Dizziness is a disorientating sensation that often leads to a loss of balance. Almost everyone has felt dizzy or lightheaded at some point. Feelings of dizziness can be attributed to minor factors, such as excess consumption of caffeine or having blood drawn, as well as more serious underlying factors, such as diabetes and some other endocrine disorders.

Dizziness is related to the body’s sense of balance. Maintaining a sense of balance or equilibrium depends on the central nervous system’s ability to process a variety of information from sensory systems including the inner ears, eyes and sensory receptors in skin, muscles and joints.

Dizziness occurs when these sensory systems malfunction or the brain cannot process their signals. Symptoms that often accompany dizziness include faintness, lightheadedness, nausea and visual difficulties.

Physicians typically associate four disorders with dizziness: vertigo, disequilibrium, presyncope and nonspecific dizziness. Individuals can often treat infrequent or minor episodes of dizziness by sitting or lying down and reducing consumption of stimulants such as caffeine and tobacco.

However, experts believe that if serious symptoms such as loss of consciousness occur, or if dizziness last more than a few days, patients should contact their physician immediately. The many potential causes of dizziness include dehydration, anemia, hypoglycemia, irregular blood pressure, heart conditions and stroke.

The physician will conduct a physical examination and may perform tests such as a glucose test. Treatment methods typically address the underlying cause of dizziness, rather than the dizziness itself.