The Vertigo basics

Have you ever had a few too many drinks and you stop somewhere or lay in a bed and you feel like the room is spinning or you feel like you’re moving but your actually staying still. Well, if you ever felt this way, that would be my best description of vertigo in a non-medical form but you get the idea.

Vertigo
[vur′tigō, vurtī′gō]
A sensation of instability, giddiness, loss of equilibrium, or rotation, caused by a disturbance in the semicircular canal of the inner ear or the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The sensation that one's body is rotating in space is called subjective vertigo, whereas the sensation that objects are spinning around the body is termed objective vertigo
Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.

Which means the inner ear or vision problems might be the cause of the feeling (unless, of course, you are drunk at the time of the feeling).

The original meaning, according to Medterms.com is:
The word "vertigo" comes from the Latin "vertere", to turn + the suffix "-igo", a condition = a condition of turning about). Vertigo is medically distinct from dizziness, lightheadedness, and unsteadiness.
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=6129

“A Balance” is defined as a state of equilibrium. It takes a significant amount of work for this to occur in the body. The brain uses inputs from many sources to understand where the body is located in relationship to the world and to allow it to function. Sensory information from the eyes, ears, and position receptors in the rest of the body help keep the body upright and allow it to move in a coordinated fashion. Information comes to cerebellar lobes located in the base of the brain from the vestibular system in the inner ear, vision from the eyes, and proprioception (position) receptors located throughout the body that send signals through the spinal cord. The cerebellum uses that information to maintain posture, coordinate body motions like walking and also coordinate fine motor skills like using a pen to write. Vertigo, a feeling of spinning movement and sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting, occurs when any part of the system breaks down. However, people tend not to use that word to describe their symptoms but instead use the word dizziness or lightheadedness. It is up to the health care practitioner to understand the person's symptoms and define vertigo as the cause of their situation.
http://www.medicinenet.com/vertigo/article.htm

There are several causes in which people suffer from vertigo and plenty of treatment programs that can help as well but, if one still feels that “hung over” feeling they may want to lay down as it might cause them to fall and hurt themselves. This can lead to further injury such as: slips, trips and falls that have ended in a injury or even a fatality. In our previous Blog we have discussed some of the dangers of slips, trips and falls and at First Care of New York, we are here to help you and your family avoid such things from happening. We provide services in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. For your convenience, a nurse can be scheduled to visit you or your loved one at home to evaluate the level of care that is needed at no cost to you, if they participate in our program. The nurse will also be able to evaluate the home to bring to light any potential hazards that might cause harm to you or your loved ones, while suffering from a vertigo episode. They will help clarify some questions you or your loved ones may have. We can provide as much care as is needed from a couple of hours a week to 24-hour live-in care and everything in between. We have highly trained home health aides, personal care aides, homemakers, and nursing care. We help with bathing, cooking, toileting, grooming, medicine reminder, laundry and cleaning services. First Care is a licensed home care service agency that provides top quality aides to all our clients.

For more information about First Care of New York, please visit: http://www.1st-care.org/