Dizziness (called vertigo) is not a disease. This is just a symptom, maybe something serious, or maybe not. To find out, you need to contact a medical institution and a specialist will make an accurate diagnosis of this manifestation.
On a note! Very rarely dizziness is not associated with any disease. It simply arises "out of nowhere" and "goes nowhere." That is, "lives an independent life", however, giving the owner of this phenomenon many unpleasant minutes.
The problem with vertigo is familiar not only to adults, but also to children in whom this pathology, sometimes, does not appear immediately from birth, but begins to bother already in adolescence. What to do if a child complains of dizziness? What are the possible causes and symptoms of this phenomenon? How to provide first aid? Let's get it right.
Types of Dizziness
Depending on the course of the vertigo process, its duration and frequency, the following types of dizziness are distinguished:
- Periodic If this type of dizziness occurs, then a person can completely suddenly feel dizzy and end in the same way.
- Spicy. Most often, such a vertigo is accompanied by a severe headache. An older child may complain of hearing loss and loud tinnitus. In the case of small children, in the presence of this ailment, they simply wrap their arms around their head and begin to cry loudly.
- Regular. Such permanent dizziness is characterized by impaired coordination, headache syndrome and "exhausting" tinnitus. In the presence of such dizziness, the baby is at great risk of injury, as well as pathology of the endocrine system or kidneys. Very often, the cause of regular vertigo is a hereditary predisposition.
Important! When identifying regular dizziness in a small child, it is very important to seek advice from specialists such as an ENT, pediatrician, neurologist, and ophthalmologist as soon as possible. Only they can make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the necessary therapy for the disease. Remember: timely medical assistance can in some cases even save the baby’s life and return him to normal life.
- Latent. This type of dizziness occurs without a pronounced symptomatology until provoking factors (for example, a sharp change in weather conditions, stressful situation or hormonal background failure) occur, which can lead to an obvious form. In this case, the child begins to feel weakness and dizziness in full.
Depending on what pathology is causing dizziness, there are two types of vertigo:
- Central. This type of dizziness occurs with various lesions of brain cells, including pathologies caused by insufficient blood flow. As a result, oxygen starvation of neurons occurs, the completion of their life and the death of first of the nerve tissues, and then the whole organism.
Important! If the oxygen deficiency is not critical, then the body continues to live, but subsequently quite serious complications arise.
- Peripheral. It occurs as a result of damage or irritation of the vestibular apparatus located in the sacs and canals of the inner ear. It is this receptor that is sensitive to the position of the human body and head in space.
Symptoms of a disease such as dizziness
The main features of vertigo are:
- The presence of a condition close to fainting.
- Intense head pain syndrome (i.e., migraine).
- Darkening in the eyes.
- Nausea with dizziness in a child can be expressed either only by urging, or by real vomiting.
- The presence of extraneous noise and sounds in the ears.
- Decreased vision.
- Lack of coordination and loss of balance. The child has an instinctive desire to hold on to something so as not to fall.
Attention! In such situations, injuries are quite possible. Try to warn them.
- In addition to dizziness and vomiting, the child begins to experience hearing problems.
- Little children who do not yet speak and cannot complain, just cry and hold on to their heads.
- An older child can give the following description of his condition: insecurity, fatigue and weakness.
- Such a pathology as encephalitis can occur against a background of very high body temperature.
- The child, frightened of such a state, can jerk sharply and cry out.
- The presence of pale skin.
On a note! In the event that you often hear complaints from your child about a sickening state and dizziness, do not leave them unattended. It’s better to watch him more closely, and try to determine at what moment and, most importantly, after which it is precisely when he begins such attacks. If these unpleasant manifestations are observed in your child from birth, then, quite possibly, you will have to resort to a rather long therapeutic course or even to surgical intervention.
How a baby who can't talk can complain
How to understand that a child has nausea, dizziness and weakness, if he still does not know how to talk? Adults can guess that the baby has certain problems in the following manifestations:
- the child’s refusal to get out of bed;
- the baby’s desire to close his eyes and try to fix his head, leaning it against some support or surface and, thereby, stop the “rotation” of objects and things surrounding him;
- a change in the behavior of the child, which manifests itself in the fact that he needs to hold on to something so as not to fall;
- the baby’s desire to clasp his head in his hands;
- confusion, with which the baby is distracted from her beloved toy, while becoming surprised and scared;
- the child has an involuntary rapid movement of the eyes;
- gagging, in which the baby begins to actively salivate and turns pale.
Important! Parents should be alert for such symptoms, especially if they are repeated regularly. It is imperative to go with the child for a consultation with the pediatrician, who will prescribe all the necessary examinations. To make it easier for the doctor to make the correct diagnosis, it will not be superfluous for the baby's parents to recall all the circumstances that preceded the attack.
Possible causes of dizziness not pathological
Sometimes vertigo can be caused by factors that are not associated with pathologies:
- Motion sickness in the car. In this case, stop the car and give it a drink of water. Let the child come out, take a little walk and breathe in fresh air. Then the trip can continue.
- The darkness in the room. Due to disturbances in the functioning of the vestibular system, many children experience rather unpleasant sensations in the dark. We advise you to leave a dim light in the room at night. This will help the awakened child not to lose a sense of orientation.
- Stuffiness in the room. Ventilate the room and, by the way, do this as often as possible.
- Feeling of hunger (especially in the morning - dizziness in a child begins suddenly). We recommend that before feeding the child, give him a drink (for example, sweet juice or compote).
- Take a hot bath. In young children, the thermoregulation system still functions poorly. Therefore, a long stay in hot water can lead to a significant overheating of the body and, as a result, to dizziness.
Possible causes of a pathological nature
The causes of dizziness in children can be a great many:
- Violations of the vestibular apparatus.
- Inflammatory processes of the inner ear (or middle).
- Depressive state.
- Malignant neoplasms of the brain.
- Disturbance of the central nervous system.
- Hypotension.
- Meniere's disease.
- The cause of dizziness in children can be an increased sense of anxiety.
- Inflammatory processes of the lining of the brain.
- Reduced hemoglobin levels (i.e., anemia).
- The presence of head injuries (including concussion).
- Frequent SARS.
- Intoxication of the body.
- Low blood sugar.
- Neuropsychic malaise (i.e., asthenia).
- Poisoning by food or drugs.
- Hypertension
- Osteochondrosis of the spine (namely, in the neck).
- The presence of helminths and parasites in the body.
- Disorders of a psychosomatic nature.
- Excessive physical overwork on the background of an "empty stomach".
- All kinds of reactions of the body of an allergic nature.
- A diet that is low in calories (i.e., diet) or even starvation.
- A sharp change in body position in space.
- VVD (i.e., vegetative-vascular dystonia).
- A variety of neuroses.
- Overfatigue and mental strain (for example, during the exams).
- The presence of congenital pathologies of the brain or resulting from the development of serious diseases.
On a note! Only a medical specialist can determine the exact cause of vertigo and prescribe the necessary treatment. Therefore, with repeated bouts of illness, contact a medical institution for help. In emergency cases, call an ambulance.
At some points we dwell in more detail.
Psychosomatic Disorders
Sometimes severe dizziness in a child is not associated with any serious pathologies. And it is a consequence of psychosomatic disorders such as excitement, overwork or stress. After all, children often worry about relationships with their peers, parents or school.
If the duration of vertigo does not exceed 10-15 minutes and at the same time there is no hearing impairment or a sickening state, then, most likely, this is dizziness of a psychosomatic nature. In this case, you just need to fully relax (including sleep) and use sedative drugs.
Vegetative-vascular dystonia
VVD is a complex of disorders that are manifested by a violation of the regulation of vascular tone of the ANS, i.e., the autonomic nervous system, which is a component of the central nervous system and is responsible for blood circulation, as well as for the normal functioning of the digestive tract, metabolic processes and all organs of the respiratory system.
The main manifestations of this ailment:
- heart palpitations, which can occur continuously or intermittently;
- hyperhidrosis (i.e., excessive sweating);
- pain in the head;
- tingling in the area of ​​the heart muscle;
- the presence of pale skin;
- facial redness;
- a condition close to fainting;
- chills.
On a note! AFL can lead to the development of hypertension and all kinds of neuroses.
Maybe it's diabetes
Type 1 diabetes mellitus (that is, an insulin-dependent form) can easily develop in children aged 7 to 12 years (less often this happens with infants). Moreover, the symptoms in children coincide with the manifestations that are characteristic of adults. This is a very serious disease. Therefore, with symptoms such as vomiting, dizziness, and fainting (or even loss of consciousness), immediately call an ambulance. Hospitalization may be required.
First aid for the first signs of illness
First of all, do not be scared and panic. And you need to do the following:
- Open the window and ventilate the room.
- To put the baby to bed. Moreover, in order to avoid the appearance of vomiting under the head, it is better to place a solid pillow.
- Give your child a drink. Remember: dehydration is extremely dangerous for the functioning of the body, so do not allow it.
On a note! If the attack occurs in a public place, then ask the child to concentrate on a particular subject and not move.
Remember: if the attack is single, then there is nothing to worry about. But, regularly recurring dizziness in children is an occasion to seek help from doctors.
Diagnosis of ailment
With regularly recurring attacks of vertigo, you must first seek the help of a therapist. He will prescribe the necessary studies in this case, and also (if necessary) give a referral to narrow-profile specialists (for example, a neurologist, ENT specialist, ENT specialist, cardiologist or hematologist).
Today, the causes of dizziness in children can be identified in a variety of ways, using:
- MRI of the brain.
- ECG (i.e., heart electrocardiogram).
- Fundus examination.
- CT scan (i.e., computed tomography).
Treatment of ailment
What may be the treatment of dizziness in children:
- First of all, in getting rid of the disease, which is the root cause of the ailment, that is, a sickening state and vertigo.
- To normalize the functioning of the vestibular apparatus, the doctor may prescribe drugs such as Betaserk or Cavinton. The course of treatment should be about 8 weeks.
- For the treatment of neurosis-like disorders (with the manifestation of increased anxiety), a drug such as Relanium can be prescribed.
- To combat a nauseous condition, migraine, tinnitus, dizziness, Meniere's disease, as well as motion sickness, a medicine like Cinnarishin is suitable.
- "Flunarizin" is a good remedy that improves cerebral circulation and provides the brain with oxygen. In addition, the drug helps to prevent impaired coordination of movements.
- "Dramin" is used for the symptomatic treatment of vomiting and dizziness.
Important! All medications must be agreed with your healthcare provider. They must be taken strictly according to the scheme and taking into account the state of health and age.
- It is possible to treat dizziness in children with the help of relaxation. The method is as follows: after the onset of an attack, begin to breathe more deeply and slowly. Perhaps such a breath will help and the disease will recede.
- Aromatherapy (e.g., fir or juniper oil) helps in some cases. What to do? Just rub the oil (always in diluted form) into the lymph nodes or temples. Or you can just sniff it.
- If dizziness and nausea occurred due to hunger, then it is enough to eat a small bar of chocolate and everything will normalize.
- Sometimes traditional medicine can come to the rescue. For example, tincture of linden or white peony root, which is recommended to drink before each meal.
- You can try to use such a folk remedy as a decoction of berries and flowers of hawthorn.
- If you suffer from hypotension, then at the first bouts of dizziness, start drinking as much fluid as possible. May I help.
Disease prevention
For preventive purposes, what can be done to eliminate dizziness in children:
- Of course, lead a healthy lifestyle.
- Send the child to the swimming section. Practicing this sport can stabilize the situation.
- Every day, take walks and jogs in the fresh air.
- Success in the treatment of an ailment depends on how quickly parents with a child go to a specialist for a consultation.
- If for a long time the child had to eat nothing, then start eating with sweet juice or compote.
- Full relaxation and balanced nutrition. Do not let your child overwork. Parents must ensure that after school, he ate and rested.
- Sometimes massage is a good preventative measure to prevent dizziness.