When you feel like the room is spinning, even when you’re standing still, you’re not just dizzy—you’re experiencing vertigo, a false sensation of movement or spinning caused by problems in the inner ear or brain. Also known as dizziness with a spinning component, it’s one of the most common reasons people visit a doctor, and it’s often mistaken for simple lightheadedness. Unlike general dizziness, vertigo has a distinct quality: you feel like you or your surroundings are moving, even when you’re perfectly still. This isn’t just uncomfortable—it can make walking, driving, or even sitting up feel dangerous.
Vertigo isn’t one condition. It’s a symptom with several underlying causes. The most common is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, a harmless but startling condition triggered by changes in head position, like rolling over in bed. It happens when tiny calcium crystals in your inner ear get dislodged and send false signals to your brain. Another major cause is vestibular migraine, a type of migraine that affects balance and can cause vertigo without a headache. Then there’s labyrinthitis, Meniere’s disease, and even certain medications that throw off your inner ear’s delicate balance system.
What you take for vertigo depends on what’s causing it. For BPPV, pills usually don’t help—it’s the head maneuvers that fix it. But if your vertigo comes with nausea, vomiting, or intense dizziness, doctors often prescribe short-term meds like meclizine or betahistine to calm the signals. If it’s tied to migraines, you might need preventive meds like beta-blockers or antidepressants. And if it’s caused by an infection, antibiotics or steroids might be needed. The key is knowing the source, because treating vertigo like it’s one thing often makes it worse.
You’ll find posts here that break down exactly which drugs work for which type of vertigo, how to tell if it’s your inner ear or your brain causing the problem, and what to do when common treatments fail. Some cover how to recognize the subtle signs of vestibular migraine before it hits. Others show you how to safely use motion sickness meds without getting stuck on them. You’ll also see real advice on when to skip pills entirely and rely on physical therapy instead. This isn’t about quick fixes—it’s about understanding your body’s balance system so you can stop spinning and start feeling steady again.
