There is hardly a person who at least once in his life did not feel dizzy when bending down. Often these dizzinesses mean nothing. They are a manifestation of ordinary overwork and weakness. But sometimes this can be a symptom of a serious illness that requires diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, everyone should know the causes of dizziness when leaning down, as well as how to get rid of this unpleasant symptom.
The mechanism of dizziness
Why is the head spinning when tilted down? This symptom occurs when the balance in the receipt of sensory information from the outside is disturbed, as well as when the processing of this information in the brain fails.
Dizziness is defined as the sensation of a body moving in space. For these sensations, a small formation in the inner ear is responsible - the vestibular apparatus. It performs three main functions:
- body orientation in space;
- balance;
- image stabilization.
Violation of any of these functions causes the corresponding clinical symptoms, not only the feeling that the head is spinning.
The main regulator of the function of the vestibular system is histamine. Therefore, another cause of dizziness is the activation of histamine receptors.
Emotions that make you dizzy
Often dizziness and subsequent fainting causes intense emotional stress. It leads to activation of the sympathetic nervous system, due to which the lumen of the vessels narrows and blood flow to the brain decreases. It can be negative emotions (strong fright, anxiety, excitement), and positive (joy, delight).
Causes of dizziness in a healthy person
The state when the head is spinning after tilting down is completely subjective. The degree of manifestation of this symptom cannot be measured using special instruments. Only from the words of the patient, the doctor can understand how much this worries the patient.
In a person without any disease, dizziness can occur for the following reasons:
- early pregnancy;
- insufficient intake of nutrients in the body, for example, with a diet;
- mental stress, chronic stress;
- lack of functional activity of the vestibular apparatus;
- depletion of the body due to a violation of the daily regimen, insufficient rest;
- history of traumatic brain injury;
- taking medications, in the instructions for which dizziness is indicated as a side effect;
- high temperature and humidity;
- odors unpleasant for a person.
Dizziness as a symptom of a disease
In most cases, the feeling that everything is spinning around is not dangerous. A person experiences it extremely rarely. But if he constantly feels that when he lowers his head down, he is dizzy, he should consult a specialist. After all, dizziness can be one of the symptoms of serious diseases.
A person may complain that they feel dizzy when bending down, for the reasons listed below:
- Acute infectious diseases. With them, this symptom is combined with aching headaches, general weakness and fatigue, chills and fever.
- Migraine. With this disease, dizziness then develops into severe unilateral pain in the head.
- Osteochondrosis or trauma to the cervical spine. Dizziness occurs due to the irradiation of pain from nerves squeezed between the vertebrae.
- Neoplasm in the brain.
- Acute circulatory disturbance in the cerebral vessels (stroke). Extreme weakness, nausea and vomiting also appear. Possible motor and speech disorders.
- Hypertension or, conversely, low blood pressure.
- Diabetes. With this disease, dizziness is possible with sudden changes in blood sugar concentration.
- Inflammation of the inner ear - otitis media. Accompanied by severe pain in the ear.
- Membrane damage between the inner and middle ear is a perilymphatic fistula. In addition to dizziness, the patient is disturbed by hearing loss, earache, cough.
- Decreased hemoglobin levels in the blood - anemia. There is a pallor of the skin and mucous membranes, the patient experiences constant weakness and fatigue.
Separately, a condition such as vegetovascular dystonia is isolated . It represents a violation of the tone of the vascular wall. This leads to impaired blood circulation in the brain and, consequently, dizziness.
Symptoms of dizziness
Often, if a person complains that he is looking down and dizzy, this is not the only complaint. The patient may not have to make other complaints at first, but the doctor should question him in detail and conduct a series of objective examinations.
Dizziness may be accompanied by the following symptoms:
- blood pressure differences: hypertension (increase) and hypotension (decrease);
- palpitations (tachycardia);
- muscle weakness and body aches;
- nausea and vomiting;
- headache;
- heat;
- heavy sweating;
- pallor of the skin;
- pain in the ear;
- fainting
- cramps
- high blood sugar.
If you feel dizzy when leaning down, this is accompanied by any of the symptoms listed above, you should definitely consult your doctor. After all, only a qualified specialist can comprehensively examine the patient and make the correct diagnosis.
Dizziness Complications
In most cases, this symptom is not dangerous. But if an attack begins suddenly, in a place uncomfortable for a person, it can lead to unpleasant consequences.
If you tilt your head sharply while tilting down, a person may lose balance. This is especially dangerous if he is alone and there is nowhere to expect help. The patient may faint, which will cause injuries to the limbs and soft tissues, bone fractures, bruises of internal organs. A concussion is also possible.
The most terrible consequence of the fact that when you bend down dizzy is a hemorrhage under the shell of the brain. It is dangerous because it may not manifest itself in the first hours after an injury. At this time, blood builds up under the lining of the brain. When it has gathered enough, the hematoma compresses the brain tissue. As a result, the patient loses consciousness and may fall into a coma.
Therefore, anyone experiencing frequent dizziness should definitely seek medical help to prescribe appropriate therapy.
Diagnostics
As already noted, the feeling that the head is spinning when tilted down is completely subjective. Therefore, a person can describe his condition in different ways:
- sensation of rotation of objects around;
- a sense of movement or rotation of a person in space;
- feeling of falling;
- weakness;
- feeling as if about to lose consciousness;
- unsteady gait;
- instability.
Already on the basis of how the patient describes his condition, the doctor can determine the type of dizziness: vestibular (true, systemic) or non-vestibular (not systemic). In the first case, the patient tells that he feels the movement of objects around or the movement of his body in space. It occurs with damage to the vestibular system. In the second case, all the other complaints listed above are possible.
Treatment
Therapy of the condition, when you feel dizzy when leaning down, depends on the cause of the problem. In infectious diseases, antiviral drugs and antibiotics are used, anti-inflammatory drugs are effective for osteochondrosis, and drugs for stroke improvement are prescribed for strokes. This treatment is called etiotropic.
There is also symptomatic treatment. Its purpose is not to eliminate the cause of the discomfort, but to reduce the severity of the symptom. If the patient complains that he is dizzy when he tilts his head down, the doctor prescribes medications from the following groups:
- antihistamines: Diphenhydramine, Promethazine, Pipolfen;
- sedatives: Seduxen, Andaxin;
- tranquilizers: "Lorazepam", "Diazepam";
- multivitamin complexes;
- anti-nausea medications: Cerucal, Metoclopramide, as dizziness is often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
First aid
If you suddenly feel that you feel dizzy when leaning down, you need to calm down, do not panic. Further it is worth following the following rules:
- Sit down and look at one point at an object.
- Never close your eyes!
- If, in addition to dizziness, you feel numbness in the extremities and creeping goosebumps, weakness in the arm or leg, you observe speech defects in yourself, immediately call an ambulance!
- When the intensity of the symptom decreases, lie down and do not make unnecessary movements.
- You can’t turn your head, it will only aggravate the condition.
- If anyone is near, ask for a window to open for fresh air. In the case when there is nobody to help, you can do it yourself, but only when it becomes easier.
- It is necessary to remove tight-fitting things from oneself, unbutton the shirt, remove all tight and oppressive jewelry.
- A towel moistened with cold water can be applied to the forehead.
- When the condition improves, we recommend making strong coffee and drinking it cold. This will relieve trembling and fatigue.
Dizziness Prevention
To prevent the occurrence of this symptom, it is necessary to normalize the sleep and rest regimen. It is also worth adjusting the diet. Eat more fish dishes, nuts, eggs, cheese and cottage cheese.
Special exercises for training the vestibular apparatus have been developed. They are quite simple and do not take much time. However, they are very effective in preventing dizziness:
- Sit down, straighten your back and turn your head in one direction. Lie in that position. The movements should be smooth, not sharp.
- Sit down again and turn your head in the other direction.
- Perform this exercise for 3-4 minutes.
To exercise had an effect, they need to be done every day several times a day.