DIZZINESS IN CHILDREN

Dizziness (vertigo) is the sensation that the person is spinning around or that the environment is turning around the person. It is a sense of rotating and can be experienced normally by twirling rapidly in one spot until the room reels. Dizziness makes it difficult for a person to keep balanced. If dizziness continues, it may cause nausea and vomiting.

If possible, it is important to find out exactly what a child means when complaining of dizziness. Children often use the word “dizzy” to describe faintness, light-headedness, nausea, and vision problems. Any of these problems can have many causes.

True dizziness has few causes. The most common cause is infection of the inner ear (semicircular canals), sometimes from a virus (Meniere’s syndrome). This disease usually is harmless and clears up without treatment, but it may last for weeks.

Dizziness may also accompany middle ear infections, concussions, and fractures of the base of the skull. Dizziness occurs with tumours that involve the eighth cranial nerve or the cerebellum of the brain. It may also occur in cases of meningitis and encephalitis.

Signs and symptoms

If your child complains about feeling dizzy, ask the child to try to describe the feeling as clearly as possible. Be sure the child is describing a spinning sensation and not some other sensation (faintness, lightheadedness, nausea, or vision problems). Look at the child to see if there is a loss of balance. Also look for jerking motions of the eyes when they are turned to one side or the other; this is another sign of dizziness. A long period of dizziness may cause nausea and vomiting.

Home care

Have a dizzy child sit or lie down to rest. Raise the feet higher than the head to relieve symptoms of faintness or lightheadedness. If the dizziness was caused simply by turning or spinning during play, the dizziness will quickly disappear. If rest does not relieve the dizziness, the cause must be determined by a doctor for proper treatment.

Precautions

• Try to be sure the child is describing a sense of rotation before reporting the condition to your doctor.

• See your doctor if dizziness occurs often or if dizziness lasts more than a short period (one or two hours).

Medical treatment

The doctor will perform careful physical and neurological (nervous system) examinations. X rays of the skull and a blood count may be required. An ear, nose, and throat specialist may be asked to test the functioning of the inner ear, as well as the child’s hearing. Your doctor may also consult a neurologist (a specialist in diseases of the nervous system). A CAT (computerized axial tomography) scan and an electroencephalogram may be necessary.

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