Self-Diagnosis 101

Dizziness

O, The Oprah Magazine | From the April 2005 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

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It's probably not cause for worry if...

You're drinking a lot of alcohol or taking narcotics. Excessive dizziness can be caused by either.
You're vomiting and have been in a car, boat, or plane within the last 12 hours. You could just be reeling from temporary motion sickness. If symptoms don't improve after a day or if they last more than three, call your doctor.

Call your doctor when...

You've recently started taking medication, even nonprescription. You could be having a drug reaction. It's important to notify your physician so she can adjust your treatment and know what not to give you in the future.
You have difficulty breathing or are breathing rapidly, and feel a sense of fear or unreality. These symptoms could mean you're having an anxiety attack. If it happens often, you may have a panic disorder and should talk to your doctor or a mental health professional. The dizziness occurs when you move your head or turn it rapidly, or it has lasted a few hours to a few days. You could be suffering from a mild inner-ear disorder.
The dizziness is recurrent and accompanied by vomiting and a ringing in your ears—possible indications of a serious inner-ear disorder called Ménière's disease.
The dizziness has lasted several weeks, and you also have hearing loss in one ear and/or pain, numbness, or tingling of the face. You may have nerve damage caused by a benign tumor called an acoustic neuroma.
You start feeling dizzy immediately before a headache—dizziness frequently precedes (or accompanies) a migraine. You have a persistent headache that's worse when you wake up or lie down. This could indicate a brain disorder such as a tumor.
The dizziness lasts more than two weeks—even if it seems fairly harmless, you should consider it a red flag that you may need medical attention. (Some potential causes include high blood pressure or low blood sugar.)

Go to an emergency room when...

You get dizzy after a blow to the head. You could have a brain injury.
The dizziness is accompanied by crushing pain in your chest; pain or tingling in your jaw, neck, or arms; shortness of breath; or sweating. These are all signs of a heart attack. Call 911. Chew and swallow an aspirin, and drink a glass of water—this thins the blood, helping to get more of it to the heart.
You also have paralysis on one side of your face, numbness or tingling in your arms or legs, slurred speech, blurred or double vision, or a sudden loss of vision in either eye. It's possible you've got multiple sclerosis, but these symptoms could also signify something more urgent like a stroke.

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