The fact that somewhere in his body is a vestibular apparatus, everyone knows. But what kind of apparatus is it, and which functions does it perform, few will be able to answer. It is known that he is somehow connected with the nausea that appears during a ride in transport, on too sharp corners, with sea walks. But how an organ does this is a mystery.
Where is the vestibular apparatus?
The vestibular apparatus is the organ responsible for the balance. This he helps a person even with his eyes closed to determine his position in space and safely move the body from place to place.
Vestibular apparatus of a person is located in the bone labyrinth, hidden in the inner ear. It is a very tiny system. And despite the location, the ear has nothing to do with it. The organ consists of a semicircular canal located on both sides of it, and a pair of membranous sacs.
The irritation of the receptors of the system occurs when the head tilts or begins to move. At this point, the otolith membrane slides through the hairs and bends them. This triggers a series of reflex contractions of the muscles, which lead to straightening the body, maintaining or changing the posture. Actually, the analysis of even subtle changes in the positions of the head is the main function that the vestibular apparatus has to perform.
All vestibular centers have a close connection with the hypothalamus and the cerebellum. This explains the fact that during motion sickness, a person becomes less coordinated and begins to feel sick.
Diseases of the vestibular apparatus
The causes of the disruption of the vestibular apparatus are different:
- Vestibular neuritis. Basically the problem arises because of infectious diseases: influenza, herpes, depriving and others. Its main symptoms are: severe dizziness, nausea with vomiting, sudden nystagmus , which causes a very rapid horizontal movement of the eyeballs.
- Occlusion of internal labyrinth arteries. This violation of the vestibular apparatus of a person is considered one of the most dangerous. The disease is characterized by impaired blood supply to the brain, which in the most difficult cases leads to cerebellum stroke or a heart attack. It manifests with acute vertigo, one-sided deafness, loss of coordination.
- Ménière's disease. The ailment is manifested by noise and a sensation of raspiraniya in the ears, episodic dizziness, fluctuating hearing loss. Some patients suffer from sudden clouding of consciousness.
- Craniovertebral pathology. This is a common cause of dysfunction of the vestibular apparatus. Patients with this diagnosis suffer from nystagmus, speech disorders and swallowing function.
- Injuries. They can cause a concussion of the labyrinth.
- Basilar migraine. Sometimes this disease manifests itself not as a headache, but as dizziness. People prone to basilar migraines are usually more susceptible to motion sickness.
- Diseases of the ears. Serous corks , otosclerosis, problems with the auditory tube, otitis media - all this can negatively affect the condition of the vestibular apparatus.
Treatment of the vestibular apparatus
Cure the vestibular apparatus is not so simple. First you need to stop dizziness and give the patient peace. And only then it is allowed to proceed with drug therapy. In most cases, they seek help from such medicines:
- antihistamines (Meclosin, Diphenhydramine, Dramin);
- benzodiazetines (diazepam, lorazepam);
- antiemetics (Ondansetron, Promethazine, Motilium);
- anticholinergic (Scopolamine, Platyphylline).