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Dizziness

Dizziness Overview

Dizziness is a common description for many different feelings. The feeling of dizziness may be very familiar to you, yet difficult to describe.

Vertigo is a medical term to describe the feeling of spinning, whirling, or motion either of yourself or your surroundings. This is the same feeling you might have after getting off a merry-go-round or spinning in place. Several diseases of the balance organs of the inner ear can cause vertigo, or it may be a symptom of a tumor or stroke.

  • Dizziness may be just mildly annoying or caused by something possibly life threatening.

  • When you might feel dizziness

    • Fainting or near fainting such as "at the sight of blood" or with emotional upset

    • Fainting or near fainting from standing up too quickly or standing still too long

    • Weakness during a flu, cold, or other illness

    • Seasickness or motion sickness

    • Queasiness, nausea, or vomiting

    • Confused thinking

    • Fatigue, tiredness, or daytime sleepiness

    • Clumsy hands or stumbling walking


Next: Dizziness Causes »

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Dizziness, Vertigo, and Imbalance »

Dizziness and vertigo are among the most common symptoms causing patients to visit a physician (as common as back pain and headaches).

Read More on eMedicine »

Dizziness

Fainting »

Fainting Overview

Fainting, which medical professionals call syncope (pronounced SIN-ko-pea), is a temporary loss of consciousness. Unlike a seizure, the person who faints usually regains alertness soon after regaining consciousness. Fainting is caused by a temporary loss of the brain’s blood supply. Fainting can sometimes be a sign of a more serious condition.

People of any age can faint, but elderly persons more often have a serious underlying cause.

  • Three percent of adults aged 30-62 years have an episode of syncope, but 6% of those older than 75 years faint.

  • Syncope accounts for 1-3% of emergency department visits and 1-6% of hospital admissions.

  • The biggest risk is in people with heart disease, especially those with congestive heart failure or coronary heart disease.

Fainting Causes

Fainting has many different causes.

Vasovagal syncope: Also...

Read the Fainting article »


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