Sudden Dizziness When Sitting: Why and How to do

Dehydration

You become dehydrated when you lose more fluid than you take in. You may lose fluid because of diarrhea, traveling, vomiting, and excessive sweating. You feel dizzy because dehydration lowers your blood pressure, which in turn restricts the flow of blood to your brain. If your symptoms are mild, simply increasing your intake of water will resolve the issue. You may require oral rehydration therapy in case of excessive water loss.

Hypoglycemia

It actually means that you have low blood sugar. Your blood sugar levels may go down when you skip meals or engage in strenuous physical activities for long enough. It can lead to life-threatening consequences if you have diabetes as well. It is important to check your blood sugar levels regularly and ensure that they never drop below 70 mg/dL.

Medications

Certain medications can cause side effects, and dizziness can be one on the list. If you believe the reason behind your dizziness is a medication you have started taking recently, you should talk to your doctor immediately. Sometimes, adjusting the dosage may help resolve the issue. Some of the most common prescription drugs that can cause sudden dizziness while sitting are anti-seizure drugs, anxiety medication, tranquilizers, chemotherapeutic meds, pain medicines, and some antibiotics.

Caffeine Overdose

If you experience dizzy spells frequently, you may have to lower your intake of caffeine. Caffeine junkies usually experience this issue, but you can simply limit your caffeine consumption to see whether it improves your dizziness or not. Some people do not know how much caffeine they are consuming every day. A 16-ounce serving of black coffee provides you with about 400mg of caffeine. Not everyone can tolerate that much of caffeine, which is the reason why they end up dealing with certain symptoms, including dizziness.

Anemia

You develop anemia when there are not enough red blood cells in your body. You will feel tired most of the time and your skin may become pale as well. Iron deficiency is usually the primary cause of anemia. You may become deficient in iron if you lose blood in an accident – it is also common in pregnancy. Some people may also develop arrhythmias mainly because your heart has to work harder to compensate for a lower volume or red blood cells in the body.

Arrhythmia and Other Heart Problems

You have arrhythmia when your heart skips a beat regularly. When you have this condition, you are also likely to experience dizziness due to poor blood circulation. The same happens when you have other heart problems, such as transient ischemic heart attack, cardiomyopathy, and heart attack. These problems affect blood circulation and lower oxygen stores in the brain and other organs. This results in dizziness.

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPVV)

Characterized by a false sense that you are falling or spinning, BPVV can also make you experience those dizzy spells, especially when changing your head position. You develop BPVV because of a disturbance in your inner ear. There is fluid inside semicircular canals and it moves when you change your position. You develop BPPV when fragments of calcium crystals get stuck in the semicircular canals and send confusing signals to your brain. This makes you feel as if you are moving, which results in dizziness.

Inner Ear Infections

You are likely to experience sudden dizziness while sitting when you have an inner ear infection. Vestibular neuritis and labyrinthitis are two types of infections that can cause vertigo. Characterized by an inflamed inner ear, these disorders send confusing signals to your brain and make you feel as if you are moving.

Lie Down for a Couple of Minutes

If you experience dizziness, it is a good idea to lie down immediately. This helps improve blood flow to your brain. Ensure that you do not lie flat on your back but keep your head a bit elevated to stop a dizzy spell. Be sure to sit up slowly after the dizziness has stopped.

Take Plenty of Rest

You should take some rest when you are recovering from some virus illnesses, such as a cold or the flu. It is quite possible to experience dizziness when you have just recovered from these viral illnesses.

Avoid Sitting Behind the Wheel

When you are feeling dizzy, it is important to avoid driving a motor vehicle. You should also stay away from operating equipment or climbing on a ladder.

Keep Your Body Hydrated

Dehydration can always make you feel dizzy, so it is important to increase your intake of water to keep dehydration at bay. You can also drink other fluids, such as weak tea with sugar, rehydration drinks, gelatin dessert, clear broth, and even fruit juice with some water added to it.

Know When to See Your Doctor

You need to keep in mind that dizziness can sometimes indicate a more serious underlying medical condition. Call a doctor if any of the following occur:

• Any severe first time or new instances of dizziness

• Dizziness without a clear or certain cause, or sudden dizziness

• Any change in an established pattern of dizziness

• Worsening or new symptoms

• Dizziness after taking newly prescribed medications, or recent changes in previous prescriptions