Medical Symptoms - infoMedMD

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Dizziness, lightheadedness and feeling faint are among the most common reasons patients seek medical care, especially among the elderly; however, there is confusion as to what the term actually means. Some patients define it as a whirling sensation, others as feeling faint or light-headed while others define dizziness as having poor balance. This INFOMED will ask you a series of questions and determined the nature of your complaint. Thus the following definitions will be used.

Vertigo is the sensation that thinks are whirling around you. It can happen while you are sitting, standing or walking.

Imbalance is feeling that you are unsteady on your feet but not about to faint. It is sort of like walking on ice all the time. Patients often lump vertigo and imbalance together, under the term dizziness. But they are two separate problems. Vertigo is often due to an inner ear problem and frequently after an exhaustive investigation, no cause is found. Imbalance in generally due to weakness and infirmity, and is especially common among the elderly. Often, there is little that can be done about it.

Feeling faint (Lightheadedness) is feeling that you are about to loss conscienceness.

Fainting (or Syncope) is actually losing conscienceness although a seizure can have similar symptoms. Sometimes these conditions can overlap.