Vertigo and Its Treatment In our everyday lives, we almost take for granted this idea of balance or equilibrium that is maintained within our bodies. In general, no real thought processes are required. It is only when something is disturbed within our balance system that one is able to take notice of changes in the equilibrium. There may be several different factors that cause a disturbance to our bodies. One major area pertains to dizziness. Dizziness is found to be "the chief complaint in 8 million physician visits a year" (1). Vertigo is one type of dizziness, causing illusions of movement, that is being researched more and more today because of its widespread symptoms. In order to better understand vertigo, it is first necessary to look into where equilibrium and movement are maintained within the body. Equilibrium in our bodies is coordinated primarily by the brain, specifically at the brainstem, located in the neck area. The environment provides the information necessary for the equilibrium center to determine which position to place the body in. There are three main places in which information is received: the eyes provide visual information, the ears provide vestibular and auditory information, and the articulations provide proprioceptive information. In general, the eyes help position the body according to different horizontal angles in relation to the ground. The ears allow the body to acknowledge any type of movement, such as acceleration or deceleration, by registering various sounds (1). Movement is also processed in parts of the brain, as well as in the ears. The frontal lobes of the brain initiate and coordinate the planning of movements. The basal ganglia, in the ears, add control and fluidity to movements, and the cerebellum processes information from and to the rest of the body. Vertigo is a classification under dizziness that results in a spinning sensation or illusion of movement. (Many people who experience dizzy sensations often do not have vertigo, but instead, are found to have the common lightheadedness). Vertigo arises from disturbances in the vestibular system or neural structures such as the cerebellum, the brain stem, and the proprioceptive fibers along the spine. Symptoms of vertigo include "an unsteadiness sensation when walking, rotary sensations, a sensation of being afloat on the air, feeling of a hollow space in the head, etc" (2). Some autonomic symptoms such as sweating, nausea, and vomitting are found to accompany vertigo attacks (3).
BPPV (Benign Proximal Positional Vertigo) is the most common disorder associated with the vestibular system which plays a pivotal role in balance (Timothy & Hain, 2009). Parnes & Nabi (2009) defined BPPV as: “A peripheral vestibular disorder that manifests as sudden short-lived episodes of vertigo precipitated by certain head movements” (p. 287). This definition can be supplemented by Timothy & Hain, 2009) who described BPPV as sudden vertigo that is positional and paroxysmal. According to Parnes, Agrawal & Atlas (2003), benign means that the pathology is not cancerous or due to a serious cause. The word proximal refers to a recurring sudden episode of symptoms. Positional refers to the triggering of symptoms being dependent on a certain position or movement and vertigo is the sensation of the surroundings spinning around relative to the person and vice versa. The two major pathophysiological BPPV mechanisms that will be discussed include canalithiasis and cupulithiasis (Parnes & Nabi, 2009). These are distinguished by the pathophysiology involved.
Crow, S.J., Peterson, C.B., Swanson, S.A., Raymond, N.C., Specker, S., Eckert, E.D., Mitchell, J.E. (2009) Increased mortality in bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry 166, 1342-1346.
These symptoms include: two or more episodes of vertigo lasting approximately 20 minutes each, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing of the ear), temporary episodes of hearing loss, as well as a feeling of “fullness” in the ear. In terms of assessment, the NIDCD asserts that some physicians will implement the use of hearing tests to determine the extent of the hearing loss that has occurred due to Ménière’s disease
Bumpass LL, Sweet JA, Cherlin A. 1991. The role of cohabitation in declining rates of marriage. Demography 53:913 27
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent and uncertain intrusions of normal brain function, called epileptic seizure (Fisher et al., 2005). The word epilepsy was derived from the Greek word “attack”. The primitive Greeks thought epilepsy was contagious, and hence people with epilepsy used to live alone (Dam, 2003). It is one of the oldest conditions known to humankind (WHO, 2001a) and still the most common neurological condition affecting individuals of all ages. At any given time, it is appraise that 50 million individuals worldwide have a detection of epilepsy (WHO, 2001b). Epilepsy is charaterised by the incident of at least two unprovoked events of recurrent disruption in neurological function. Epilepsy is not a single prognosis but is a symptom with many fundamental causes. (Nunes et al., 2012).
Shapiro, C. M. (2012). Eating disorders: Causes, diagnosis, and treatments [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://libproxy.utdallas.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utdallas/Doc?id=10683384&ppg=3
The Catcher in the Rye is a classic novel written by J.D. Salinger that portrays the life of a confused teenager in New York City. The main character is a teenager that has been a delinquent throughout his life. Holden Caulfield says, “I forgot to tell you about that. They kicked me out [of Pencey]” (Salinger 4). The banning of the book begins when Holden starts to act like the delinquent that he has been described as. The book has a very strong vocabulary of words that are to this day considered inappropriate. As stated in Sweet “The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most barred from libraries and courses, ostensibly because of its sexually provocative language, but probably because of its alienated and irrelevant attitude toward the world” (Sweet 3). For example, the first of the strong language starts in the first paragraph of the book. On the topic of the history of his li...
Vertigo can influence the sense of time and place. As an example with vertigo regarding in time, a person facing a threat can have their sense of time in a highly attentive to the other party of what they are saying, doing, and feeling. In addition, vertigo in space can influence emotions between parties can feel compressed and concentrated. Vertigo can negatively impact by having the past pain which can bring memories of fears and worries of the future as well. Vertigo has the ability to shorten the view of the range of feelings, thoughts, and actions which requires plans to break free of vertigo. Being aware of the symptoms, shake roughly of the relationships from state of consciousness, enlarging the scope of vision, and focusing on the negative to externalize from the distressing emotions. Vertigo can explain why certain dispute happen and as how emotional condition can impact a person’s
Have you ever experienced an unbearable pain in your head that could worsen with just the sound of a single pen falling to the floor or cringed at the sight of a single light switch flipping on that could aggravate your already spotty vision? Have you ever felt a wave of nausea consume your body that could cause your previous meal to be anywhere but your stomach?
Today, America is plagued with eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Compulsive Eating Disorders. Each has its own characteristics that distinguish the illness yet there are some similarities that they also share. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, as with most mental illnesses, eating disorders are not caused by just one factor but by a combination of behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal and social factors. Shockingly, they also report that in the United States, there are as many as 10 million females and 1 million males that are battling with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Additionally, another 25 million are struggling with binge eating disorders (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org). Typically, psychological factors such as depression and low self-esteem contribute to eating disorders...
... image, causing eating disorders. The conflict theory is also a macrosociological perspective that suggests people are influenced by self and group interests. I think I agree most with the conflict theory because unlike the functionalist perspective, [as presented by M.D.]this theoretical approach suggests that actions are made based on a person or groups own interests rather than their values because we are a “fix it” type of society (62).
Researchers study eating disorders to try to understand their many complexities. “Eating disorders are complicated psychiatric illnesses in which food is used to deal with unsettling emotions and difficult life issues” (Michel & Willard, 2003, p. 2). To help those with eating disorders, one must understand the causes, effects and treatments associated with the disorders. Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Compulsive Overeating are three common eating disorders found in society today. “No one knows exactly what causes eating disorders. However, all socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural groups are at risk” (Matthews, 2001, p.3). Eating disorders are difficult to diagnose but can be deadly if left untreated.
A migraine is a severe, debilitating headache that hosts a large variety of neurological symptoms such as throbbing pain on one or both sides of the head, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, disturbances in vision, numbness in face or extremities, sensitivity to light, sound, smell and touch. An individual experiencing a migraine may suffer from one or many of these symptoms during an attack. Each migraine attack can vary in it's symptoms and severity making it difficult for a correct medical diagnosis to be made. About 15-20% of people experience aura symptoms (visual disturbances) before the onset of their migraine (About Migraine, n.d.).
Migraine headache causes intense pain in one area of the head, often felt as a pulsating or throbbing sensation, which often can be follow by nausea, vomiting, light and sounds sensitivity. Migraine pain can lingers for hours, even days. At times aura such as blind spots, tingling and flashes of light might precede a migraine headache (Mayo Clinic, 2014).