What is making me dizzy? (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

What is making me dizzy?

9:02am Tuesday 25th November 2008 in Questions & Answers By Dr Tom Smith

Q: After I have been doing household jobs I get dizzy. Is it to do with bending over, or am I putting my blood pressure up? How can I avoid it?

A: There are two possibilities. One is that your circulation is being affected by the way you are turning your neck: this is called positional vertigo, and is to do with stiffening in the arteries in your neck with age. The other is a sudden drop in blood flow (and pressure) to the brain due to your bending down and straightening up again. That is ‘orthostatic hy-potension’ and is the opposite to putting your pressure up. Talk to your doctor, who will examine you to test both possibilities, and help you to manage and prevent your dizziness.

Q: For two years now my hands have been shaking – not very much, but I notice it – particularly when I’m not doing anything with them. Just recently my right leg has been shaking, too. I’m 65 and otherwise feeling well. Is this just part of old age?

A: No. You need to know whether this is a condition called benign essential tremor, which is a nuisance but will not develop into anything serious, or an early sign of Parkinson’s disease. You need to see your doctor, who will examine you and, if needed, send you to the appropriate specialist. There are neurologists who specialise in tremor.

Q: Why do I get a splitting headache when I have a hot shower?

A: Sounds like ‘hot water migraine’. There is a type of migraine that arises only when they immerse their heads in hot water. I’m afraid if you want to avoid it, only apply lukewarm water to your head. Some experts think it may be linked to ‘hot water epilepsy’ in which people with epilepsy can bring on a fit by entering a hot shower, but the two reactions never occur in the same person. Both have attracted a lot of research, but we still don’t have answers about why they occur.

Q: My 18-year old son is a central defender with a professional football team. It involves a lot of heading away high balls. Could this lead to brain damage?

A: Not nowadays. It did happen when the old footballs were made from leather that absorbed water during the game, and became very heavy, but the modern lighter balls are non-absorbent, and don’t cause the mini-episodes of concussion that were thought to be the cause in the past.