What is a vertigo outpatient clinic?

A vertigo outpatient clinic or a vertigo clinic are specialized centers that treat patients with acute and chronic vertigo. It is usually a branch of the neurological department of a larger hospital. A vertigo outpatient clinic has special diagnostic methods and specially trained staff.

Dizziness is a common complaint and can have many different causes, which is why a vertigo outpatient clinic works closely with other departments (for example, internal medicine, the ear, nose and throat department or orthopedics). In the vertigo clinic, vertigo patients introduce themselves after they have received a referral from their family doctor or another specialist in private practice. At first, an attempt is made to clarify the causes of the vertigo comprehensively.

A vertigo center has modern diagnostic equipment that is often not available in other clinics. This is followed by targeted treatment of the trigger and the vertigo symptoms. More about this:

Dizzy outpatient clinic

Therapy for psychosomatic vertigo

In psychosomatic vertigo, there are no organic disorders in the body, but the symptoms are caused by psychological problems, such as anxiety disorders or post-traumatic disorders. During treatment, it is first of all important that physical causes, for example diseases of the cervical spine, heart diseases or neurological deficits, are excluded at first. Therapy is then carried out by a psychiatrist or psychologist.

Within the framework of psychotherapy, the problems of the patient are worked through together. Behavioral therapy approaches and a so-called psychoeducative education of the patient are the main focus of the treatment. If necessary, medication can also be prescribed to alleviate anxiety or antidepressants.

Antidepressants
Tranquilizers

Guidelines for dizziness therapy

Since the symptom dizziness is a very stressful symptom that affects everyday life, the German Society of Neurosurgery has developed specially adapted therapy guidelines. These are not regulations on how a doctor must treat a patient with dizziness, but rather a recommendation for a more optimal, more successful therapy. However, before the therapy method suggested in the guidelines can be selected, a concrete diagnosis of the disease must be made, because dizziness is merely the symptom.

In many cases there are causal diseases that affect the organ of balance in the ear, the cerebellum in the head or one of the twelve cranial nerves. Depending on the causative disease, there are medical, physical (positioning exercises), surgical or psychotherapeutic options for treating dizziness. To find out which disease responds best to which therapy, the treating physician can review the guidelines for the treatment of dizziness.

Here all possible diseases that can cause dizziness are listed and assigned to the appropriate therapy concept. Furthermore there is a table in which possible antivertiginosa are listed. Antivertiginosa are drugs for the symptomatic treatment of dizziness, which only relieve the symptom dizziness, but have no relevant influence on the causative disease.

They may be taken for a maximum of 3 days as they have addictive potential. The guidelines also contain detailed information about which active ingredients are in which medications, as well as the dosage, contraindications, restrictions on use and possible side effects. All in all, the guidelines for the treatment of dizziness represent a kind of “red thread” that provides the treating physician with recommendations and orientation for the best possible therapy.