Dizziness: Why You Feel Dizzy and What Will Help You Feel Better

by Gregory T. Whitman, Robert W. Baloh

Overview

The definitive guide for people suffering from dizziness, one of the most common medical complaints.

Anyone who has experienced the sensation of the room spinning around or the lightheadedness that signals an impending faint knows how bad it feels to be dizzy. Almost any medical condition can cause dizziness, but the most common include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, transient drops in blood pressure, migraine, and anxiety. Inner ear disorders that cause dizziness are often associated with abnormal eye movements—in fact, it’s possible to diagnose an acute inner ear infection in five seconds, just by looking at a person’s eyes. In Dizziness, Drs. Gregory T. Whitman and Robert W. Baloh explore the different conditions that can cause dizziness, describe the types of dizziness they see most frequently, and explain what people with dizziness can do to feel better.

A detailed look at one of the most common—and complex—medical complaints, Dizziness distills Drs. Whitman and Baloh’s six decades of combined experience into a short and practical guide. Packed with useful tips on diagnosis and treatment, Dizziness reveals how top doctors analyze dizziness, including the problems with balance and walking that go along with it. The book also explains the importance of overcoming dizziness and describes what people who are dizzy can do to get an accurate diagnosis.

Combining background on specific forms of dizziness with descriptions of optimal treatments for each one, Dizziness covers everything from conditions that cause dizziness when a person changes position (such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and orthostatic hypotension) to conditions that cause dizzy spells without warning or trigger (such as Ménière’s disease and migraine-associated dizziness). The book explores bouts of dizziness that last for days, as well as constant dizziness that lasts for weeks, months, or even years. Enhanced with patient stories and rounded out by a glossary of terms and an appendix describing home exercises, this is the go-to book for anyone who struggles with dizziness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421420905
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	11/15/2016
Series:	A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	659,911
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 2.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Gregory T. Whitman, MD, is an otology and laryngology instructor at Harvard Medical School and an otoneurology specialist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Robert W. Baloh, MD, is a professor of neurology and head and neck surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California–Los Angeles and the director of the Neurotology Clinic and testing laboratory at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Part I. Dizzy Spells That Occur with a Change in Position
1. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
2. Orthostatic Hypotension
Part II. Dizzy Spells That Occur in Attacks but without Any Apparent Trigger
3. Ménière's Disease
4. Migraine-associated Dizziness
Part III. A Single Bout of Dizziness That Lasts for Days and Then Gradually Improves
5. Vestibular Neuritis
6. Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIAs)
Part IV. Constant Dizziness That Lasts 24 Hours a Day for Months and Even Years
7. Dizziness and Anxiety (Chronic subjective dizziness)
8. Mal de debarquement Syndrome (MdDS)
9. Dizziness Due to Loss of Vestibular Function in Both Ears
10. Small Vessel Ischemic Disease of the Deep White Matter
Appendix: Home Exercises
Glossary
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Amir Kheradmand

Using simple language, this book describes the underlying pathology, available treatments, and practical approaches for the common conditions causing dizziness. Drs. Whitman and Baloh help readers seeking medical advice understand the complicated nature of dizziness while debunking widespread misconceptions about it.

Michael J. A. Robb

An interesting and practical book that succeeds in educating and empowering patients. The authors do an admirable job of helping people with dizziness, vertigo, and balance disorders by explaining and highlighting key clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic elements.

From the Publisher

An interesting and practical book that succeeds in educating and empowering patients. The authors do an admirable job of helping people with dizziness, vertigo, and balance disorders by explaining and highlighting key clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic elements.
—Michael J. A. Robb, MD, Robb Oto-Neurology Clinic

Using simple language, this book describes the underlying pathology, available treatments, and practical approaches for the common conditions causing dizziness. Drs. Whitman and Baloh help readers seeking medical advice understand the complicated nature of dizziness while debunking widespread misconceptions about it.
—Amir Kheradmand, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Editorial Reviews

This would be a brilliant read for medical students and primary care physicians. The simplified, common-sense approach, I found, made it compulsive reading, in a subject where that is the exception . . . It is [an] excellent value indeed.
—Journal of Laryngology & Otology

[A] comprehensive new book.
—Jane Brody, New York Times

The two doctors simplify explanations of these matters, creating a survey that is packed with insights and information.
—Donovan's Literary Services

This book is practical and useful. Easy to read and understand without being patronising.
—Nursing Times

From the Publisher

The two doctors simplify explanations of these matters, creating a survey that is packed with insights and information.

Donovan's Literary Services

This would be a brilliant read for medical students and primary care physicians. The simplified, common-sense approach, I found, made it compulsive reading, in a subject where that is the exception . . . It is [an] excellent value indeed.

Journal of Laryngology & Otology

[A] comprehensive new book.

New York Times - Jane Brody

This book is practical and useful. Easy to read and understand without being patronising.

Nursing Times

"The two doctors simplify explanations of these matters, creating a survey that is packed with insights and information."

Donovan’s Literary Services