When the world turns – dizziness in everyday life

Many people will have experienced it before – everything around you is spinning without you being able to apply the brakes. If this happens after a fast carousel ride or a night of drinking, the reasons are obvious and there is no cause for concern. But sudden dizziness without a previous event hardly leaves anyone unimpressed and is not entirely harmless. Just one example is the increased risk of falling, especially among older people. There are various pathological causes of dizziness such as multiple sclerosis, stroke or brain tumors. However, a dysfunction of the autonomic autonomic nervous system can also be a trigger. This is referred to as orthostatic dysregulation. This often affects older people, but also those with pronounced arteries, already low blood pressure or diabetics. It is important to take preventive action to avoid dizziness attacks.

Emptiness in the head

In contrast to medication side effects and existing neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease or various neuropathies, dizziness occurs in the case of orthostatic dysregulation after standing up, bending down or a change in position from lying down. After changing position, the blood will pool after approx. 30 seconds, resulting in a drop in blood pressure of at least 20 mmHG systolic or 10 mmHG diastolic.

The drop in blood pressure is caused by a drop of up to one liter of blood in the pelvic and leg veins. If a sympathetic counter-reaction is not successful, blood pressure drops. The resulting impairment is divided into four stages, whereby older people in particular are more frequently affected by stage four, which means a considerable impairment for them in the form of reduced independence and a tendency to fall, as the dizziness is constantly present. This is diagnosed using the Schellong test or the tilt table test. When it comes to preventing such dizziness or even fainting tendencies, the amount you drink each day plays a very important role, especially for older people.

Water as the foundation of the body

The human body consists of a very large proportion of water – from 70% in infants to 50-60% in adults. In the body, water serves as a transport and solvent for nutrients and waste products and is a reaction partner for a wide range of metabolic processes. In addition, water is needed to maintain the blood volume of approx. 4.6 liters.

With increasing age, not only does the body’s own water content decrease, but the need to drink also decreases, so that the daily drinking volume of 1.5 to 2 liters per day required for the body to function optimally is no longer achieved. In addition, decreasing organ function, such as a reduced urine concentration capacity of the kidneys, can lead to increased fluid loss. It is therefore important, especially at an advanced age, to drink regularly throughout the day. This is where the SmartCup from LAQA can be very useful. It uses light, sound or vibration to remind you to drink and automatically analyzes your drinking habits.

This makes regular drinking a convenient and reliable affair, and you can easily keep track of your daily fluid balance. To further increase the compliance of those affected and make drinking enough more palatable, unsweetened tea or juice spritzers can be added to the daily drinking routine instead of pure water. If you already have a dizziness problem, increasing the total amount you drink each day can help to combat it.

Drinking to combat dizziness

To counteract the dizziness that occurs with orthostatic dysregulation, it is not necessary to resort to medication straight away. Isometric exercises such as crossing the legs with a response rate of 44% and abdominal copression using a compression bandage, which achieves an even better result than isometric exercises, namely a response rate of 54%, are one way of preventing unwanted side effects. Both measures serve to stabilize the circulatory system. According to a study by Newcastle University, the best result was achieved by drinking 480 ml of water within five minutes before getting up. This increases the blood pressure and stabilizes the circulation, the dreaded sagging of the blood in the deep vessels is avoided and there is no dizziness.

Overall, if you have a problem, you should increase the amount you drink each day to 2-3 liters and make sure you consume enough salt ( at least 8g per day). For example, vegetable broth, which supplies the body with sufficient fluid and can also be salted as desired, is suitable for this. If you drink enough fluids throughout the day, your blood volume and blood pressure remain constant even if your position changes.

Self-help against dizziness as an effective remedy

Supplying the body with sufficient fluids every day not only ensures that regular bodily processes such as the dissolving and transportation of nutrients or hormones and the excretion of metabolic breakdown products, for example, run smoothly, but also protects against circulatory problems. Older people in particular often suffer from circulatory dysregulation due to a sudden drop in blood pressure. If you drink enough throughout the day, your blood pressure and circulation will remain stable.

If you have a certain vulnerability to orthostatic dysregulation or low blood pressure overall, you can easily take preventive action yourself by increasing the amount you drink to 2-3 liters per day. The SmartCup from LAQA provides convenient support with its reminder function. It uses light, sound or vibration to remind you and analyze your drinking habits. It’s easier to stay on top of things and stay hydrated throughout the day.