A sudden transient impairment of consciousness, not amounting to actual loss of consciousness, where there is an inability to maintain postural tone, is dizziness or feeling faint.
Causes and Symptoms of Dizziness
This is caused by impaired blood supply to the brain, resulting in an inability to maintain one’s posture. Falling down involuntarily, or consciously lying down when one feels faint ensures that cerebral blood flow is resumed. Impaired blood supply may be caused by simple causes such as standing in the sun too long, a sudden emotional shock, the sight of blood or even a hypodermic needle, trauma, minor surgery, missing meals, dieting or starvation. Sometimes getting up suddenly from a recumbent state may precipitate a fainting episode. This is called postural or orthostatic hypotension.
Other causes include prescription drugs such as anti-hypertensives, nitrates, vasodilators or diuretics. Usually when a fainting episode is about to take place, there is a slight feeling of disorientation and one becomes aware that something is not quite right-one tries to grasp and hold on to something or someone, to try and save oneself from falling. When this happens, with absolutely no warning, or a feeling of disorientation, the episode is referred to as a syncope or syncopial attack. Repeated attacks of dizziness or fainting need proper investigation and subsequent treatment.
Anaemia, cardiac and circulatory disorders are the common culprits, but epilepsy, Parkinsonism and cerebro-vascular problems are other worrying reasons.
Home Remedies For Dizziness
- Do not crowd around the patient. Loosen all tight-fitting clothing.
- Herbal teas made with a pinch of finely ground cinnamon, or a few crushed, fresh leaves of mint, sage or rosemary, or just plain lemon juice and honey, are good restoratives.
- Drink lot of water, a glass of water at regular intervals throughout the day, particularly in the summer.
- Simply drop a pinch of cayenne into a glass of warm water and sip. The warmth of the water and the heat of the cayenne cause your body to pump more blood and oxygen to your brain, which makes you feel clearheaded and steady.
Useful References