Vertigo

[Pitlamp]

She gave me exercises to, do that involved looking at a fixed point. Then moving my head and body from side to side, while concentrating on the fixed point. After about 6 months of daily exercises that gradually increased the movement, I got better.

That's what they tell you to do when attempting balancey yoga poses on one leg - and it does work.
Handy to know when trying to change from wetsuit to normal clothes in filthy weather without putting a foot down in the slutch once the dry sock's gone on!

 

[TLH]

A year or two ago, I had BPPV dizzy spells. Usually when I lay down the room would spin as if I had been on full day drinking sessions, and all balance was lost as I tried to stand. This became a nightmare for work, day to day life, and most importantly caving. It meant some very uncomfortable trips, including sickness. I found myself too unstable to do anything more than a simple walk through trip, and felt I would be a liability around any drops, traverses or ropework.

After being nudged into the doctors, he laughed as I tried lay down, and spewed before rolling off the bed! Not my finest moment..

We did the Epley manouvre and the instant relief was amazing! Although, Mr Dr did suggest changes in pressure could be part cause and could be a solution. Flying was suggested as an alternative, but this can cause other issues if you have sensitive ears as such.

 

[Cantclimbtom]

I wonder if repeatedly diving in and swimming on the bottom of a swimming pool and quickly surfacing could work? The pressure changes are modest compared to say diving, but much more than say flying. (Assuming you have an older pool with an actual deep end, not 1.2m throughout)

 

[mikem]

Or the blow to the head from diving into a modern pool...

 

[Tim Pickering]

Interesting thread.
I've suffered from intermittent bouts of dizziness for the last two decades. The root cause was being dragged face-down along the pebbly shoreline by a rough sea during a Christmas day swim out to the burnt-out pier at Brighton. I recall eating xmas dinner and continually polluting my plate with sea water that poured from my nose every time I tipped my head forwards. Nowadays, I tend to get an episode as a precursor to catching a cold (not every time, though) and it does seem more frequent during cold weather. The spinning only lasts seconds and tends to happen only when I tilt my head back, lie down, or bend over. Going through a spell right now.

 

[mikem]

That sounds more like low blood pressure or poor circulation

 

[Mrs Trellis]

Moderator comment: Posts moved from "What's your first trip of 2025?" thread in Caving Chat section.


I mysteriously came down with vertigo at the bottom of Maskhill Mine. I'd rigged all the way down, feeling more off colour as I went. At the bottom I fell over and couldn't get up. It was a "fun" trip out of Oxlow. I tried various "manoeuvres" recommended by experts, but none had any effect in my case. It eventually cleared on a flight to Austria. I was comically bouncing off walls through MCR airport and staggering down the aisle on boarding. When I stood up to disembark I was completely cured. I guess the pressure changes did the trick. Might be worth you taking a medicinal holiday

I advise you ask your GP to check you for Meniere's disease. If untreated by medication some vertigo attacks can be horrible.

 

[rm128]

I advise you ask your GP to check you for Meniere's disease. If untreated by medication some vertigo attacks can be horrible.

Thanks @Mrs Trellis . My episode was a few years ago and I haven’t had anything serious since. I’ll certainly take your advice if it happens again. It was pretty bad at the time though.

 

[Mrs Trellis]

If I were you I'd be proactive. You don't get any warning if you have Meniere's - better to be safe than sorry. My late Mum had attacks whilst sitting in an armchair and sometimes lost continence. With the medication they eventually ceased but she always avoided quick head movement eg looking up suddenly.

 

[pwhole]

I occasionally get a situation moving my head too quickly sideways, where my eyes go out of sync, but vertically rather than horizontally. It's horrible and very difficult to do much until it's stopped due to similar issues with balance, but it rarely lasts more than 15 mins. The perceived effect to me is of the horizon slowly tilting down to the right, but no idea if this is related to any of the above. I don't swim at all any more though.

 

[hannahb]

I get vestibular vertigo / nystagmus when I do front crawl in cold water because of different temperatures in each ear (cold water must get further into one side than the other). I've only had it a handful of times, and it isn't so bad with earplugs, but it is really unpleasant so I have a lot of sympathy for those of you who have these kind of symptoms long term.

The first couple of times it happened I had absolutely no idea what was going on and assumed I had let myself get too cold and was having a weird reaction (because it wears off when you get out and your ears warm up, but comes back when you put your head under again). Lots of stumbling around once I got out of the water (although it apparently didn't look like that to onlookers!)