Dizziness can be caused by many factors.  American Immunoallergy Chinese and Western Medical Research Center Professor Zhi-jun Liang points out in a research convention that Eustachian tube obstruction and vestibular neuronitis are ear disorders that cause dizziness; strabismus, myopia, hyperopia and glaucoma are eye disorders that can also cause dizziness. 

Zhi-jun Liang notes that medication and head injuries can also cause dizziness, so a hospital diagnosis is necessary to understand the underlying causes.  Some brands of low blood pressure, antibiotic, cardiovascular, and diabetes drugs, can cause side effects like dizziness, so caution needs to be taken.  Some patients believe that their dizziness is correlated with anemia, low blood pressure, or high blood pressure.  Clinicians indicate, some patients with high blood pressure experience dizziness when their necks stiffen or their limbs experience numbness, but their blood pressure show normal signs.  When patients with anemia suffer dizziness, usually a short period of rest can temporarily alleviate dizziness.

If dizziness becomes more severe when you turn your head, it usually isn’t your blood pressure that’s causing it.  Rather, doctors say that patients who experience dizziness due to abnormalities in the inner ear usually don’t turn their heads, because the larger the movement, the dizzier they get.

Causes of dizziness can range from the simple anemia, low blood pressure, high blood pressure, cerebral arteriosclerosis, vertebrobasilar disease, labyrinthitis, to even brain tumors; different causes of illness require different treatments, therefore a thorough diagnosis is required to determine the correct treatment.

Doctor’s note that anemia induced dizziness can range from minor dizziness to the more severe passing out.  Anemia will result a lack of oxygen in the brain, sometimes causing fainting; fainting can also lead to head injuries, so its severity shouldn’t be overlooked.  Women suffering from anemia should tonify their chi and blood to ameliorate.

Low blood pressure can also cause dizziness, mainly because when blood vessel lose flexibility, it becomes harder for blood to be supplied to the head.  Clinics have found that low blood pressure often occurs concurrently with anemia, and the dizziness caused is very similar to anemia.  For that reason, TCM therapy focuses on tonifying the chi and blood.  However, because low blood pressure patients lack blood flow, emphasis is placed medications that tonifying chi, and less so on tonifying the blood.  Patients suffering from dizziness caused by low blood pressure should focus on a diet that tonifies the chi and blood and exercise regularly so that muscle movement can aid blood vessel contraction, helping blood flow against gravity, therefore supplying the brain with its nutritional needs.

A portion of patients whom experience dizziness and blurred vision suffer from inner ear lymphatic metabolism dysfunction.  They are prone to labyrinthitis, an illness that destroys their sense of balance.  TCM recommends formulas that induce diuresis to drain dampness and resolve phlegm, while applying acupuncture to best improve symptoms.

Dr. Zhi-jun Liang states that when inner ear lymphatic metabolism dysfunction causes labyrinthitis, dizziness and blurred vision are common symptoms.  The most common TCM herbs used in this situation - Alisma (Ze Xie), Hoelen (Fu Ling), White Atractylodes (Bai Zhu), Pinellia Rhizome (Zhi Ban Xia), and Fresh Ginger (Sheng Jiang) - either induce diuresis to drain dampness or resolve phlegm.

From a TCM perspective, labyrinthitis is mainly caused by the patient’s deficiency in liver qi, in addition to a lack of balance between cold and warm chi, resulting in imbalances of water.  The common clinical solution involves tonifying the kidney, draining dampness, dispelling wind, and dissipating cold, with formulas such as Atractylodes & Hoelen Combination (Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang), and by warming and resolving stomach qi, opening the orifices through Pinellia & Gastrodia Combination (Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang).  Recommended lifestyle adjustments include monitoring blood pressure, emotions, sleep, diet, and exercise to reduce mental and physical stress.

According to the patient’s physical constitution, doctors may prescribe Persica & Achyranthes Combination (Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang), Gastrodia & Uncaria Combination (Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin), Dang Gui Four Combination (Si Wu Tang), Anemarrhena, Phellodendron & Rehmannia Formula (Zhi Bo Di Huang Wan), and or Gentiana Combination (Long Dan Xie Gan Tang).