I Recently Started A New Skincare Routine Using A New
Today I applied my facial cleanser to my face. Closed my eyes and bent over my bathroom sink and washed it all off with hot water from my sink.
As I bent over with my eyes closed I suddenly felt like I was losing my balance. I had to just push through it as I didn't want to open my eyes and get all facial cleanser in them.
When I opened my eyes i suddenly felt very wobbly, drunk and dizzy. My vision was bouncing left to right. Everything i looked at was pulsating and shaking. E.g i looked at my curtains and i could see them shaking left to right.
I immediately checked my blood pressure which came out at 141/97.
It took about 15 minutes sat down for my vision to go back to normal and for the wobbly, dizziness to subside.
When i originally bent over to wash the cream off my face i didn't exactly bend my head right down. I just titled my head at like a 45 degree angle over the sink to wash the cream off.
Could you please offer me some advice regarding this?
BPPV is a possible cause of dizziness when tilting the head- details below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask A Doctor"service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
Feeling out of balance and dizzy when bending down or quickly tilting your head is a very common occurrence and most of the time there is nothing to worry about. This happens mostly due to immediate blood pressure changes in the brain due to quick movements (bending down or tilting the head).
If a patient is not feeling well, has not been drinking enough fluids, not eaten properly recently, if his blood pressure is low, or if they take certain medications, then he is more likely to develop the symptoms you explained.
I would advise you to make sure you do drink plenty of fluids, eat well, and do slow movements to prevent dizziness and falls.
Another possible cause, if the symptoms develop with head tilting is BPPV (benign positional paroxysmal vertigo). This is a condition that is caused by small stones like structures (sandlike) in the area of the ear that is responsible for the balance.
Tilting the head in a certain position may cause these calculi to move and cause dizziness. I would not worry about this now but if you develop the symptoms again with head tilting then I would recommend you to see your doctor. The doctor will do some head movements in the office (the Dix-Hallpike maneuver) to diagnose BPPV and then another maneuver to relocate the calculi so they do not cause dizziness (Epley maneuver).
BPPV is not treated with medications, it is easily treated with the Epley maneuver.
To conclude:
- It is very common for patients to get these symptoms when bending down or tilting their head and most of the time there is nothing to worry about
- Make sure you do eat well, drink plenty of fluids and rest as needed to be less sensitive to position changes
- Also, if you use any medications or suffer from any chronic conditions (thyroid problems, diabetes, anemia), you may be more sensitive to position changes and develop dizziness
- If you notice that the episodes recur, you will need to have a visit with the doctor to rule out BPPV or have the Epley maneuver if the doctor thinks this is the cause of your symptoms.
- If during the examination the doctor does not come to the conclusion that BPPV is the cause of your symptoms, he may go on with other examinations and tests to determine its cause (CBC, TSH, FT4, fasting sugar, lipids, basic metabolic profile, etc).
I hope this answers your query.
I remain at your disposal for further medical assistance.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
General and Family Physician