The Medical Consumer's Advocate
Seasonal vertigo ("allergic
vertigo")
Q: 
I have
a question about dizziness (vertigo). Each year,
during the spring, I contract vertigo for 3-4 weeks.
It eventually goes away. During the time I have it,
the vertigo is present as soon as I start to get out
of bed. It lasts for about 1 hour, with side-symptoms
such as nausea and just feeling sick. No vomiting.
The remainder of the day, I feel slightly nauseated,
but not so that I cannot work. If I lay down, the
vertigo returns and stays for some time again (15-30
minutes) until it finally stops.
This happens every year without fail
and has happened for about 8 years. It happens no
matter where I live. It started in Texas. I now live
in Germany and it happens here also.
Do you have any suggestions or
comments that might help alleviate my discomfort?
I probably
wrote my response to this question in 1998. Reading it today (April,
2005), I feel just as clueless now as I must have felt then. My advice,
however, would be the same: keep a symptom diary, and find a good ENT or
medical allergist.
A real head-scratcher.
A: I hadn't
replied yet because you've stumped me. Even though this
happened in both Texas AND Germany, it could still be
related to a seasonal allergen. This reminds me of the
story (supposedly a true story!) of how a bunch of
Germans got lured to immigrate to the Texas hill country
(San Antonio, Austin, etc.) by being told how much Texas
is like Bavaria (not!!) Nevertheless, it is possible that
there is something common between the two environments...
a medical allergist may be able to figure this one out
for you.
Alternatively, is there something else
that you routinely do every spring-- some activity, some
change in your diet? (Do you observe Lent?) There is a
doctor at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles, Jennifer
Dereberry, who specializes in allergy as it effects the
ear... she has many interesting stories of some very odd
associations between environmental or food allergens and
inner ear effects. For example, she had one patient who
developed a short term bilateral hearing loss whenever he
ate wheat products. Every so often, he would indulge in a
plate of pasta, and suffer the consequences.
My advice, such as it is, is that you
should keep a diary in which you record your daily
activities and the foods which you ate, liquids that you
drank. Any change from your daily routine should be
logged. After a couple of years, start poring over the
data. Try to figure out the association.
What could help? There are a number of
drugs on the market to suppress the symptoms of vertigo.
Any doctor would be able to prescribe you one of these
drugs. I'm not a big fan of this solution, though, as I
think it would be much better if you could figure out the
cause.
Q: I must
say that I am thankful for your response. I
appreciate your care and concern.
Regarding the diet, I am vegetarian
and really stick close to about the same types of
food. Generally, I do not have a big change in my
diet, and I know that I did not over the last several
months.
I have attributed the cause to
allergies because of the time of year this keeps
happening. Fortunately, the problem is not as bad in
Germany as it is in Texas. Allergies are a big
problem in Bavaria, but they don't cause any other
symptoms (runny nose, itchy eyes, etc.) with me. They
do with my wife though. I try to stay away from
medicine unless really needed. I do have Antivert,
but the side effects are just as unpleasant as the
dizziness itself. Therefore, I do not use it unless I
really need it.
Thanks for your advice and help. I
think that it is really great that you offer your
time to help people like this!