Dizziness significantly complicates a person's life. Many people know this unpleasant feeling of loss of balance and unsteadiness, when it seems that the ground is moving out from under your feet. Often this leads to falls and various injuries. In medicine, this symptom is called vertigo. In most cases, doctors diagnose patients with non-systemic dizziness. What it is? And how to get rid of this kind of vertigo?
What is this
Dizziness of a non-systemic nature is caused by physiological or psycho-emotional causes. It is otherwise called non-vestibular vertigo. In the inner ear of a person there is a special organ of balance - the vestibular apparatus. It is responsible for the stability of the body. If vertigo is non-systemic, then it is in no way associated with pathologies of the inner ear. The vestibular system remains normal. However, the person often experiences a feeling of dizziness.
Solo byvertigo is not considered a disease. It can only be a symptom of various pathologies or a sign of the impact on the body of various adverse factors.
Difference from the systemic form of vertigo
What is the difference between non-systemic and systemic dizziness? If vertigo is systemic, then it is associated with various lesions of the vestibular analyzer. In case of non-systemic vertigo, diagnostics do not reveal pathologies of the balance organ.
Different types of dizziness also differ in manifestations. With a systemic form, a person complains of the following symptoms:
- There is a false sense of rotation of surrounding objects.
- There is a feeling of a circular motion of one's own body.
Such manifestations are noted in Meniere's disease, labyrinthitis and other lesions of the inner ear.
Vertigo of a non-systemic nature is never accompanied by a sensation of rotation and movement. For this reason, it is called false vertigo. However, an attack of this condition is rather difficult to tolerate. Patients complain of the following symptoms:
- Weakness and nausea occur, as before fainting.
- There is a feeling of unsteadiness and loss of balance.
- Patient has anxiety and strong fear of falling.
- A person's eyes darken.
- Sometimes there is a feeling of a veil before the eyes and a feeling of intoxication.
In medical practice, non-systemic types of vertigo are diagnosed much more often than pathologies of the balance organ.
Viewsnon-vestibular vertigo
Symptoms and treatment of non-systemic vertigo depend on its form. There are several varieties of non-vestibular vertigo:
- Lipothymia. At the same time, a state close to fainting sets in, the person is afraid of losing consciousness. A variety of reasons can lead to lipothymia, which we will consider below.
- Psychogenic form. Appears against the background of psycho-emotional experiences.
- Mixed form. In this case, vertigo is one of the symptoms of pathologies of the spine and central nervous system.
Reasons
The causes of non-systemic dizziness will depend on the type of imbalance.
The most common case of vertigo is lipothymia (pre-syncope). It can have both physiological and pathological causes. This condition can occur under the influence of the following factors:
- Orthostatic collapse. In this condition, a person experiences a loss of balance when changing the position of the body. This is due to a temporary drop in blood pressure. This symptom is often observed in older people. Orthostatic collapse is also a side effect of many medications.
- Pregnancy. Usually dizziness appears in the first three months. It is associated with hormonal changes in the body.
- Diseases of the vessels of the brain. Diseases such as atherosclerosis are accompanied by impaired cerebral circulation. As a result, the nutrition of the brain is drastically disrupted and imbalances occur.
- Anemia. At low contenthemoglobin and erythrocytes in the blood also disrupted the delivery of oxygen to the brain.
- Diabetes. Due to improper administration of insulin, diabetics may experience hypoglycemia - a drop in glucose levels. This condition is accompanied by a serious deterioration in well-being and dizziness.
- Menopause. During menopause, a woman's well-being often worsens due to hormonal changes. In some patients, there is an imbalance with a feeling of dizziness.
- Intoxications. Non-systemic dizziness in case of poisoning with poisons is a fairly common occurrence. It occurs when intoxicated with various chemicals, stale food and alcohol. In this case, vertigo is often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The same etiology has dizziness in infectious diseases. It is caused by poisoning the body with bacterial and viral toxins.
Another common form of vertigo is associated with psycho-emotional factors. The following circumstances can provoke an attack of dizziness:
- alarm conditions;
- stress;
- depression;
- neurocirculatory dystonia accompanied by panic attacks.
In such cases, it is sometimes very difficult to identify the etiology of non-systemic vertigo. After all, the examination does not reveal any organic pathologies in the patient.
There is also vertigo with mixed symptoms. It is often observed in patients with osteochondrosis and other degenerative diseases.diseases of the spine. Dizziness is accompanied by a variety of painful manifestations. Especially often such vertigo is observed in the pathology of the cervical region.
Another cause of this type of dizziness is Arnold-Chiari syndrome - a congenital pathology of the cerebellum. This organ is responsible for coordination and balance. Due to the abnormal development of the bones of the skull, the cerebellum is compressed. As a result, the patient develops persistent vertigo.
Presyncope
Lipothymia is often accompanied by a drop in blood pressure. In this case, the patient experiences the following symptoms of non-systemic dizziness:
- nausea;
- sharp weakness;
- sweating;
- blackout eyes;
- sickness;
- feeling impending blackout;
- skin blanching;
- tinnitus;
- deterioration of lateral vision;
- off balance.
If the attack is associated with orthostatic collapse, then the patient's condition quickly returns to normal. However, if dizziness is caused by pathological causes, then such conditions can be observed for a long time.
Vertigo of a psychogenic nature
It is not uncommon for a patient to experience vertigo attacks every day. Non-systemic dizziness can disturb a person for many months and even years. At the same time, a neurological examination does not reveal any neurological or vascular pathology in the patient. In these cases, the imbalance usually has a psychogenic etiology.
Vertigo attackproceeds like a panic attack. It is accompanied by the following manifestations:
- feeling intense anxiety and fear;
- sweating;
- discomfort in the region of the heart;
- tachycardia;
- shortness of breath;
- loss of stability;
- nauseous;
- short of breath.
In patients with neurocirculatory dystonia, such attacks may occur not constantly, but only under certain circumstances, for example, with strong excitement or fear. In people suffering from various phobias, psychogenic dizziness may appear when being at a height or in open space.
Dizziness with mixed symptoms
With osteochondrosis, dizziness is usually combined with pain in the neck and head. The patient's gait becomes unsteady and unsteady. Usually, vertigo occurs only during movement and disappears at rest.
In Arnold-Chiari syndrome, vertigo is accompanied by pain in the back of the head, blurred vision, impaired coordination of movements and ringing in the ears.
How dangerous is this
Is non-systemic dizziness dangerous? In some cases, this symptom can signal a serious problem in the body. As already mentioned, vertigo can indicate problems with the spine, central nervous system and blood vessels. And such pathologies require immediate and timely treatment. Therefore, imbalances should never be ignored. Vertigo should be a good reason to see a doctor.
If we consider dizziness as a separate phenomenon, it often leads to falls. However, there is always a risk of injury.
In addition, the feeling of instability negatively affects the mental state and quality of life of the patient. Many people with balance problems experience anxiety and are often afraid to go out for walks.
Diagnosis
How to identify non-systemic dizziness? First of all, it is necessary to separate this pathology from the vestibular form of vertigo. It is necessary to tell the neuropathologist in detail about your feelings during an attack of dizziness. It is important for a specialist to know whether vertigo is accompanied by a sensation of rotation of surrounding objects and one's own body. It is this symptom that makes it possible to differentiate vestibular pathology from non-vestibular.
However, the patient can not always adequately assess their feelings during an attack. Indeed, at this moment he experiences a feeling of fear and anxiety. Therefore, in neurology, there are special techniques that allow you to determine the nature of dizziness. The doctor may suggest that the patient undergo the following tests:
- Finger-nasal test. The patient is offered to close his eyes, stretch his arms and touch the tip of his nose with his index finger. In vertigo, the patient loses balance during the test.
- Dix-Hallpike test. The patient sits in a chair with his back straight. The doctor turns the patient's head, and then invites him to lie down quickly. If it causes dizzinessand trembling of the sclera, then such a sign indicates vestibular disorders.
Additionally, an x-ray of the spine, dopplerography of cerebral and cervical vessels, MRI and CT of the brain, and an electroencephalogram are prescribed. This helps to identify neurological pathology.
Drug therapy
The choice of treatment for non-systemic dizziness depends on the etiology of this symptom. If vertigo is caused by pathologies of the brain, cerebral vessels or spine, then it is necessary to treat the underlying disease.
To stop attacks of dizziness, doctors also carry out symptomatic treatment. The following groups of drugs are prescribed:
- Nootropics: Piracetam, Cinnarizine, Phezam, Cavinton, Phenibut. These funds improve cerebral circulation and brain nutrition.
- Sedatives and antidepressants: Seduxen, Phenazepam, Amitriptyline. Such drugs are useful for dizziness caused by anxiety and stress.
- Antihistamine drugs: Pipolfen, Dramina, Diphenhydramine. They reduce nausea and have calming properties.
- Antiemetics: Ondansetron, Motilak. Relieve nausea and vomiting during an attack.
Usually responds well to symptomatic treatment of psychogenic vertigoorigin. In other cases, it is possible to completely get rid of dizziness only after eliminating its cause.
Complex of exercises
As already mentioned, this type of vertigo is not associated with pathologies of the organ of balance. However, doctors recommend performing exercises to train the vestibular analyzer. This will help reduce the unpleasant symptoms of dizziness.
It is useful to do the following exercises regularly:
- turns of the head and torso;
- tilts;
- turns around itself;
- swinging;
- breathing exercises.
It is important to remember that you should consult your doctor before doing vestibular exercises. For elderly patients with vascular diseases, exercises can only be performed in a gentle mode. The intensity of classes should be increased gradually, listening to your well-being.
Folk remedies
Is it possible to get rid of dizzy spells with home remedies? It is impossible to fully rely on traditional medicine in this case. However, homemade recipes can complement medical therapy:
- Tea with lemon balm. You need to take a tablespoon of chopped herbs and place it in a glass of boiling water. Then the drink is infused for 15-20 minutes. It helps improve blood circulation in the vessels of the brain and reduce headaches. When dizziness begins, you need to slowly drink a glass of this tea.
- Massage with oils. You need to take camphor (100 ml), fir (30 ml) and juniper oil (10 ml) and mix well. This mixtureapplied to the head area and rubbed.
- Drink made from honey and apple cider vinegar. Dissolve 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon of honey in a glass of boiling water. This remedy should be taken in the morning or before meals. It not only helps with dizziness, but also lowers cholesterol.
Such remedies are especially useful in the psychogenic form of vertigo. They help calm the nervous system and eliminate anxiety.
Prevention
How to prevent dizziness attacks? Neurologists advise following these guidelines:
- Periodic calisthenics for balance training.
- Avoid exposure to toxins and alcohol.
- Timely cure vascular and neurological pathologies.
- For emotional lability, take sedatives and visit a psychotherapist.
- Regularly undergo preventive examinations with a neurologist.
Compliance with these measures will help to avoid diseases accompanied by such an unpleasant phenomenon as dizziness.
