A Free online check, built from NICE guidance. It takes about 5-7 minutes and tells you how quickly you need to be seen.
“Dizzy” means different things to different people. Some people feel the room spinning. Some feel light-headed, as though they are about to faint. Some feel unsteady on their feet. These are different problems with different causes, and they are treated in different ways.
The check asks about what you actually feel, how long each episode lasts, and what sets it off. It separates the common inner-ear causes from the rare ones that need urgent care.
Sudden dizziness with any of the signs below can mean a stroke in the back of the brain. Do not wait and see. Do not drive yourself.
Do it now. Every minute makes a difference.
BPPV stands for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. It is the single most common cause of true spinning.
It feels like short, sharp bursts of spinning — usually less than a minute — set off by moving your head. Rolling over in bed, lying down, looking up at a high shelf or bending to tie a shoe are the classic triggers. Between episodes you feel normal.
It happens because tiny crystals in your inner ear have moved out of place. A neurologist can move them back with a series of head positions called the Epley manoeuvre. NICE recommends this as the first treatment, and it works for most people.
Because it needs your head to be physically moved and watched, this is done in person, not over video.
Source: NICE CKS Vertigo (BPPV) — Dix-Hallpike test and Epley manoeuvre as first-line
If the spinning came on over hours, has stayed constant for a day or more, and you had a cold or a stomach bug shortly before, the cause may be vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis — swelling of the balance nerve in your inner ear.
This usually settles on its own, but it can be hard to tell apart from a stroke in the first day or two. That is why a recent infection is one of the things the check asks you about.
Source: NICE CKS Vertigo (vestibular neuritis / labyrinthitis)
Ménière’s disease causes attacks that last from twenty minutes to several hours. Alongside the spinning you may notice:
hearing that comes and goes, usually in one ear
ringing or buzzing in that ear
a full or blocked feeling, like being underwater
Diagnosing it properly needs a hearing test. Silver and Gold packages include a referral for audiology and ear, nose and throat assessment.
Source: NICE CKS Ménière’s disease
Feeling like you are about to black out is not the same as the room spinning. It is called presyncope, and the cause is often the heart or blood pressure rather than the inner ear.
NICE says the first test for anyone with blackouts or near-blackouts is a 12-lead ECG — a simple heart tracing. The check recognises this pattern and points you towards the right tests instead of down a balance pathway.
Tell 999 straight away if you have blacked out completely, had chest pain, or your heart was racing or pounding before you felt faint.
Source: NICE CG109 (transient loss of consciousness) — 12-lead ECG as first-line
There is a three-part bedside examination called HINTS — head impulse, nystagmus and test of skew. In someone with constant spinning, it is better at picking up a stroke than a scan done too early.
It has to be done in person, by someone watching your eyes closely. That is one of the reasons some dizziness results are routed to a face-to-face appointment rather than a video call.
Source: NICE CKS Vertigo — HINTS examination for acute vestibular syndrome
Blood pressure tablets, water tablets, antidepressants, strong painkillers and sedatives can all make you dizzy or light-headed, especially when you stand up.
Prochlorperazine (Stemetil) is often given for dizziness. Taken for a long time it can cause a tremor and stiffness that look like Parkinson’s disease, so it is not meant to be used for months on end.
The check reviews the medicines you tell us about against BNF guidance and flags the ones that matter for your symptoms.
Source: BNF · MHRA Drug Safety Update (prochlorperazine and drug-induced parkinsonism)
We ask about mood, memory, motor skills, and sensory changes to tailor your diagnosis and treatment.
Vertigo is a feeling that you or the room are spinning. Dizziness is a wider word that also covers feeling light-headed or unsteady. They have different causes, so the assessment asks which one you feel.
Often, yes. The most common cause, BPPV, is usually treated with the Epley manoeuvre: a series of head movements done in person by a specialist.
Call 999 if dizziness comes with slurred speech, double vision, a drooping face, weakness in an arm or leg, or a sudden severe headache.
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