Dizziness is the umbrella term. Vertigo is specific: the room spins or you spin, often with nausea, usually from the inner ear. Lightheadedness (about to faint) points to blood pressure, hydration, or the heart; unsteadiness without spinning points to balance or nerves.
The common vertigo causes: BPPV (brief spins triggered by rolling in bed or looking up, from loose inner-ear crystals, curable in minutes with the Epley maneuver), vestibular neuritis (days of spinning after a virus), Meniere's (episodes plus ear fullness, ringing, hearing loss), and migraine-related vertigo. The split matters because the fixes differ: BPPV-pattern spinning is an office visit with a quick cure, while faintness needs hydration, slow standing, and possibly a cardiac or blood check. The ER patterns: vertigo with double vision, slurred speech, one-sided weakness, inability to walk straight, or a worst-ever headache (stroke until proven otherwise), and lightheadedness with chest pain, palpitations, or fainting (cardiac until evaluated). During attacks: sit or lie down immediately, because vertigo plus standing equals falls.
What to do
Common questions
What is the difference between vertigo and dizziness?
Dizziness is the catch-all word people use for several distinct feelings, and splitting them changes the diagnosis. Vertigo is the specific one: a false sense of motion, the room spinning around you or you spinning while still, often with nausea, sometimes with jerking eye movements (nystagmus), and typically from the inner ear, per MedlinePlus's dizziness and vertigo guidance. The other feelings people call dizziness: lightheadedness or feeling faint (blood pressure or blood sugar territory: standing up too fast, dehydration, skipping meals, anemia, heart rhythm issues), unsteadiness or disequilibrium (balance problems without spinning, common with aging, neuropathy, or certain medications), and vague wooziness (anxiety, hyperventilation, fatigue). The commonest vertigo causes: BPPV, benign positional vertigo, where brief spins hit when you roll over in bed or look up, caused by loose crystals in the inner ear and curable in minutes with the Epley maneuver a clinician can do in the office; vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis (days of severe spinning after a virus); Meniere's disease (spinning episodes plus ear fullness, ringing, and hearing loss); and migraine-associated vertigo. The what-to-do tier: BPPV-pattern spinning (brief, position-triggered) is a book-an-appointment problem with an excellent office fix; persistent vertigo days long also gets evaluated. The ER patterns: vertigo with double vision, slurred speech, trouble walking straight, weakness or numbness on one side, or the worst headache of your life, because that combination is a stroke until proven otherwise; and lightheadedness with chest pain, palpitations, or fainting, which is cardiac until evaluated. Practical notes: vertigo raises fall risk, so sit or lie down during attacks, get up slowly, and hydrate, since dehydration worsens everything in this category.