep, you can help yourself with a simple trick.

To do this, you hang one leg out of the bed and put your foot on the floor. The body receives positional information from the room and the brain can process the fact that the leg is firmly on the floor. The subjectively perceived rotation of the room and the information that the leg is firmly on the floor are recognized by the brain as not matching and the dizziness is suppressed.

This can then make it easier to fall asleep. Sometimes, however, nothing helps – the dizziness cannot be controlled. Then often all that helps is to wait and hope that you can fall asleep at some point. If in doubt, it is better to stay awake and keep your eyes open so that you do not feel dizzy and nauseous.