Blog Post

When you think of physical balance, often the idea of being able to stand upright and walk likely comes to mind. 

But this process involves a combination of coordinating your body’s muscles and joints, as well as your vestibular system, which is the union of the five organs in your inner ear and key parts of your central nervous system that enable balance.

Conditions that affect your vestibular system can disrupt walking and most actions, including sitting or standing upright. Vertigo and dizziness are two conditions that affect this part of your body and are often confused with each other.

Our medical team at Houston Medical ER is here to serve you, with a variety of medical needs, including those related to dizziness or vertigo. Here’s what you might misunderstand about both problems and how we can address them.

Facts about vertigo

Vertigo is a term describing the sensation that you're spinning in circles when standing still. It’s frequently a sign of an underlying issue. There are two types, depending on which part of the vestibular system it affects: 

Central vertigo

This is a severe form that occurs after a brain injury, like a stroke or an accident affecting the head. People with this type often deal with severe instability when trying to walk.

Peripheral vertigo

This type of vertigo is a disturbance of the inner ear or the vestibular nerve. It occurs in illnesses such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular neuritis, Meniere’s disease, or labyrinthitis.

Facts about dizziness

Dizziness is a broader sensation, as it can describe multiple sensations, such as feeling faint, wobbly, or weak, lightheadedness, or a feeling of floating, and it can occur due to several minor and major medical conditions. The primary trait is a sensation that leads to a loss of balance.

Among the causes of dizziness are:

• Dehydration
• Inner ear problems
• Migraine attacks
• Viral infections
• Circulatory problems
• Anemia
• Nervous system problems
• Anxiety disorders
• Medication side effects
• Overheating
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)

Primary differences between them

Both terms are often used to describe the same problems, but they are definitely different. Dizziness causes you to experience a fundamental lack of balance, whereas vertigo refers to the sensation of spinning when you’re standing still. 

Vertigo can actually cause dizziness, and you may feel lightheaded when spinning, but these are not the same thing.

You can experience both, but you’re still describing two separate conditions with a lot of symptomatic overlap because they affect the same part of the body. Both problems can also be acute and not lead to chronic issues.

Treatment options for dizziness and vertigo

Helping with either condition depends on the underlying reason it’s happening, and in mild cases, both conditions typically fade over time. 

In addition to managing the underlying illness that causes it, treatment options for dizziness include:

• Drinking more fluids
• Avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine products
• Avoiding sudden movements

Vertigo also has several treatment options, including:

• Antibiotics for conditions related to infections
• Antihistamines in the early stages
• Vestibular rehabilitation training to address balance issues

Vertigo and dizziness can occur separately or together, affecting the same parts of the body, but they are not the same. But if you have issues with either condition, contact our team at Houston Medical ER today to receive proper care. We’re located in Houston and Spring, Texas.