Dizziness is a common symptom that’s not usually a sign of anything serious, but should be investigated by a doctor. The term 'dizziness' means different things to different people – some use it to describe feeling lightheaded or off balance, while others use it to describe a feeling that their surroundings are spinning.

1. Occasional Lightheadedness And Nausea
2. Causes For Occasional Lightheadedness
3. Occasional Headaches Lightheadedness

Dizziness is classified into three categories as a disorder; these are syncope, vertigo and nonsyncope nonvertigo, although it can be hard for a child to distinguish between the differencesamong them. Generally, syncope relates to a feeling of confusion, lightheadedness, dimmed vision or loss of consciousness. It is a sensation felt by many when they stand up too fast. Vertigo relates to the feeling of spinning, as though your heador the room is in a constant circular motion. Nonsyncope nonvertigo includes a wide range of feelings, with feeling hard to keep balance as a typical one.

What Causes Dizziness in Children?

Dizziness Spinning around and getting dizzy collapsing into a giggling heap was fun when we were kids. But dizziness and dizzy spells as an adult is no fun. You know that feeling. You stand up and suddenly the room is spinning as your vision fades out and your hand shoots out to the nearest handhold to steady. Read more 10 Dizzy Spells You Should Not Ignore. In some people, particularly older people, blood pressure drops excessively when they sit or stand up (a condition called orthostatic or postural hypotension). Symptoms of faintness, light-headedness, dizziness, confusion, or blurred vision occur within seconds to a few minutes of standing. Dizziness that creates the false sense that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving is called vertigo. Dizziness is one of the more common reasons adults visit their doctors. Frequent dizzy spells or constant dizziness can significantly affect your life. But dizziness rarely signals a life-threatening condition.

Dizziness in young children is commonly caused by spinning for too long whilst playing, or standing up too fast. In these instances, there is certainly no cause for concern. That being said, there are times when the cause of the dizziness can be a more serious health condition, so be sure to speak with your pediatrician if you have noticed abnormal dizziness in your children.

1. BPPV

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, also known as BPPV, is caused by a rapid change in position of your head, which causes a brief, yet intense period of vertigo. This can happen when you sit up or roll over in bed.

2. Problems with Ear

Some diseases with ears can also cause the dizzy feeling.

• Inner ear inflammation: If the inner ear becomes inflamed, it can cause numerous symptoms, including dizziness. It is possible for this to persist for several days. This condition usually dissipates on its own, but medical treatment can help speed up the recovery.
• Ear infection: It is possible for an ear infection to cause dizziness in children. This feeling should pass as the infection clears.

3. Meniere’s Disease

This is a disease that affects the ear, and involves the vast build-up of fluid within your inner ear. With Meniere’s disease, a sudden episode of vertigo will happen. It is possible for this spell of dizziness to last for several hours.

4. Migraine

Those who experience migraines may also experience spells of dizziness, even if they have no headache, the most common symptom associated with a migraine, it is still possible to experience episodes of dizziness.

5. Medications

Some medication that you give to your child may have some side effects, including loss of balance and dizziness, so be sure to check the label and instruction at first. In most cases, the episodes of dizziness should disappear when your child stops taking the medication that was believed to be causing it.

6. Anxiety Disorders

There are certain anxiety disorders that can cause dizziness in children. Anxiety disorders, such as panic attacks, can lead to prolonged spells of dizziness. It is even possible for dizziness to be caused by some other problems, and to be worsened by anxiety disorders, lasting longer than normal.

7. Anemia

Anemia is the name given to the condition that leads a deficiency in essential nutrients in a person's blood, including iron, red blood cells, haemoglobin, oxygen and vitamins. There are various forms of anemia, each with different symptoms. This condition can lead to dizziness, among other symptoms like weakness and fatigue.

8. Low Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar, also called Hypoglycemia, can cause dizziness. Failure to maintain the correct blood sugar levels can lead to episodes of dizziness, especially for those with diabetes. Low blood sugar levels can also lead to numerous health complications, and immediate medical attention is required if this is the case.

9. Overheating and Dehydration

If your child becomes dehydrated or overheated, then they may experience spells of dizziness. These episodes are little to worry about, and can easily be avoided by ensuring that they drink plenty of fluids, and don’t stay in the sun for too long.

10. Chronic Subject Dizziness

This is the term given to nonspecific dizziness which does not have an obvious cause that can be determined. This is usually associated to over sensitivity to ones own motion, which is exacerbated by complex visual imagery, such as a movie.

When Should You Worry About the Dizziness in Children?

If the dizziness in your children is frequent and unexplainable, then be sure to visit their pediatrician immediately. This is especially true if the dizziness is accompanied with other symptoms, such as weakness, fatigue, nausea, blurred vision, hearing loss, fever, stiff joints, chest pain and/or difficulty walking.

Usually, the episode of dizziness will pass as the cause is transient. If the dizziness is continuing to reoccur, then ensure to visit your child’s pediatrician. They will be able to assess your child, determine what may be causing it and the best cause of action to take to ease the condition. Treatments for dizziness include some medications, physical therapy and surgery in extremely rare cases.

Dizziness is a common symptom that’s not usually a sign of anything serious, but should be investigated by a doctor.

The term 'dizziness' means different things to different people – some use it to describe feeling lightheaded or off balance, while others use it to describe a feeling that their surroundings are spinning.

Because the symptom is quite vague and can be caused by a wide range of things, it may not always be easy to identify the underlying cause of dizziness.

This page explains what you should do if you feel dizzy for no apparent reason, and outlines the most common causes.

Seeing your GP

See your GP if you're feeling lightheaded or off balance and you're worried, particularly if you also have other symptoms, such as fainting episodes or headaches.

Your GP will first want to establish exactly what you mean by dizziness, and check that you're not actually describing vertigo– a severe type of dizziness, where you feel your surroundings are spinning or moving.

Occasional Lightheadedness And Nausea

They’ll also want to know:

• whether the dizziness started for no apparent reason, or if it followed an illness
• whether you have repeated episodes of dizziness and, if so, when you tend to experience these
• how long the dizziness lasts

Dizziness can sometimes be caused by an ear condition. A simple way of distinguishing between ear-related dizziness and dizziness due to other causes is to determine whether it occurs only when you're upright or also when you're lying down.

Dizziness that occurs when you're upright is probably not related to the ear. Dizziness that happens when you're lying down is usually caused by a viral ear infection, which can't be treated with antibiotics.

It’s a good idea to keep a diary of your dizziness, recording when and where you experience the problem, and take it with you to your GP appointment. It's helpful to note:

• what you were doing at the time of your dizziness
• how long it lasted and how bad it was
• whether you had any other symptoms – such as fainting, vomiting, nausea, blurred vision, headache, hearing loss or tinnitus

If you're taking prescription medicine, your GP will probably review this to check whether dizziness is a possible side effect. If necessary, they can prescribe a different medication for you to try.

You may be referred to a specialist for further tests and investigations.

Common causes of dizziness

Causes For Occasional Lightheadedness

The most common causes of dizziness are outlined below.

Occasional Headaches Lightheadedness

• Labyrinthitis – an inner ear infection that affects your hearing and balance, and can lead to a severe form of dizziness called vertigo.
• Migraine – dizziness may come on before or after the headache, or even without the headache.
• Stress or anxiety – particularly if you tend to hyperventilate (breathe abnormally quickly when resting).
• Low blood sugar level (hypoglycaemia) – which is usually seen in people with diabetes.
• Postural hypotension – a sudden fall in blood pressure when you suddenly sit or stand up, which goes away after lying down. This is more common in older people.
• Dehydration or heat exhaustion – dehydration could be due to not drinking enough during exercise, or illness that causes vomiting, diarrhoea or fever.
• Vertebrobasilar insufficiency – decreased blood flow in the back of the brain, which may be caused by the blood vessels that lead to the brain from the heart being blocked (known as atherosclerosis).

Less common causes of dizziness

Less common causes of dizziness include:

• having a severe illness or condition that affects the whole body
• using recreational drugs or consuming excessive amounts of alcohol (either binge drinking or long-term alcohol misuse)
• certain types of prescription medicine – such as antidepressants or blood pressure medication
• having a heart rhythm problem – such as atrial fibrillation (a fast, irregular heartbeat)
• carbon monoxide poisoning