by David Stillwagon

Created on: January 23, 2009

The sensation of being dizzy is discovered early when a child twirls around and then stops and watches the world spin around them. It is a playful and curious feeling that children initiate knowing that the world eventually slows back to normal. It is easily started and easily stopped. But when the world turns upside down and the spinning blurs your vision you have entered a world of fear and weariness called Meniere's disease.

Meniere's disease is a bit of misnomer. It is a catch all phrase that centers on unknown inner ear problems. Like vertigo the symptoms are extreme dizziness that may occur for minutes or hours. Extreme nauseous can occur and vomiting is not uncommon. When the attack passes you feel as if you could sleep for days.

The cause of Meniere's disease isn't known. Many think that it has to do with excessive fluid in the canals of the inner ear and others think that it has a connection with viruses. Unfortunately there isn't a concrete answer to the cause of this disease. And worse of all there isn't a cure.

The first doctor that you may see is an ENT, who will help guide you through the various options that you have to treat the symptoms of the disease. If your case is extreme then set up an appointment with an otologist, a doctor who specialized in the inner ear.

The treatments vary from simple dietary adjustments to major surgery. The first suggestion that a doctor may have is for you to reduce your salt intake, which isn't easy. Most people don't realize how much salt that they take in during the day. Just because you don't use the salt shaker liberally doesn't mean you take in too much salt. Salt is loaded into many processed foods, especially canned foods. Restaurant food, especially fast food, has a high level of sodium in them. So reducing sodium can be quite a challenge. Fortunately salt reduction can also be reduced by taking a prescribed diuretic. The side effects of diuretics are the loss of potassium through excessive urination, which can be annoying by it self. There are diuretics that prevent potassium loss and excessive urination, check with your doctor.

If the reduction in salt doesn't help there are various procedures that can be taken. Your doctor will give you the details on those. If that doesn't work surgery might be suggested. If you are at that point, it is always a good idea to get a second opinion. Certain evasive surgeries can cause permanent hearing loss so make sure to discuss that with your doctor.

There are alternative treatments that are not widely accepted by the medical profession. Vitamins and supplements can be found on the Internet. Even though the website may have made many believers' of their product it isn't a guarantee that it will work for you.

There is one silver lining in this dark cloud known as Meniere's disease it's the information that can be found on the Internet. There are many websites devoted to understanding this disease and its symptoms and to suggest ways to make life more manageable. A good starting point is the website Menieresinfo.com.

There is no cure at this time for Meniere's disease but by taking an active role in learning as much as possible about it and by working closely with your doctor you should be able to cope with it.

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