Dizziness (Vertigo)

I decided to do the research for this article because a good friend of mine has been dealing with vertigo for a couple of weeks. It is really playing havoc with her lifestyle. My sister went through a period of time a while back where she was having frequent dizzy spells as well. Even I have had problems with it, and occasionally still do.

Dizzy spells can be caused by multiple things. The worst ones I had were blamed on an inner ear infection. The doctor put me on antibiotics and about four days later the room quit spinning. Other than having the room spin at the least little movement of my head I had no other symptoms.

My sister and my friend were both given a different explanation of the problem. They were told that the small crystals in the ear were out of alignment and needed to be realigned. When I looked into my anatomy books there was nothing about crystals in the ear. One of them talked about chalk in the inner ear, where another one talks about a gelatinous substance that presses against microscopic hairs in the ear. All of them describe these hairs as transmitting information about the balance of the body based on the position of the head. These hairs, being pressed by either the gelatinous substance or crystals send signals to the brain as to the angle the head is being held in. The gelatinous substance is considered the reason that when we are literally spinning our bodies and stop it takes a while for our brain to register that we have stopped. Since it is a semi liquid it takes a while to stop the motion.

Other causes for dizzy spells include low or impaired blood pressure. When we move suddenly, especially from a lying or sitting position to a standing position our blood pressure can temporarily drop. This can cause a light headedness or dizziness. This is supposed to be what happened to my father several times during his life. He would stand up suddenly and then black out. One time when I was a teenager he got up in the middle of the night and fell. During the fall he hit his head and broke his nose. They thought at first that he had experienced a heart attack or stroke. After spending a week in the hospital they ruled those two out and said it was a sudden drop in blood pressure.

Low blood sugar can sometimes do the same thing. Usually this is noticed first thing in the morning, because the blood sugar has dropped overnight. It can also happen after fasting or during a hunger strike. If your dizziness occurs first thing in the morning you might consider eating a small snack and waiting a few minutes before getting out of bed. This is what they did when my mom was in a nursing home, and it improved her outlook tremendously.

Because there are so many possible causes there is not an easy answer to this problem. Each cause has its own method of improvement. If the cause is low blood pressure then methods that improve the blood flow and the blood pressure would be appropriate. Herbs such as these would include Lily of the valley, mistletoe, chrysanthemum flowers, rehmannia, mulberry fruit, longan berries, black sesame seeds, a combination of ginkgo and Hawthorn, a combination of white willow, wild lettuce, valerian and capsicum, rue, black cohosh, butcher’s broom, cayenne, dandelion, ginger, jack in the pulpit, and ginkgo. The aroma of Melissa (Klosterfrau Melissengeist) can sometimes stop a dizzy spell.

Some things that seem strange to me, but are said to work well include: animal skin gelatin, turtle shell, dragon bone, antelope or goat horn. I think I would have to have someone who was a lot better acquainted with these than I am suggesting these before I would try them, but that’s me.

Being low on the mineral manganese is also said to cause dizzy spells. If this is the case they would likely be accompanied by energy that comes in spurts, an intolerance to noisy situations such as others squabbling or the noisy play of children, nerves of edge, depression, anxiety, or motion sickness, among other symptoms. If this is the case increasing the nuts and seeds in the diet, especially Missouri black walnuts would be helpful.

One book suggested that increasing your potassium could also be helpful. I take alfalfa to ensure I am getting enough potassium, along with my multivitamin. It has helped with the mild deficiency symptoms I was feeling. Foods that are high in potassium include sea vegetables such as dulse, and kelp, irish moss and bitter greens.

Positional Vertigo is usually treated by moving the head in different directions in order to realign the hairs or the crystals that influence the hairs.

Sometimes dizziness or vertigo can be a symptom of something more serious. If these simple things don’t help please see your health care professional to rule out issues that could be dangerous to your overall health.