Dizziness

ARTICLE SECTIONS

Definition
Symptoms
Causes
Complications

Preparing for your appointment
Tests and diagnosis
Treatments and drugs
Lifestyle and home remedies

Definition

Dizziness is a term used to describe everything from feeling faint or lightheaded to feeling weak or unsteady. Dizziness that creates the sense that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving is called vertigo.

As a child, spinning until you were dizzy may have been great fun. But otherwise, finding the room spinning isn't pleasant at all.

Dizziness is one of the most common reasons adults visit their doctors — right up there with back pain and headaches. Although it may be disabling and incapacitating, dizziness rarely signals a serious, life-threatening condition. Treatment of dizziness depends on the cause and your symptoms, but is usually effective.

Symptoms