How Long Does Vertigo Last?
What is vertigo?
Vertigo is a symptom in which the world feels like spinning or moving; an individual feels unbalanced, swaying, or moving even when they are still. Quickly changing position, such as turning over in bed or moving your head to look up, can worsen this.
What are the causes of vertigo?
Causes of vertigo include:
Benign Paroxysmal Positional vertigo (BPPV)
BPPV is a common cause of peripheral vertigo. In this condition, a spinning sensation is produced with the change in head position relative to gravity, and brief attacks occur that last for a few seconds to a couple of minutes and can also reoccur.
Meniere’s disease
When a patient experiences recurrent attacks of spontaneous vertigo with hearing loss, other ear symptoms, vomiting, nausea, and ringing in the ear may have Meniere’s disease. In this condition, vertigo episodes can last 20 minutes to several hours or even days.
Vestibular migraine
In Vestibular migraine dizziness will be accompanied by headache, nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity towards light and sound.
In vestibular migraines, patients may experience intense spinning sensations lasting for minutes, hours, or even several days.
Stroke or head injury
For some individuals, vertigo may be a permanent or semi-permanent state. Long-term or chronic vertigo may be experienced when someone has a stroke or head or neck injury.
Vestibular neuronitis
The infection and inflammation of the inner ear leads to vestibular neuronitis. The spinning sensation is very intense, patient unable to walk alone and worsened by head movement. It can last hours to days, with symptoms such as nausea and balance problems.
How is vertigo diagnosed?
Dr Mustafa Kapadia diagnoses vertigo through physical examination, clinical exam, and collecting information about symptoms and medical history.
How long does vertigo last without treatment?
The duration of a vertigo episode varies from one person to another. It can last from seconds to weeks, depending on the associated condition. Vertigo episodes’ last durations primarily rely on the vertigo’s underlying causes.
What is the best treatment for vertigo?
Treatment for vertigo methods include:
Conservative treatments
1- No medication
Home remedies can help manage the symptoms of vertigo, prevent or reduce the risk for vertigo episodes, and even can be used when the disorientation begins. Trying acupuncture, avoiding caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol, staying hydrated, and taking herbal supplements are effective home remedies for vertigo treatment.
2- Medications
Anti-nausea medicines such as promethazine, sedative medication such as diazepam, and antihistamine medicines such as diphenhydramine may help to stop severe vertigo episodes.
3-Physical therapy maneuvers
Epley repositioning maneuvers and vestibular rehabilitation exercises are two main physical therapy maneuvers used to treat the symptoms of positional vertigo.
4-Vestibular rehabilitation exercise
When an individual experiences vertigo, moving head and body is too difficult. Rehabilitation exercises help adjust the brain to the changes in the inner ear and help other senses learn to cope with this disorientation.
5-Self-care tips
Lie in a dark, quiet room during an attack, sit down when you feel dizzy, and avoid triggers such as certain head positions or quickly getting out of bed. These self-help tips should be tried for vertigo to improve its own.
Surgery
In some cases, surgical procedures such as vestibular neurectomy, labyrinthectomy, or Posterior semicircular canal occlusion are performed to treat vertigo.
Consult Dr Mustafa Kapadia for vertigo treatment
Dr Mustafa Kapadia is the best Indian board-certified ENT specialist in Dubai, with over 12 years of clinical experience.
He is skilled in a wide range of ENT operations, both emergency and elective and has outstanding surgical abilities in treating a wide range of ENT disorders like vertigo.