Ever wake up one day feeling like your surroundings are moving like buoys in an ocean? It’s as if every object that you see is moving yet you are standing still. It gets worse when you look up, or maybe when your head is moved too quickly. It can even feel like this with your eyes closed. At the same time, nausea starts to kick-in and you feel this need to vomit. One would expect to experience these symptoms in a moving car, but surprise: you are standing or laying still. All in all, there is an imbalance between what you see and where you really are.
These are characteristics of vertigo, and seniors are the most susceptible to experiencing vertigo. In a 1999 study, it was shown that sixty-five percent of individuals older than 60 years of age experience dizziness or loss of balance, often on a daily basis. Although vertigo is very similar to dizziness, the two are still very different. Dizziness is characterized by unsteadiness felt from within each person as opposed to vertigo, which is characterized by unsteadiness experienced in one’s surroundings. In other words, the dizzy person feels themselves moving but the person with vertigo feels their surroundings moving. This is an important distinction as Dr. Kimberly Langdon (MD) states: “The distinction is important because dizziness without the specific vertigo symptoms means your doctor needs to explore a number of other factors, such as blood pressure, head injury, stroke, dehydration, or medication side effects. Dizziness is a side effect for many drugs, particularly those for illnesses affecting seniors, and so doctors must be careful to consider all possibilities.”
Vertigo is a symptom of a disease and not a disease itself. If a senior experiences vertigo, it is likely that there is an underlying condition causing it. The possible causes range from medications, head injury/problems with the brain, ear imbalances/disorders (i.e. meniere’s disease), or complications with the vestibular nerve. All these may cause symptoms of vertigo to continue until they are diagnosed and addressed.
If seniors continue to experience vertigo, seek medical help immediately. Seniors are already prone to falling and vertigo leaves them at an even more risk. However, prevention is possible. Sitting up in bed is key to reducing vertigo. Staying hydrated will prevent dizzy-like symptoms due to dehydration. A cane to help one walk is also helpful. Above all else, telling someone about their vertigo is very important so physical support can be handy for them. A spinning world is not fun but these are ways to make the world steady again.
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By: Jonathan Reza
Office Support Specialist at WellPath Partners
B.S. in Philosophy at University of Redlands
M.A. candidate in Philosophy at California State University, Long Beach
