Benign Paroxysmal Position Vertigo (BPPV) essentially means that small particles get loose in one's inner ear and press on the parts that control balance. Rocks in your ears!
Result is mild to severe dizziness, and possible nausea. Think of it as getting instantly motion sick.
One of the signature symptoms of this particular type of dizziness - and which sets it apart from other possible causes such as stroke, brain tumor, etc. - is nystagmus, which is an uncontrollable eye spasm.
Treatment is fortunately very easy, and typically involves rolling one's head in a series of movements that help the particles move out of the sensitive area of the inner ear. How great: no drugs, no surgery, no shots!
Unfortunately, the dizziness seems to fade gradually rather than stop abruptly - and every recommendation is to cease certain activities for at least a week.
Why do I mention this?
To explain: to my soccer teammates why I had to miss our last game of the season, to my friend Rob why I didn't call him Saturday afternoon like I said I would, to the very kind manager at Tutta Bella that the pizza we had there really really had nothing to do with why I was feeling ill, and to all the people waiting at the bustop at NE80th and 15th NE on saturday afternoon who saw me toss my cookies on the curb that I'm sorry I had to share that particular technicolor yawn with them. It was unavoidable.
May your universe be more upright and static than mine.
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2 comments:
We lost 10-1. It was not pretty.
Maybe you could practice prophylactic head rolling on a regular basis to keep the rocks tamed.
Have patience...I outgrew my rocks. Some things do get better with age.
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