Dizziness in children is a disorder that affects them and produces the illusion of the surrounding spinning or revolving. It can be thought as a balance disorder. It affects the central nervous system and creates the illusory feeling of motion. The human brain processes numerous data and sensory information from organs like sensory nerves, eyes and ear. If the flow in this signal is interrupted, the brain malfunctions and a lack of balance takes place.
Feeling dizzy is among the commonest human experiences, but everyone interprets his or her experience in different words. Some children may complain of light headed ness. Others may feel that the room around them is moving round. When this sensation is accompanied by vomiting and nausea it is called vertigo.
In the majority of the cases, dizziness is nothing more than a trivial annoyance but if it is accompanied with some other symptoms, an inspection by a doctor becomes mandatory. If a child faints after feeling dizzy for several times, chances are there he or she is suffering from some undetected disease. The child should immediately be sent to a doctor for through examination.
The most familiar cause of dizziness among children is viral infections. Typically the infections that occur in the ear passage hamper the functioning of the ear’s innermost part. An ailment called Meniere's disease can affect the inner ear and lead to dizziness in children. Another prominent syndrome is BPPV or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo which can bring dizziness if the afflicted child moves his or her head suddenly. A child with a low blood pressure is more likely to feel the attacks of dizzy spells. Whatever be the reason this is an ailment which is particularly traumatic for a child.
When the blood supply to the brain is suspended for some reason momentarily, a person can feel the sensation of dizziness. This can happen when one is getting up from a sitting or lying posture. Certain medications used to regulate high blood pressure levels also lead to the sensation of dizziness. The panic attacks and anxiety along with hyperventilation can also lead to the feeling of dizziness in a child. This may happen with headaches. It is thus commonly seen that dizziness is a common ailment during examinations and other stressful situations.
The lesser known causes of dizziness in children are migraine, stress, carbon monoxide poisoning, drug treatments or anemia.
The treatment for dizziness depends on the root cause of the syndrome. The treatment of BPPV has been found effective in most cases. In some cases, a repeat treatment is required to achieve optimum results. It is done to place the loose particles in the affected child’s ear to a location where they would not bring dizziness. These particles are then reabsorbed in the body fluids. The procedure has a high success rate of 90%.
The treatment for Meniere's disease is aimed at the reduction of a child’s body fluids. Often a low salt based diet works well. To improve the conditions of the inner ear, certain exercises can be performed under the guidance of an occupational therapist. The exercises can aid in restoring the balance of one’s body.
To avoid the attacks of vertigo related with vestibular migraine, the doctors recommend a patient to avoid the factors that cause the feeling. He might advise a child suffering from vertigo to refrain from taking some foods, reduce anxiety, follow a balanced sleep pattern and do some aerobic exercises.
The exercises help a person to improve his body balance. Certain medications can also be given to prevent the attack of vertigo. Apart from that a doctor may prescribe appropriate counseling to a child suffering from dizziness to give him relief. The modern life has packed human lives with stress and it does not even spare children. If a child is suffering from dizziness caused by stress it is imperative to find and eliminate the root cause of stress.
Proper rest, stress free and healthy lifestyle needs to be advocated for a child in order to eliminate the problem of dizziness.
