MEDICAL UPDATE
ASK THE DOCTOR

By Jeffrey Raval, MD
When patients have questions about their health, they’ll often stop short of asking those questions at their appointment. Sometimes patients are hesitant to ask their questions. Most of the time, however, patients just plain forget the questions they had on their mind before their visit.

Patient questions are often what helps your physician diagnose your condition and subsequent treatment. I urge you to write down your questions and bring the list of questions with you to your appointment. That way, you’ll get the answers you are seeking.

When you’ve got questions, it’s important to ASK THE DOCTOR. And I invite you to email our office with your questions at jeffrey@ravalmd.com.

This month’s question posed by a patient is: I’m feeling dizzy and off balance lately and I wonder if that could be serious.

The answer starts by defining the difference between being dizzy and true vertigo. Are you dizzy as in light-headed and faint? Or are you experiencing vertigo and is the world seeming to spin around you?

Dizziness can be caused by a drop in blood pressure or by low blood sugar due to hypoglycemia. If you tend toward being hypoglycemic and you’ve not eaten all day, it could be you need to eat something right away to stop the dizziness. Dizziness can also be a side effect of over-the-counter medications (like Benadryl, which is commonly prescribed for many conditions) or prescription medications. Severe congestion from a cold or a stuffy nose from an allergy can also cause dizziness. Poor vision or decreased sensation in your extremities can also make you feel off balance and dizzy.

All of these may be treatable forms of dizziness but you need to see your doctor to help determine what the cause may be.

Another form of dizziness is caused by true vertigo. Vertigo is the sensation that you are spinning, or that the world is spinning around you. Usually this is caused by an inner ear problem. This may be due to other causes such as a viral infection, Menieres’ disease or possibly a very treatable problem such as Benign Positional Vertigo. This type of dizziness requires an evaluation by a physician specializing in otolaryngology—ear, nose and throat—to assess the causes for imbalance resulting in dizziness.

Most dizziness problems are treatable and are usually not serious but if the dizziness persists or is quite severe, see your doctor for evaluation.

Jeffrey Raval, MD is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School and did his residency and internship at the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University Barnes Jewish Hospital. He completed his fellowship in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology, is double board certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery. He is Section Head of Otolaryngology at Swedish Hospital in Englewood and maintains his practices – Raval Facial Aesthetics and Rocky Mountain Laser Aesthetics – in Denver’s Cherry Creek North District.