Health, Diseases and Conditions
Psychogenic dizziness: symptoms, treatment
Many faced such a condition as dizziness. This complaint is often heard at a therapist and neurologist. With dizziness, everything begins to swim before your eyes and whirl, a person loses orientation in space. This can happen for various reasons, or it may be a symptom of a disease. Let's talk about what psychogenic dizziness is. Symptoms and treatment will also be considered.
What is this pathology?
Let's start with the definition of dizziness. This state is called vertigo. The feeling of involuntary rotation or movement of one's own body in space or objects relative to one's body is considered to be dizziness. Thus the person loses stability, balance, there is a feeling, as though the earth leaves from under legs.
Vertigo is classified into the following groups:
- Central. The reason is in the brain disease or trauma.
- Peripheral. The cause is a lesion of the vestibular nerve or inner ear.
- System. The reason for the violation in the work, any of the systems: visual, vestibular, muscular.
- Not systemic. The causes are neurogenic in nature.
Psychogenic dizziness should be attributed to the fourth group. Appears as a result of mental and neurotic disorders. Especially it is observed in the period of strong excitement or after it. Synonym in medicine is considered to be "phobically postural dizziness", that is, depending on the vertical position of the body.
Features of pathology
Psychogenic dizziness has its own peculiarities:
- Has no system.
- Possible the appearance of random and abnormal variations within a few seconds.
- Sensation of stability failure for 2-3 seconds.
- Occurs unexpectedly, but there may be provoking factors.
- All complaints are related to dizziness, which occurs during walking or standing.
- Can be combined with other types of disorders. Psychogenic dizziness will be secondary.
- There are no clinical and paraclinical signs of organic pathology.
- Feeling anxious or anxious-depressive states accompany dizziness, but these factors may be absent.
Causes of psychogenic dizziness
As a rule, a high probability of psychogenic dizziness is observed in people predisposed to panic attacks. Most of all, this is the inclination of a woman. Also a sense of fear, anxious fears can be attributed to the causes of such dizziness.
Let's highlight a few more reasons:
- Stressful situations.
- Overstrain at work.
- Lack of sleep, insomnia.
- Excessive mental stress.
- Sharp change of position.
- Climate change.
- Syndrome of hyperventilation.
- High blood pressure.
- Neuritis.
- Menopause in women.
- Sledding in transport, when riding on a swing.
- Intolerance to height.
As a rule, all these situations are connected with feelings or anxiety. And also obvious is the fear of losing control of the body, falling and possibly getting injured.
Signs and symptoms of pathology
Vertigo of a psychogenic character at the stage of development has several characteristics:
- Decreased performance, fatigue increases.
- The mood worsens, irritability increases.
- Appetite either disappears or rises sharply.
- Sexual activity may decrease or rise sharply.
Whoever has had psychogenic dizziness, the symptoms are described by patients like this:
- There is a noise in the ears, while hearing is not lost.
- The fog in my head.
- There is a sense of instability, but it does not affect the gait.
- The focus is entirely on noise and dizziness.
- There is increased anxiety.
- There is a shortage of air.
- Cold sweat.
- Thinking is obscure, confused.
These symptoms are also characteristic of panic attacks. Still it is possible to add some characteristic symptoms:
- Cardiopalmus.
- Perhaps trembling limbs, chills.
- "Formication.
- Irrational fear of impending adversity.
- "Wadded" feet.
Such a state can also evoke memories of a traumatic situation.
Psychogenic dizziness is not caused by a violation of the vestibular apparatus, although the symptoms are very similar.
It should be noted that the psychogenic manifestations of these disorders can only be called if the patient recognizes the connection with the cause.
False symptoms of psychogenic dizziness
There are symptoms that patients mistakenly confuse with dizziness.
Here are some of them:
- Flicker of objects in the eyes.
- Doubling in the eyes.
- The appearance of the "grid" in front of the eyes.
- Appearance of nausea.
- Pre-condition.
- A sense of instability.
- Feeling of "emptiness" in the head.
Diagnosis of the disease
With the question of how to treat psychogenic dizziness, you need to turn to the therapist, who then directs to the narrow specialists:
- To the otorhinolaryngologist.
- To the neuropathologist.
- To the cardiologist.
- To the psychiatrist.
To find out the reasons, specialists can assign the following types of examination:
- Computer tomography of the brain. It allows to recognize deviations in the structure of the brain.
- Ultrasound of large arteries and blood vessels that provide blood supply to the brain.
- X-ray examination of the skull and cervical spine.
- General and biochemical analysis of blood. Determination of the level of glucose in the blood.
- Equilibrium is necessary.
- Audiography.
- Definition of nystagmus.
At the initial stage of diagnosis of psychogenic dizziness, the physician should exclude all possible causes that are associated with loss of balance.
They include:
- The defeat of the vestibular apparatus.
- Diseases in which one of the symptoms is loss of consciousness, fainting.
- Diseases of a neurological nature, which are accompanied by a violation of walking, balance.
The above surveys will help to find the true cause.
At the second stage, the diagnosis of neurotic disorders that occur as a result of the transferred stress is carried out. As we found out earlier, most often the cause is panic attacks and anxiety-depressive disorder. How to get rid of psychogenic dizziness will be considered further.
Methods of treatment of psychogenic dizziness
In a disease such as psychogenic dizziness, treatment includes non-drug and medicinal methods.
The priority is non-drug treatment. It includes:
- Psychotherapy.
- Gymnastic exercises to improve the vestibular apparatus.
- Breathing exercises. Helps to cope with increased vascular tone.
Treatment of psychogenic dizziness consists in changing the internal attitude to psycho-traumatic situations in such a way that dizziness and other restless symptoms do not arise. This is very difficult psychologically, although nothing at all costs financially. The hardest part is working on yourself, over your fears and beliefs. Treatment is reduced to normalizing the psychoemotional state.
It is also necessary to review the patient's diet. Vitamins A and C are needed. They are found in foods, fruits and vegetables:
- Lemon.
- Orange.
- Beef liver.
- Fatty dairy products.
- Fish fat.
- Carrot.
- Persimmon.
- Strawberry.
- Germinated crops.
- Rosehip.
- Black currant.
It is necessary to observe the correct diet, which must contain all the necessary microelements and vitamins for the body. It is advisable to eat at the same time, portions are better less, but more often.
Medication
Drugs used to treat psychogenic dizziness:
- Antidepressants: "Fevarin", "Paxil".
- Anxiolytics: "Phenazepam", "Clonazepam", "Atarax".
- Neuroleptics: Tiaprid, Sulpirid.
- Nootropic drugs.
Betaserk has proved to be very effective in treating such a disease as psychogenic dizziness. Reviews about this drug are only good. Patients report an improvement in the condition. Pass dizziness, there is no noise in the ears. But the drug is recommended to take long courses for a persistent effect and as an additional therapy.
Folk remedies
As we know, in priority therapy without the use of drugs, including such a disease as psychogenic dizziness. Treatment with folk remedies in such cases has always been popular. Let's name some of them.
- Aromatherapy. The oil of juniper, oranges, is useful.
- Infusion of oregano. For 2 tablespoons of herbs pour 0.5 liters of boiling water. Let it brew.
- Infusion of lavender. 1 tablespoon per cup of boiling water.
- Tea made from ginger.
- It is more common to use pomegranate.
Infusions recommend drinking for half an hour before meals and throughout the day. Folk remedies do not give a quick result, so therapy should be lengthy.
How to help
If an attack of dizziness happens at home it is necessary:
- Lie down so that the head, neck and shoulders lay on the pillow.
- Exclude head turns.
- Loosen the pressure of clothing.
- It is necessary to ensure good air access.
- On the forehead, you can put a cold towel moistened with a light vinegar solution.
If there was a giddiness in the street:
- You need to calm down and do not panic.
- Surrender and focus your eyes, but do not close your eyes.
- Do not move and do not turn your head.
- If there is a strong pain in the chest, abdomen or numb hands, feet, speech was broken, it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance.
Prevention of psychogenic dizziness
In order to reduce the amount of dizziness, it is necessary not only to try to keep calm in any situation and learn to control yourself, and also follow certain recommendations:
- More movement and exercise, especially with sedentary work.
- Observe the mode of work and rest.
- Do not overwork, sleep.
- Avoid stressful situations.
- To refuse from bad habits.
- Do not make sudden movements of the head and neck, and do not change sharply the position of the body.
- More rest in the fresh air.
- Limit the use of salt, strong tea and coffee.
- To learn the methods of relaxation.
For frequent repetitive attacks of dizziness, you should consult a doctor. If you detect serious pathologies in the early stages, then the therapy will be more effective. Much more often dizziness is associated with overwork and an incorrect mode of work and rest, but it is better to insure yourself and visit a specialist.
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