Dizziness

The word dizziness is commonly used to designate a whole variety of sensations, from a sense of weakened consciousness to a feeling of spinning. Like pain, dizziness is a purely subjective experience. In general usage, the words dizziness and vertigo are often used interchangeably, but technically, these two conditions are different. In vertigo, a false sensation of movement is always present. In dizziness, unlike vertigo, there is no universally accepted definition of the quality of the sensation. Instead, the term is used in a variety of ways to indicate a feeling of weakness, near loss of consciousness, or even anxiety. Dizziness, or light-headedness, is sometimes associated with fainting (also called syncope), but may occur even when the person complaining of it shows no decrease in alertness.

The feeling of dizziness is normally noted under certain circumstances, such as extreme fatigue or hunger. Dizziness is commonly felt in abnormal conditions like poor blood perfussion to the brain because of low blood pressure, and when blood levels of carbon dioxide are driven down by prolonged hyperventialtion. Despite the fact that there are situations in which the presence of dizziness is predictable, it remains a misunderstood condition in the health sciences. When dizziness persists as a chronic or recurrent complaint without a clear abnormality of neurologic responses, breathing, or blood circulation, the symptom is often ascribed to a psychiatric condition or dismissed as a psychosomatic complaint.

A feeling of dizziness may be feared, discounted or even welcomed depending on the identity and cultural background of the person experiencing it. In the 19th Century, western girls and women who easily became "faint" were often admired as showing refinement. On the other hand, admission of feeling faint or dizzy has long been denigrated as showing weakness and can be particularly alarming to atheletes and .

When dizziness occurs along with vertigo, it is often assumed to simply be another word used to describe vertigo.

For patients experiencing chronic dizziness, without vertigo, the condition is often outside of the ability of the health sciences to remedy in routine care. Dizziness without any component of vertigo is technically called "nonspecific dizziness". The medical view of nonspecific dizziness as a condition tends to be sceptical. For example the definition of dizziness in the Stedman's Medical Dictionary is as follows: Imprecise term commonly used by patients in an attempt to describe various symptoms such as faintness, vertigo, disequilibrium, or unsteadiness. Etymology: A. S. [dyzig,] foolish.