Dizziness is a symptom of feeling lightheaded, off balance, and fainting.
There are many reasons why you may feel dizzy, but it can also be a sign of many underlying medical conditions, such as anxiety, low blood pressure, dehydration, and anemia.
Dizziness can also be a sign of a number of underlying health conditions that affect your ears and vestibular system. The vestibular system helps you coordinate movements and maintain balance.
A common cause of dizziness and vertigo related to vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. BPV causes brief episodes of dizziness when a person changes position quickly
For women, especially those over 65, vertigo can be a common cause of dizziness. A sudden spinning sensation inside the brain is one of the symptoms, along with nausea.
Many pregnant women report dizziness, which can be due to the following reasons:
- Metabolic changes during pregnancy
- Sleeping longer than usual
- Hormonal changes
In addition, dizziness in women is often due to the following 14 common causes:
- MENOPAUSE: Menopause occurs in middle-aged women and can be one of the causes of nausea and dizziness due to the many hormonal changes during menopause.
- ANEMIA: Red blood cell production slows down due to a lack of iron in the body, known as anemia. This condition leads to dizziness and fatigue. Since women lose blood during their menstrual cycle, they are at a higher risk of iron deficiency anemia.
- DEHYDRATION: Maintaining a healthy balance in the body’s water content will significantly reduce the effects of dizziness. This is especially true during exercise or in the summer when the air temperature is high and you sweat. Along with dizziness, mild dehydration in women can cause headaches, fatigue, and muscle weakness.
- MIGRAINE HEADACHES: One of the main reasons women experience nausea and dizziness is a severe, one-sided headache known as a migraine.
- POOR BLOOD CIRCULATION: Poor blood flow to the brain can lead to tingling, numbness, weakness, and dizziness. Because it severely impairs the brain’s ability to receive oxygen, it can cause sudden attacks of dizziness.
- MENIERE’S DISEASE: This condition is characterized by excessive fluid buildup in the inner ear. Vertigo attacks that come on suddenly and last for hours are the defining characteristics of this condition. Symptoms may also include ringing in the ears, fluctuating hearing loss, and a feeling of hearing blockage.
- VESTIBULAR NERVITIS: Dizziness can also be caused by vestibular neuritis, a condition that affects the vestibular nerve, a nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. This condition also causes chronic dizziness, although it does not usually cause hearing loss.
- ANXIETY AND STRESS: Women experience dizziness due to panic attacks, often due to anxiety and despair after menopause. Hormonal changes, experiences of midlife, and concerns about aging and health are some contributing factors.
- LOW BLOOD SUGAR (HYPOGLYCEMIA): Women who use insulin and have diabetes are more likely to experience this condition. Sweating and anxiety are common side effects of dizziness, also known as lightheadedness.
- HORMONE CHANGES DURING PREGNANCY: Increased hormones in early pregnancy can dilate blood vessels, causing dizziness. Symptoms may improve or worsen as pregnancy continues.
- PARKINSON’S DISEASE: Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder that causes tremors and balance problems. Dizziness is a common symptom of this condition and may become more apparent in the later stages of Parkinson’s disease.
- AGING: Dizziness can also be caused by age-related problems because as the human body ages, body systems, especially the inner ear, may not function as well as they used to.
- EAR INFECTION: Balance problems and dizziness can arise from inflammation of the inner ear caused by an ear infection. Both bacterial and viral factors can lead to ear infections.
EXERCISING TOO MUCH: Exercising to the point of gasping for breath can lead to hyperventilation, a type of rapid breathing that reduces the carbon dioxide levels in the blood and makes a person feel dizzy.
