Vertigo ?

[zeehag]

i can see all of you at sea suffering severe dehydration, and going for the knife as soon as the vertigo of dehydration set in.
the most important tool in a solo or short handed sailors kit should be powdered gatorade. mix it half strength and use in generous quantities when on long passages so you do not dehydrate so much as to cause self problems.
when you awaken in your berths at sea and the room is spinning, you will need a rehydration plan. and you will need to effect that plan immediately.
or you can call uscg to rescue you at sea, as do many.
or you can die at sea, from dehydration, as have many.
is all your choice.
there are different kinds of room spins, raku, and each is indicative of a different problem. it is not so difficult to perform skills learned and diagnose dehydration. humanity runs on low, as far as fluid replacement is concerned. replacement of fluids is not gonna kill ye nor make ye ill. is the number one treatment given in er for spins and positional dizziness, or its proper name--orthostatic hypotension.
we can either sail de-nial or we can practice rehydration so it becomes automatic, as it were, and we can help others in our similar situation.
or we can argue the skills of those trying to teach us how to AVOID this problem in the first place.

[smj]

I understand dehydration is a cause of vertigo but is that the only cause of vertigo on a boat? Absolutely not. It may be the easiest to treat but there are many other causes of vertigo. One being that a person is sensitive to a certain kind of motion. Another could be an ear infection or virus as well as stress.

[donradcliffe]

The things that convinced me that I had BPPV:

1. Someone watched my eyes go through the nystagmus twitches as I tilted my head back.
2. It was much worse in one side than the other (as compared to dehydration dizzyness)

3. It was worse on lying down (as compared to dehydration dizzyness, which is worse on sitting up)

4. The Epply maneuver cured it in a day or two.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by High Heels

Not to tease hairs here but it is my understanding that carbon monoxide poisoning and isocynate poisoning cause 'dizziness' while vertigo is quite a different experience and symptom...am I wrong here? Just trying to clarify because if someone is out far from medical help it might be helpful to be that specific...

The kind of dizziness that occurs with positional vertigo is "bed spins." It feels as if everything is spinning around you, sometimes on multiple planes.

It's entirely different than the kind of dizziness you get if you're vulnerable, for instance, to dizziness when standing up suddenly, or any kind of dizziness I've ever had with any other illness.

Once I had labrynthitis and positional vertigo I discovered that I knew a number of people who had been through it
also. In the ER, the doctor was not worried about a life-critical event once I described it as things swimming around me.

THAT SAID, having either of those things can *also* lead to dehydration because of vomiting and/or changing your eating/drinking habits.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i can see all of you at sea suffering severe dehydration, and going for the knife as soon as the vertigo of dehydration set in.
the most important tool in a solo or short handed sailors kit should be powdered gatorade. mix it half strength and use in generous quantities when on long passages so you do not dehydrate so much as to cause self problems.
when you awaken in your berths at sea and the room is spinning, you will need a rehydration plan. and you will need to effect that plan immediately.
or you can call uscg to rescue you at sea, as do many.
or you can die at sea, from dehydration, as have many.
is all your choice.
there are different kinds of room spins, raku, and each is indicative of a different problem. it is not so difficult to perform skills learned and diagnose dehydration. humanity runs on low, as far as fluid replacement is concerned. replacement of fluids is not gonna kill ye nor make ye ill. is the number one treatment given in er for spins and positional dizziness, or its proper name--orthostatic hypotension.
we can either sail de-nial or we can practice rehydration so it becomes automatic, as it were, and we can help others in our similar situation.
or we can argue the skills of those trying to teach us how to AVOID this problem in the first place.

Thing is, Zee, I think we all realize people can become dehydrated. I *hope* there's no one on this board who doesn't keep something like Gator Ade aboard.

This isn't about yours or any other person's skills. For me, it's that I would like people to be aware that there are multiple causes of dizziness and different kinds of dizziness, something you seem to acknowledge. I'm not sure why this is an issue for you, especially since the person with the original compaint has gone and looked at inforation on positional vertigo and seems to think it's very similar to what happened to him.

If a person does have (or thinks they might have) either labrinthitis or positional vertigo -- or both, not uncommon -- an ENT is an appropriate response. That doesn't discount the very real issue of dehydration while boating. There's no need to be arguing about this.

[GordMay]

When you're dizzy, you may feel lightheaded or lose your balance.

If you feel that the room is spinning, you have vertigo. It's sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

[Me-and-Boo]

Meclazine is cheap and worth a try - for a day or two.

[StringBimini]

I second Zeehag's comment. Not enough water. I have had that happen (vertigo) on LAND, due to not drinking enough water.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by StringBimini

I second Zeehag's comment. Not enough water. I have had that happen (vertigo) on LAND, due to not drinking enough water.

By the time you're dizzy from dehydration you're pretty darned dehydrated. I tend to think too much about sailing and the boat and not enough about dehydration, and one of my instructions to anyone sailing with me is to remind me to drink water.

But it's a different kind of dizziness than the OP described. I really think it's important that we don't try to self-diagnose if we have some significant symptom. Nipping BPPV in the bud is really important; it only lasts a couple of days instead of a couple of months.

[zeehag]

some of us actually self diagnose with intelligence and training. self treat, also. meclizine has side effects. is a prescription medicationand requires an md exam, last i heard. of course i havent been in practice for 5 yrs, so , things may have changed-- but the side effects dont change.
severe dehydration presents as gadagirl described--EXACTLY.

[Me-and-Boo]

Meclazine is over the counter now. It is worth a couple day trial just to see if it helps. I did a couple years on super high dose for vertigo. I did help a little. I finally gave up with the realization the vertigo was resolving itself very slowly.

[truant]

Had vertigo and was referred to a physical therapist who specialized in vestibular rehabilitation. Worked well.

[ron2naji]

As per my mother's experience with Vertigo, can say that it doesn't have proper medicines on it by which it can be cured totally. Only balance exercise can help you out, hope you can do it on your boat!!!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by zeehag

some of us actually self diagnose with intelligence and training. self treat, also. meclizine has side effects. is a prescription medicationand requires an md exam, last i heard. of course i havent been in practice for 5 yrs, so , things may have changed-- but the side effects dont change.
severe dehydration presents as gadagirl described--EXACTLY.

Meclazine is just a stronger version of an OTC med. Thing is, my doctor didn't recommend it for more than five days, because it can interfere with the brain's adjustment to the new signals the ear is sending out. This is important because if the source of the dizziness is the inner ear, it won't clear up rapidly and your brain has to learn to compensate.

This is while I will repeat that the doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient. On a boat, out in the sun and working all day, it would be easy to assume that it's dehydration. If you do, and it's an inner ear infection, things can rapidly get so bad that it simply would not be safe for you to get on or off your boat, even with help.

There are other, even more serious causes of dizziness.

There are other signs of dehydration, but in my reaonsably informed opinion, if you are so dehydrated that you're dizzy, you're probably also not peeing, and it's time for a professional to see you. Dehydration is more than "lack of water." It can cause your electrolytes to go way out of whack, and that can kill you.

So can a bad fall.

While a person might be willing to make that call for him or herself, for myself I do not think it would be prudent for me to encourage someone else to self-diagnose him or herself. If I cared about that person I would get them to a doctor.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Me-and-Boo

Meclazine is over the counter now. It is worth a couple day trial just to see if it helps. I did a couple years on super high dose for vertigo. I did help a little. I finally gave up with the realization the vertigo was resolving itself very slowly.

What they told me six years ago is that now they don't recommend meclazine for more than five days because it interfere's with the brain's ability to learn to reinterpret what the brain is telling it.

That first bout of first viral and then positional vertigo was the most miserable thing I've ever experienced. I too know how to do those exercises. It's only happened once since then, but it cleared up in three DAYS with the exercises instead of two months.