Vertigo and lightheadedness

Vertigo may be triggered by turning the head and can come with nausea, eye flickering, imbalance or hearing symptoms. Lightheadedness is more likely to occur with standing, heat, dehydration, missed food, anxiety or a medicine effect. Anaemia and iron deficiency anaemia can reduce oxygen delivery and contribute to fatigue or faintness. Low blood sugar, heat exhaustion and dehydration may cause weakness or a racing heartbeat. Atrial fibrillation can produce palpitations with dizziness. These conditions do not explain every episode, so the timing and associated features matter.

Stop and sit or lie down before you fall. Move slowly, loosen restrictive clothing and get help if you are alone or unsteady. Once safe, note whether the room was spinning or you felt faint, what position you were in, recent food and fluids, heat exposure, palpitations, headache, hearing changes and medicines. Avoid driving until the cause is clearer. A clinician may check blood pressure, heart rhythm, blood tests, eye movements, walking and positional triggers.

Call emergency services for fainting with injury, chest pain, severe breathlessness, a new irregular heartbeat, sudden weakness, facial drooping, trouble speaking, severe headache or inability to walk. Seek prompt assessment for repeated episodes, black stools, heavy bleeding, persistent vomiting, confusion or symptoms during heat exposure that do not improve with rest. New dizziness in someone with a heart condition also warrants timely medical advice.

Ask whether the symptom pattern suggests an inner-ear, heart, blood, metabolic or anxiety-related cause. Describe the trigger, posture, duration, recovery, pulse sensations and associated symptoms. Ask whether you need blood tests, an electrocardiogram, hearing assessment or a review of medicines, and what activity is safe while the cause is being investigated.