lightheadedness
Sign in to saveAlso known as light-headedness
Lightheadedness is a common and typically unpleasant sensation of dizziness or a feeling that one may faint. The sensation of lightheadedness can be short-lived, prolonged, or, rarely, recurring. In addition to dizziness, the individual may feel as though their head is weightless. The individual may also feel as though the room is "spinning" or moving (vertigo). Most causes of lightheadedness are not serious and either cure themselves quickly or are easily treated.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Lightheadedness
- Medical condition (new).synonyms
- Pre-syncope
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Feeling faint; feeling as though their head is weightless; perceiving the room as spinning (vertigo)
- Medical condition (new).duration
- Momentary, although recurring for some patients
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Hypotension, hypoglycaemia, arrhythmia, anaemia, hypokalaemia, thrombosis, water intoxication, dehydration
- Medical condition (new).risks
- Poor dietary or diabetic management, genetic predisposition to cardiac arrhythmia
- Medical condition (new).diagnosis
- Based on symptoms. Some thrombotic pre-syncope may be indicated by a troponin serum level.
- Medical condition (new).treatment
- Dependent on the cause. May include IV fluids, Ringer's Lactate, glucose replacement therapy, thrombolytics, or simply sitting down/resting.
via Wikipedia infobox
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Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Causes
- Treatment
- See also
- References
- External links
Lightheadedness is a common and typically unpleasant sensation of dizziness or a feeling that one may faint. The sensation of lightheadedness can be short-lived, prolonged, or, rarely, recurring. In addition to dizziness, the individual may feel as though their head is weightless. The individual may also feel as though the room is "spinning" or moving (vertigo). Most causes of lightheadedness are not serious and either cure themselves quickly or are easily treated.
Keeping a sense of balance requires the brain to process a variety of information received from the eyes, the nervous system, and the inner ears. If the brain is unable to process these signals, such as when the messages are contradictory, or if the sensory systems are improperly functioning, an individual may experience lightheadedness or dizziness.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “lightheadedness” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.