How to tell the difference between BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo) and Vestibular neuritis so you can recover more quickly
#bppv #vertigo #vestibularneuritis
Take control of your BPPV and keep it from coming back with The BPPV Protocol: bppvcured.com
If you have debilitating vertigo it’s important to know what the cause is so you can recover as quickly as possible. I’m Dr AJ Ludlow and in this video you’ll learn how to tell the difference between BPPV and vestibular neuritis. Make sure to watch until the end because we’ll cover what to do to recover from each condition.
First, we’ll cover vestibular neuritis. This condition is caused when a virus causes damage to the vestibular nerve. It’s possibly a form of the herpes virus (which also causes cold sores, chickenpox, and shingles) but has also been found to be associated with the influenza, measles, rubella, mumps, polio, hepatitis, and Epstein-Barr viruses. The vestibular nerve brings information to the brain from our inner ear to help us maintain balance. The infection causes inflammation and swelling of the nerve which distorts the information coming into the brain causing vertigo. About 50% of people with vestibular neuritis will have viral symptoms, kind of like a head cold, before the vertigo sets in. When vestibular neuritis starts, it is a sudden onset of dizziness, nausea, vomiting and a feeling of being off balance that lasts from 1 to about 3 days. Over the course of a week the dizziness will gradually decrease. Then over the next few months the symptoms will continue to slowly decrease. It usually doesn’t cause further intense episodes of dizziness after it starts to calm down. It doesn’t affect your hearing. During the intense first few days the symptoms are constant, these symptoms might be made worse with head movements but they aren’t triggered by the head movements.
BPPV stands for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo which, as the name implies, is a feeling of spinning that comes on suddenly from certain head positions. It’s called benign because it’s not life threatening or progressive even though it is intense and debilitating. It is caused when particles in the inner ear, called otoconia, come loose and enter one of the inner ear canals. This is a fluid filled canal that helps our brain process head movement and when the particles move inside the canal they cause a false sensation of spinning. Vertigo attacks from BPPV are a sudden intense feeling of spinning that only lasts for 30 to 90 seconds. It can cause nausea and vomiting during the attack but afterwards it will settle down and you will be fine until another attack is triggered. BPPV attacks are ONLY triggered by specific head movements that cause the particles in the inner ear to move. These include getting into and out of bed, rolling over in bed and looking up or down.
Comparing the two conditions, we can find some key differences to help you know which condition you have. They follow very different patterns. Vestibular neuritis comes on suddenly and intensely, with the most intense vertigo lasting for a few days then fades over the following weeks and months, and the vertigo is not triggered by head movements. BPPV has a sudden onset of vertigo but is triggered by head movements but only lasts for a minute or two then will settle down. You will be fine between episodes but the triggering head movements can cause another episode. Each episode is consistent and feels the same. Based on this information you should be able to tell the difference between the two.
Now what can you do to get rid of the vertigo? For vestibular neuritis you are healing from a viral infection so getting plenty of high quality sleep is helpful. The symptoms generally fade on their own over weeks or months but a low inflammation diet can help as well as high doses of vitamin C and other anti-inflammatory and immune boosting supplements. Some doctors will prescribe anti-dizziness medications or steroids but these medications have questionable benefits and have side effects. Going to a physical therapist for vestibular rehab or finding vestibular rehab exercises online can help recalibrate your balance more quickly.
BPPV has a quick and easy solution. You can do a repositioning maneuver to clear the particles from the inner ear, which can immediately stop the spinning. You can go to an ENT or a physical therapist for this or you can just do it at home. Check out my BPPV Vertigo Cure video to learn the maneuver or click the link at the end of the video for a step by step guide on what to do and how to keep BPPV from coming back.
30 июн 2024
