Therapy | Dizzy spell

Therapy

The therapy of a dizziness attack is of course initially dependent on the underlying cause. In some cases, drinking a large amount of water, sitting down for a short time and slowing down a little is already helpful. If these measures do not provide a remedy, one should lie down flat and take the legs upwards.

In this position, more blood can flow back to the heart and all dizzy spells caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain improve rapidly. Important exception to this recommendation are pregnant women! The dizziness can even increase with them because of the supine position.

For patients with extremely low blood pressure who experience dizzy spells more frequently, it is recommended to strengthen the circulation a little with a sufficient daily fluid intake (drink a lot! ), moderate endurance sports and regular alternating showers. Special clinics can also offer special tilting table or standing training.

Here the patient is fixed lying down on a table and left to rest for some time. The table is then tilted by almost 90 degrees so that the patient is passively straightened up. These strains train the body’s ability to execute its adaptation reactions more quickly.

If the cause of the dizzy spell is an extreme situation that will disappear in the foreseeable future (e.g. motion sickness), drugs such as dimenhydrinate (Vomex®) are also used prophylactically. Drugs containing this active ingredient reduce nausea and vomiting. In patients diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo, a so-called positioning maneuver is helpful.

This fixed sequence of movements is a release maneuver, which is usually performed under the supervision of a physician. Patients affected can also learn the corresponding movements themselves, which is highly recommended especially when positional vertigo occurs frequently.For many other forms of vertigo with rather rare causes, additional causal therapies are known and tested. In case of doubt, a doctor will be happy to advise and inform you.

Prognosis

Particularly in young women and very slim patients, who often suffer from forms of dizziness caused by short-term blood loss to important organs, dizzy spells generally occur repeatedly. Since a real causal therapy (except for certain prophylactic measures) is not possible, the cure rate is rather low. If dizzy spells occur in very rapid succession or persist for a long time, it is always advisable to consider unusual causes and exclude more serious diseases at least once.

If a doctor clarifies the most probable cause well and gives tips and advice on how best to deal with dizzy spells, those affected are usually little affected in their daily lives. In most cases, an acute dizziness attack is over as quickly as it begins and is at most a little unpleasant, but not dangerous. About 40% of the population experiences a dizzy attack at least once in their life without further complications. If there is a risk of falling, however, the risk potential changes significantly – especially with older patients, a fall can become problematic if dizziness suddenly occurs. Here, prophylactic, dizziness-preventing measures are all the more important.