Lightheadedness
Common causes of dizziness
The most common causes of dizziness are outlined below.
- Labyrinthitis an inner ear infection that affects your hearing and balance, and can lead to a severe form of dizziness called vertigo .
- Migraine dizziness may come on before or after the headache, or even without the headache.
- Stress or anxiety particularly if you tend to hyperventilate (breathe abnormally quickly when resting).
- Low blood sugar level (hypoglycaemia) which is usually seen in people with diabetes .
- Postural hypotension a sudden fall in blood pressure when you suddenly sit or stand up, which goes away after lying down. This is more common in older people.
- Dehydration or heat exhaustion dehydration could bedue to not drinking enoughduring exercise, or illness that causesvomiting, diarrhoea or fever.
- Vertebrobasilar insufficiency decreased blood flow in the back of the brain, which may be caused by the blood vessels that lead to the brain from the heart being blocked (known as atherosclerosis ).
Click on the above links for more information on these conditions.
Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018
Introduction
Dizziness is a common symptom thats not usually a sign of anything serious, but its cause should be investigated by a doctor.
Seeing your GP
See your GP if you're feeling lightheaded or off balance and you're worried, particularly if you also have other symptoms, such as Syncope episodes or headaches . Your GP will first want to establis
Common causes of dizziness
The most common causes of dizziness are outlined below. Labyrinthitis an inner ear infection that affects your hearing and balance, and can lead to a severe form of dizziness called vertigo .
Less common causes of dizziness
Less common causes of dizziness include: having a severe illness or condition that affects the whole body using recreational drugs or consuming excessive amounts of alcohol (either binge drinking
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