Vertigo (cont.)
IN THIS ARTICLE
- Vertigo Overview
- Vertigo Causes
- Vertigo Symptoms
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Exams and Tests
- Vertigo Treatment
- Self-Care at Home
- Medical Treatment
- Medications
- Next Steps
- Follow-up
- Prevention
- Outlook
- Synonyms and Keywords
- Authors and Editors
- Pictures of Weird Body Quirks - Slideshow

- Viewer Comments: Vertigo (Dizziness And Vestibular Balance Disorders) - Describe Your Experience
Medical Treatment
The choice of treatment will depend on the diagnosis.
- Vertigo can be treated with medicine taken by
mouth, through medicine placed on the skin (a patch), or drugs given through an IV.
- Specific types of vertigo may require additional
treatment and referral:
- Bacterial infection of the middle ear requires antibiotics.
- For Meniere's disease, in addition to symptomatic treatment, people might be placed on a low salt diet and may require medication used to increase urine output.
- A hole in the inner ear causing recurrent infection may require referral to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist for surgery.
- Bacterial infection of the middle ear requires antibiotics.
- In addition to the drugs used for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, several physical maneuvers can be used to treat the condition.
- Vestibular
rehabilitation exercises consist of having the patient sit on the edge of a table and lie down to one side until the vertigo resolves followed by sitting up and lying down on the other side, again until the vertigo ceases. This is repeated until the vertigo no longer
occurs.
- Particle repositioning maneuver is a treatment based on the idea that the condition is caused by displacement of small stones in the balance center (vestibular system) of the inner ear. The head is repositioned to move the stones to their normal position. This maneuver is repeated until the abnormal eye movements are no longer visible.
- Vestibular
rehabilitation exercises consist of having the patient sit on the edge of a table and lie down to one side until the vertigo resolves followed by sitting up and lying down on the other side, again until the vertigo ceases. This is repeated until the vertigo no longer
occurs.
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Viewer Comments & Reviews
Vertigo (Dizziness And Vestibular Balance Disorders) - Describe Your Experience
The eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:
How was the diagnosis as to the cause of your vertigo (dizziness and vestibular balance disorders)?
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Dizziness and vertigo are among the most common symptoms causing patients to visit a physician (as common as back pain and headaches).
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