Woman with vertigo. Young female patient suffering from dizziness.

Medicines for Vertigo – Things You Ought to Know

Do you feel dizzy at times? Do you lose balance often? If yes, then you are surely suffering from vertigo. So, you must be searching for medicines to cure vertigo. But before you undertake any medication, it is vital for you to understand about vertigo and the related medication treatment.

Understanding Vertigo

Vertigo, often termed as a feeling of faintness, is a spinning sensation that tends to make a person off balance. Vertigo is not an ailment, but is a symptom of an underlying disease. Vertigo can be subjective or objective. A subjective vertigo is one that occurs when the head is spinning, while an objective vertigo is one when the surroundings are moving.

People suffering from vertigo would experience dizziness for a short time period. However, in some cases, vertigo dizziness lasts longer for hours or even for days. People suffering from vertigo may also feel sick and can experience nausea or vomiting. They may also suffer from loss of balance.

Vertigo Causes

The major cause of vertigo is any problem or infection in the inner part of the ear. This can be an inflammation or infection in the ear. When you move your head, the inner part of your ear would tell you where your head is positioned. This is done by transmitting signals to the brain. When the ear sends appropriate signals to the brain then this helps to maintain the balance. But if there are problems in the inner ear, you would feel nausea, dizzy, sick, and off balance.

Besides inner ear problem, other causes of vertigo are Meniere’s disease, toxicity of the ear, and motion sickness. A major reason in older people suffering from vertigo is BPPV or Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. This leads to intense dizziness when you move the head in specific directions.

Vertigo may also be caused by other conditions that make changes or disturbances to specific parts of the brain, such as:

  • Stroke
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Migraine
  • Diplopia
  • Acoustic Neuroma
  • Alcohol Intake

Taking Medicines to Cure Vertigo?

Before you take any treatment for vertigo, it is essential to know the cause of the problem. This is important even if you plan to cure the disorder with medicines. For instance, if you have an infection in the inner ear, your doctor would suggest you an antibiotic accordingly. Similarly, if you experience vertigo due to stress or depression, your doctor would prescribe medicines accordingly. Similarly, if you experience vertigo due to BPPV, Vestibular Neuritis, Meniere’s disease, or Migraine, then the doctor would recommend medicines accordingly.

Can Vertigo Be Cured with Medicines?

Medicines to cure vertigo can help to ease vomiting and nausea. To some extent, these medicines can also ease faintness or dizziness. Such medicines are mainly offered for short time duration of up to 14 days.

But a major thing to remember is to first get diagnosed the reason or cause of vertigo. Even your doctor will advise you for medicine and treatment on the basis of root cause of this problem. Vertigo can occur because of more than 40 ailments and reasons. Hence, before you undertake any medication, you need to determine the root cause of the problem. This can be done only through a test and medical examination.

Different Medicines for Vertigo and How Do they Work?

Different medicines are prescribed to help ease the symptoms of vertigo. These medicines are antihistamines, prochlorperazine, cyclizine, cinnarizine, promethazine, and more. Such medicines are the ones that can help to cure any feeling of nausea or motion sickness.

These medicines work by blocking chemicals in the brain that helps cure mild to severe sickness, Betahistine is an antihistamine that is recommended to patients with Meniere’s disease. Besides these, there are more other medicines available that are prescribed to cure vertigo.

Which Medicine to Undertake to Cure Vertigo?

The selection of medicine depends on the root cause of vertigo and severity of symptoms. Consuming any wrong or inappropriate medicine can result in severe side-effects. Some of the common side-effects of the medicines are constipation, tiredness, drowsiness, indigestion, insomnia, and headaches.

Also, there are certain medical conditions during which certain vertigo medicines (know more) cannot be taken. It is because consuming medicine otherwise can cause side-effect. Hence, your doctor would suggest you a medicine that will suit you and only after diagnosing the root cause of the problem.

So, if you are experiencing vertigo and want to get rid of it, then first get diagnosed the root cause and then undertake a medicine based on your doctor’s recommendations.

At Neuroequillibrium, the problems associated with imbalance disorder, vertigo, and dizziness are diagnosed by neuro-otological tests. Once the exact cause of the issue is identified, it is then possible to cure it by rehabilitation therapies, meditation, and surgeries