If you are feeling a false sense of motion or spinning, but your body is not actually in motion, this is dizziness. While dizziness is very common after your body has been in motion and then no longer is, such as if you were on a boat for a few hours, but then you are on land and your legs feel wobbly, or when you ride a roller coaster and then have trouble walking straight after.However, dizziness that is not caused by something obvious like these situations and instead happens even when you have been sitting still for a while, this is one of the symptoms of vertigo. It is not necessarily a severe symptom in and of itself, but if it is recurring or severe, that could be a sign that you need to call your doctor.
Lightheadedness or feeling faint is feeling like your head has all of the sudden gotten really light and you could fall to the floor at any moment. It’s the feeling that makes you want to hold onto something or sit down because you are seeing stars.This is usually accompanied with the feeling of dizziness. Dizziness usually happens just before or during feeling faint. You should be careful when you feel this way to try to move yourself to a safe spot so that you will not hurt yourself if you do end up falling.
Because of your dizziness and lightheadedness, it is really common to also feel like you are losing your balance. This is the same feeling as when you were a kid, and you spun around so fast that you fell down, except this loss of balance is not caused by voluntary movements.Loss of balance can be really serious if you fall as a result, leading to the possibility of breaking bones or hurting yourself another way. If you are frequently losing your balance because of vertigo, this could be a sign that it is serious and that you should talk to your doctor.
Feeling lightheaded could also give you the sensation of floating. This feels as if your feet or any other part of your body were not touching the floor, but you are standing, so you know your feet are touching the floor.This vertigo symptom could also lead to falls because your center of balance is off and your nervous system is confused as to where the actual ground is, almost like you were skydiving, but the sensation is lying to you.
The first in our list of the more uncommon yet severe symptoms that you should immediately talk to your doctor about is if you are experiencing a painful headache along with your vertigo or if your vertigo is being caused by a painful headache.Your doctor will be able to work with you to find what the underlying cause of this headache might be. This could be common with migraines. If you have frequent migraines accompanied by vertigo, you should talk to your doctor.
Double vision is another severe symptom of vertigo. If you start to see double, there is a chance that you are about to faint, which could be an alert of something bigger going on either with your vision or nervous system.Be sure to contact your primary care physician if you are seeing double along with vertigo and to mention it to your optometrist as well at your next eye exam. Your doctors can help you to find out why you are experiencing vertigo and double vision.
Confusion or slurred speech is a severe symptom of vertigo because it could suggest something as serious as a stroke. If this is occurring, do not hesitate to call your doctor or 911 as a stroke is a very serious emergency.According to the CDC, if you are experiencing numbness, confusion, trouble seeing or walking, or a sudden and severe headache, you could be experiencing a stroke, and you need to call 911 right away.
Vomiting that does not go away that is either caused or accompanied by vertigo could be another severe symptom of vertigo. This can be dangerous because ongoing vomiting can quickly lead to dehydration, especially if you cannot keep liquids down.If you have been vomiting for a couple days, you should call your doctor to see if you will need a prescription to help or even if you need to go into the hospital to be rehydrated. This could also be a sign of something more serious, so it is a good idea to talk to your doctor if you are vomiting and experiencing vertigo.
If your vertigo is the precursor to a seizure or you have experienced seizures along with your vertigo, this is a definite sign that you need to talk to your doctor about your vertigo. Seizures can be very dangerous, especially if they happen when you least expect it. They can be as bad as or even worse than fainting and hurting yourself.Seizures could be the result of something worse going wrong in your brain or nervous system that should definitely be monitored by a medical professional. If you have a history of seizures, it is best to use precaution when doing things like operating motor vehicles, cooking, or showering, and if you live with someone who experiences seizures, do your best to protect them during a seizure.
Rapid or irregular heartbeat is another possibly severe symptom accompanied with vertigo. This could mean that you are on the verge of fainting or even could signal a heart attack or stroke. If your heart is racing and you are experiencing vertigo, but there are no obvious external causes like riding a roller coaster, you should consider calling your doctor.To take your heart rate anywhere, you can download different apps on your phone where you can press your finger on the back camera and it takes your heart rate. Many of these apps can also tell you whether it is a high, moderate, or low heart rate to help you understand the measurement better.
