Dizziness: Common Causes and When to Get Help

What does dizziness mean?

People use the word dizzy for different feelings. Doctors have traditionally sorted them into a few types: [5]

• Lightheaded: you feel faint, woozy or like you might pass out
• Vertigo: you feel that you, or the room, are spinning or moving [2]
• Off-balance: you feel unsteady on your feet, but nothing is spinning

These types overlap, and the feeling alone does not reliably point to the cause. A review in American Family Physician says doctors now focus more on when the dizziness happens and what triggers it. [5] For example: does it come when you stand up, when you turn your head in bed, or out of nowhere? Does each spell last seconds, hours or days?

If your dizziness mostly happens when you stand up, our guide to feeling dizzy when standing up goes into that in more detail.

Inner ear causes

Your inner ear helps control your balance. Inner ear problems are the most common cause of vertigo. [2]

BPPV is common and not dangerous. [9] Vestibular neuritis is the second most common cause of vertigo. [5] Ménière’s disease is rare. [2] Some people get dizzy as a warning sign before a migraine attack, too. [17]

Blood pressure and heart causes

These causes usually make you feel lightheaded or faint, rather than spinning.

• Low blood pressure on standing (postural or orthostatic hypotension): you feel dizzy when you stand or sit up suddenly. [1] [8] Some medicines, getting older and conditions such as diabetes can cause low blood pressure [8]
• Dehydration: from sickness, diarrhoea, heat, heavy sweating, alcohol or diuretic medicines. It can make you feel dizzy or lightheaded, thirsty and tired, with dark yellow pee [18]
• POTS (postural tachycardia syndrome): your heart rate rises a lot after you stand up, often causing dizziness or lightheadedness [10]
• A heart rhythm problem (arrhythmia): dizziness or feeling faint can come with palpitations, shortness of breath or chest pain [11]

If you think it might be POTS, our guide on how POTS is diagnosed explains the tests. Juno’s free standing test timer helps you record lying and standing heart rate to show your doctor. Only do it if you can stand safely, with someone nearby.

Other common causes

• Medicines: dizziness that starts after a new medicine can be a side effect. [1] Common culprits include blood pressure medicines, sedating antihistamines, benzodiazepines, epilepsy medicines and opioids. Taking five or more medicines raises the risk [5]
• Anaemia: a low red blood cell count can cause dizziness and fainting [13]
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia): this can cause dizziness, sweating, shaking and hunger. It mostly affects people with diabetes who take insulin or certain other diabetes medicines. It is rare in people without diabetes [12]
• Anxiety and panic: a panic attack can cause dizziness, feeling faint, shortness of breath and tingling fingers [14]

Among older adults seen in primary care, medicines were linked to 23% of dizziness cases. [5] Sometimes no cause is found. [2]

What helps when you feel dizzy?

The NHS suggests these steps for dizziness and vertigo: [1] [2]

• Lie down until the dizziness passes, then get up slowly
• For a spinning attack, lie still in a quiet, dark room
• Move slowly and carefully, and turn your head slowly
• Drink plenty of fluids, especially water
• Avoid coffee, cigarettes, alcohol and drugs
• Do not bend down suddenly. Squat to pick things up instead
• Sleep with your head raised on two or more pillows
• Do not drive, climb ladders or use machinery while you feel dizzy

If you feel faint, lie down and raise your legs. If you cannot lie down, sit with your head between your knees. [15] For low blood pressure, the NHS also suggests eating smaller meals and avoiding standing still for long periods. [8]

Treatment depends on the cause. [2] For BPPV, a doctor or physiotherapist can do a short set of head and body movements to move the crystals back. [6] [9] The best-known one, the Epley manoeuvre, works first time for about 70% of people, and for nearly everyone when repeated. [5] For balance problems that last after labyrinthitis or vestibular neuritis, balance exercises (vestibular rehabilitation) can help. [3] [5]

Anti-sickness medicines can ease vertigo for a short time. The NHS says they are usually taken for no more than 3 days for labyrinthitis, because longer use can slow recovery. [3] A large US guideline advises against routinely treating BPPV with medicines such as antihistamines or benzodiazepines. [6]

What will a doctor check?

See a GP if dizziness does not go away, keeps coming back, or worries you. [1] A doctor will mostly rely on your story and a short examination. They may:

• Ask what the dizziness feels like, when it started, how long each spell lasts and what sets it off [5]
• Check your blood pressure lying down and then standing. A drop of 20 mmHg in the top number, or 10 mmHg in the bottom number, points to orthostatic hypotension [5]
• Do the Dix-Hallpike test for BPPV. You move quickly from sitting to lying back with your head turned to one side, while the doctor watches your eyes [2] [6]
• Check your balance, for example by asking you to march on the spot or stand with your heels together and your eyes closed [4]
• Look in your ears and check your head and neck [4]
• Go through your medicines [5]

Most people do not need blood tests or a scan. In a pooled analysis of over 4,500 people with dizziness, blood tests explained the cause in less than 1%. [5] Scans are not routinely needed, but a doctor may order one if you have signs of a brain problem or hearing loss in one ear. [5] [6] You may be referred to a specialist. [2]

What should you note before your appointment?

The timing and triggers of your dizziness are the most useful clues for a doctor. [5] A few notes made at the time are easier to remember than a story told weeks later.

The free symptom tracker worksheet gives you a simple page to log each spell.

Juno can help too. You tell Juno about a dizzy spell by text or voice, and it keeps a dated log you can share with your doctor. Juno does not diagnose the cause of dizziness. See the POTS symptom tracker page for an example.

When should you get urgent help?

Most dizziness is not an emergency. But dizziness can be a sign of a stroke or a heart problem.

If none of the 999 signs above apply, get an urgent GP appointment the same day or call NHS 111 if:

• vertigo comes with a bad headache that did not start suddenly, being sick, or a high temperature [2]
• you suddenly lose hearing in one ear, with no dizziness or other 999 signs [3]
• dizziness when you stand up does not go away [18]

This article is for general information only and does not replace advice from your own clinician. Juno is a health assistant, not a medical provider.

Last updated 25 October 2026