Why Medication Won’t Help Your Benign Positional Vertigo

January 19th, 2012

Vertigo is the sensation of movement of yourself or your environment. The main symptoms of benign positional vertigo consist of short, at times it can be severe attacks of a rotational vertigo with or without nausea. This is the result of fast changes in the position of the head. Some common triggers include the act of lying down or sitting up in bed, bending over to pick something off the ground, rolling over in bed and looking up at the sky or ceiling. If the sensation of benign positional vertigo comes on while you are upright, you could be in danger of falling. These types of episodes usually occur in the mornings and can be most frequent during the first movement in your position after sleep, it is usual for repeated changes in position to cause less and less of the symptoms. There is a very predictable history with benign positional vertigo and a diagnosis can often be made on this alone.

Benign positional vertigo is the most common cause of vertigo, across all age groups not just in the elderly. It is so common that about one in three people over the age of seventy have experienced benign positional vertigo at least once. There are some interesting facts about this disorder, such as its causative factors and the different statistics between males and females that are affected. A second point about benign positional vertigo is that it is classified as a benign condition and this can sometimes affect the approach to treatment. And lastly what are some common curative approaches for benign positional vertigo including the most effective and recommended cure.

No age group all the way from the young to the elderly is immune from suffering the effects of benign positional vertigo. However, it most commonly occurs in old age as it is a condition of degeneration of sorts, with the highest incidences in the age group of 60-70 years old. Approximately over ninety percent of cases are classified as degenerative or idiopathic, which mean the exact cause is unknown. Women tend to suffer this type of vertigo twice more often then men. In the cases that are caused by trauma, injuries or infection of the vestibular nerve which are called symptomatic cases the gender distribution is even. Extended bed rest from other illness or after an operation are also causative factors.

This type of vertigo is benign in nature and because of this it can be treated poorly. Because it does not require urgent attention and has no life threatening consequence, treatment can be brushed off or inadequate. Patients are often given poor or incorrect advice regarding the best treatment options. While not directly life threatening, the fact that it is unsettling and can result in a life threatening fall or accident is reason enough to find a cure for the problem. For about half the sufferers of benign positional vertigo it can take a whole month to get diagnosed correctly. For a small percentage of people it can take up to 6 months for the correct diagnosis. In about one third of untreated individuals the condition will continue. Unfortunately due to the nature of the problem it usually reoccurs in about 15% of cases.

The popular explanation for benign positional vertigo states that little particles in our balance organs which are in the inner ear become loose and float around. The particles float in our fluid filled semicircular canals which are our balance organs, inside the organs are hair like receptors that detect our movement and transmit this to our brain so we have sense of how much we are moving. When the loose particles land on a hair receptor they disrupt it’s signaling to the brain and it sends a strong signal of movement to the brain which is interpreted that we are moving a lot and therefore we feel the sensation of vertigo.

Once it is understood that the cause of benign positional vertigo is mechanical in nature, you can realize why taking medication or drugs is ineffective. While it can help lessen the symptoms of vertigo and nausea by dampening your nervous system it can not deal with the root cause of the problem. Fortunately there are safe surgery free and drug free techniques available. These methods have been well documented to have a very good success rate and some people report immediate benefits. Make sure any cures or treatment you seek come from safe and trusted sources or they may end up doing more harm than good.