Giddiness

Dizziness
Classification and external resources
Specialty	otolaryngology
ICD-10	R42
ICD-9-CM	780.4
DiseasesDB	17771
MedlinePlus	003093
eMedicine	neuro/693
MeSH	D004244
[]

Dizziness is an impairment in spatial perception and stability. Because the term dizziness is imprecise, it can refer to vertigo, presyncope, disequilibrium, or a non-specific feeling such as giddiness or foolishness.

One can induce dizziness by engaging in disorientating activities such as spinning.

A stroke is the cause of isolated dizziness in 0.7% of people who present to the emergency room.

Dizziness is broken down into 4 main subtypes: vertigo (~50%), disequilibrium (less than ~15%), presyncope (less than ~15%) and lightheadedness (~10%).

Many conditions are associated with dizziness. Dizziness can accompany certain serious events, such as a concussion or brain bleed, epilepsy and seizures (convulsions), strokes, and cases of meningitis and encephalitis. However, the most common subcategories can be broken down as follows: 40% peripheral vestibular dysfunction, 10% central nervous system lesion, 15% psychiatric disorder, 25% presyncope/disequilibrium, and 10% nonspecific dizziness. Some vestibular pathologies have symptoms that are comorbid with mental disorders. The medical conditions that often have dizziness as a symptom include:

Many conditions cause dizziness because multiple parts of the body are required for maintaining balance including the inner ear, eyes, muscles, skeleton, and the nervous system.

Common physiological causes of dizziness include:

About 20–30% of the population report to have experienced dizziness at some point in the previous year.

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