Vertigo can be defined as the “sensation of movement” of the surrounding environment. This sensation can be rotating or oscillating, and depending on its intensity, it incapacitates the patient for work, social life, etc., for the duration of the symptom. Vertigo may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, hypotension or intense sweating. All these derived symptoms give the clinical picture a more serious aspect.
The most frequent causes of the vertigo described (true or peripheral vertigo) are related to diseases of the inner ear. These can be infectious, inflammatory, can produce alterations in its liquids and calcareous particles and alterations in the vascular supply to this organ.
There is some disease of the central nervous system that can give rise to a set of symptoms very similar to those described, they are rare and we will always rule out this possibility in the imaging study that we will do for the diagnosis of the patient.
Treatment of vertigo
Most vertigo is treated with medications that regulate the pressure in the inner ear, with sedatives for these symptoms (called vestibular) and with anti-inflammatory drugs, to which diuretics and anxiolytics can sometimes be added. In some types of vertigo and in case of failure of a prolonged treatment, surgical treatments should be used, starting with the less aggressive ones such as intratympanic injections of certain medications.
Vertigo resulting from recurrent inner ear dysfunction that is not treated when required can lead to a patient’s inability to lead a normal life that will vary in relation to the cause of the condition.