Here lately my 9 year old has been complaining of being dizzy. Not all the time, though. He says it feels like his head is spinning. He doesn't have an ear ache, but that doesn't mean I should rule out ear infection. What other causes could make him dizzy? I am going to make him an appointment. But since we are an Army family, appointments sometimes take longer than we want them to. Thanks!
I took him to the doctor. He was just a Family Physician. He seems to think nothing is wrong and he is probably milking it for attention.... which I DO NOT agree with. He told me for some things to watch with his eyes when he has a dizzy spell. Something about involuntary eye spasms. Has anyone heard of this? I really thought the doctor was nice, but I am not quite sure he knew much about what was going on with my child. I am going to watch him.
I do know that when I was younger I had drastic changes in my blood pressure when I get up from lying down or when I ran and played. This caused me to black out a few times. So maybe that is all it is.
I hate that I didn't get any real answers from the doctor.
Could be vertigo. This is a scary thing unless you know what it is. you have no control over it and it makes you sick.
I suggest medical attention from an ENT. ears nose throat.
First of all...thank you for your husband and his service to our country. My husband is a retired from the Army and I know that it is just as much a commitment for YOU as it is for him!!! My only thought is to ask a pharmacist if it would be alright for him to try some meclizine. This is something that we sell..over the counter...at our pharmacy and a lot of people use it for dizziness, travel sickness, all sorts of things. They have a 12.5 mg tablet at our pharmacy which you could cut in half and see if it helps but ask the pharmacist first. It will probably make him drowsy so you might want to try it first on a day that he can just be lazy if he needs to be.
You might also consider getting a Debrox kit...and see if the problem could be earwax that is causing the dizziness. If earwax is pressed against the eardrum it can cause a sensation of dizziness.
Good luck!!
R. A.
It could be an inner ear infection, it can throw off your equilibrium and make you dizzy but your ears don't really hurt. I had this before, hope it's something as simple as this.
Good Morning Stephanie, First thank you for your continuing role as a Military wife!! God Bless you and your family.
Dizzy spells could be like you thought ear infection, could be a touch of vertigo? which is a really deep ear sensitivity. A lack of blood flow to the brain could cause dizziness. I get a tad bit lightheaded or dizzy if i miss a medication. grrrrrrrrrrrrr :))
High & Low Blood pressure, stress can cause it also. Geeeeeeeez I am just full of ideas this morning.
Stephanie your other post mentioned him crying when you may be helping him with tasks/ homework. Does he say anything about being dizzy then? You said he does well in school which is good!! Awesome in fact!! So my advice is don't offer him help with his homework unless he asks for it. If he makes a mistake it's ok and we learn on our own to recheck and correct it.
He has to learn on his own that not everyone gets perfect scores. If you keep showing him what is wrong or how to do it better he won't learn this concept. Class work only gets more complicated as we advance, one day you might not know how to do it better. * Algebra, Trig, Calculus* EWWWWE :) We can always be there to HELP, but only if they ASK us for it.
Just tell your little man he is awesome, smart young man, and let him know that if he needs help with his homework you will look it over, but he needs to ask you if he gets stuck. You won't sit and watch over him anymore.
Then when he brings home those Well done papers alot of ^5's all around.
Ultimately it's up to you how you precede Stephanie, you know him better, but I betcha he won't be crying as much if he doesn't feel that pressure to do it Better.
God Bless you and your awesome family.
K. Nana of 5
Stephanie,
I would definitely take him to the doctor. That being said, it could just be Vertigo. I was having the same thing last year & ended up blacking out. Went to the doctor and, while he checked for various other possibilities (some scary), he ended up diagnosing Vertigo. It comes & it goes - usually when I'm extremely tired it shows up. But, it's easy to treat with OTC Dramamine or Motion Sickness Pills. They make them for kids too. Good Luck!
how much time does he spend in front of the computer screen?? Have you had his vision checked also. These are some things I encountered with my own kids. Also, vertigo is a possibility and the inner ear issue could also be possible. But these video games can cause dizziness too, because they are focusing so long on the screen. Good luck on your findings!
I would take him BACK to the doctor until you have a reasonable explanation and diagnosis that you feel is right. Take him to the ER, ENT, another doctor or specialist - SOMEWHERE! The inner ear is serious stuff. It could be any number of scary things! Check out webmd.com. You can search symptoms, age, etc. Here's an article: http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/dizziness-lightheadedness-a... Best wishes and God Bless!!
Changes in blood sugar levels or blood pressure could also cause this. I would recommend at least getting him into the base doctors as soon as possible to have them look at him...if it is possible to take him to an ER when it is actually going on, I'd certainly opt for that measure as well...at least they may have a better picture of what might be going on.
Hi Stephanie,
I know you are worried. I would watch him or awhile and write things down as you notice them and take him to another doctor. It could be like stress or hes overwhelmed with something. If it keeps up I think they should run tests on him. If they cannot find something physical, it could be physchological, which a doctor should be able to tell you and refer you to someone that could help him better. Sorry your so worried! But trusts your instints and if you dont like that answer, dont settle for it. You know your son better than this doctor and KNOW if somethings not right. Good luck!
Dr. Timothy Hain is a professor of neurology at Northwestern University's Medical School. Because of his extensive research on dizziness, he has become known as 'The Dizzy Doctor'. You can find extensive information that will help you understand the different causes of dizziness from the following page of his website: http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/index.html.
If you search around his website, you will also learn ways to help resolve issues of vertigo, which are often triggered by allergies rather than bacterial or viral infections. If your son is experiencing vertigo, I would first see a good chiropractor. My chiropractor taught me the kinds of techniques Dr. Hain explains and stopped my vertigo without any medications. I've known people whose MD had them on meds for years and their vertigo never subsided. It really helps to understand the causes of dizziness and the various options for treating it.
I don't know if the military provides chiropractic care, but I would hope they would. When we didn't have coverage for chiropractic, I found that it still saved us both money and health to pay for it instead of the medical alternatives. Some MDs will use info like Dr. Hain and the Mayo Clinic's website provide. But, many only seem to know drugs. Just keep in mind that it is important to make sure what kind of dizziness he is experiencing. You may want to go over the website with him so he can tell you which description matches his experience.
have you guys had his iron level checked? when my iron gets low, i get dizzy
A little bit different thought, but my husband and his 2 brothers are all over 6 feet tall, and when they would go through major growth spurts they all had problems with dizziness and even fainting a couple of times. It was because they were growing too fast and their blood pressure was fluxuating a great deal. Hopefully the doctor will figure out for sure.
Best of luck!!
could be dehydrated too. Just wanted to let you know if you are in the KC area there is a great pediatric practice that takes military insurance. KC Pediatrics in St. Joseph Medical Center. We have Dr. Dattel and he is great especially with kids with asthma which is one of his specialties and usually can get in the same day if we need an appointment. We have seen the other doctors there as well and all seem good.
I see you already have an appointment at a doctors office i don't know what kind you are going to but if the md cant find any cause then take your child to a good chiropractor. I know several people who have had dizziness and their chiropractor helped them get rid of this annoying problem.
This may sound a little crazy...but my mom always taught me that sometimes dizziness is associated with the bowels. You could try a little Miralax (the doctor recommended it for my 3 yo so its safe..just call your doctor for dosage).
With that said I would still take him in to see the doctor. I just wanted to tell you an alternative if you have to wait forever for an appt. Hope you find an answer soon!
I would take him in. When I was a kid my only symptom for ear infections was falling down alot, since it threw off my equallibrium. But it really could be anything, and it's better to be safe than sorry. Good luck!
