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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffDoctors base treatment of dizziness on the cause and your symptoms.
- BPPV. Treatment of BPPV is with canalith repositioning, a simple procedure in which your doctor or physical therapist maneuvers the position of your head. This procedure is usually effective after one or two treatments.
- Inner ear conditions. Balance retraining exercises (vestibular rehabilitation) are used to treat acute vestibular neuronitis or labyrinthitis. These are exercises you learn from a physical therapist or occupational therapist and then do at home. To provide immediate relief of nausea and dizziness, your doctor may prescribe medications such as meclizine (Antivert) and diazepam (Valium) or may recommend dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), available over-the-counter. A short course of corticosteroids may improve your vestibular function.
- Meniere's disease. Treatment of Meniere's disease involves reducing your body's retention of fluids through diuretic use and often dietary changes, such as a low-salt diet. Occasionally, surgery is an option.
- Migrainous vertigo. To combat vertigo associated with a vestibular migraine, your doctor will likely try to help you determine and avoid the triggers for your attacks, focusing on diet, stress, sleep and exercise. Certain medicines may help prevent attacks of migrainous vertigo or make them less uncomfortable by providing relief for nausea and vomiting. You may also learn specific exercises to help make your balance system less sensitive to motion (vestibular rehabilitation).
- Anxiety disorders. Your doctor may suggest medications and psychotherapy, either alone or in combination, to help you deal with your anxiety and manage your dizziness.
References
- Kerber KA, et al. Dizziness, vertigo, and hearing loss. In: Bradley WG. Neurology in Clinical Practice. 5th ed. Burlington, Mass.: Butterworth-Heinemann; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7506-7525-3..50021-2--cesec5&uniq=201760123&isbn=978-0-7506-7525-3&sid=1000299571#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-7506-7525-3..50021-2%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-0-7506-7525-3. Accessed May 19, 2010.
- Tusa RJ. Dizziness. Medical Clinics of North America. 2009;93:263.
- Branch WT. Approach to the patient with dizziness. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 19, 2010.
- Dizziness. In: Duthie EH, et al. Practice of Geriatrics. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/201760123-5/1000319689/1532/147.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2261-9..50021-5--cesec23_308. Accessed May 19, 2010.
- Falls and fractures. National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/falls.htm. Accessed May 19, 2010.
- Barton J. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 19, 2010.
- Eggers SD (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 16, 2010.
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