My 22 Month Old Acted like She Had Vertigo! Anyone Had This Happen?

If it is vertigo, there is a very simple, safe solution that won't cause harm (even if it isn't vertigo). I had it once, and the way the doctor described it is that something gets dislodged in the ear canal like a "pebble." That pebble bumps around the circular ear canal, making the body think that up is down or sideways is down. If you look on the internet or consult a doctor, there is a series of head and body twists (nothing drastic, very gentle) that helps move the "pebble" to a place where it doesn't interfere with the balance in the ear canal. It starts something like, "Twist the head to the right 90 degrees. Hold it still for 30 seconds. Move the body to the right..." It is very simple, works well, and can be used again if the pebble is dislodged. The doctor did it on my once, and then later I did it on my livingroom sofa.

Good luck! db

this is not what you want to hear, but, my son went through similar symptoms. He had a brain tumor. The chances of it being a brain tumor are really small. But, an eye Dr might also be a good specialist to see. since she couldn't grasp things. I would also be freaking out.

good luck, and good health

Ditto on the referral! Also, you may want to ask about having her eyes checked for depth perception and/or issues with focus. My Mom experiences migraines with vertigo and this is caused by issues with her eyes and the way the brain processes light.

Good Luck!

Not that it happens all that often with really little ones, but couldn't hurt to ask the pedi neurologist about migraines. They hurt like hell, and can cause all sorts of temporary funky movement and perception short circuits. Agree with everyone else on pursuing to the Nth degree since migraines this young are very uncommon.

They didn't do a CAT scan???

Please take your child to a pediatric neurologist. If you're near Tarzana Dr. Andrea Morrison is outstanding. Good luck.

I agree with the other moms. Ask for referrals and take your daughter to a good pediatric neurologist. Hopefully it will be something simple (like vertigo), but it may be something more serious. Definitely err on the side of caution. Good luck and keep us posted!

That sounds very scary J.! Did your daughter have any immunization shots that week or day by any chance? My daughter is 4 now, but when she was 2 she had the MMS shot and the same thing happened to her! After the shot she started getting very small seizures in her brain that were almost undetectable that was causing the problem! We were at the hospital for about 3 days! They did NOT want to let us go home with her like that! They said that she had a terrible reaction to the shot! After further studying I have now opted out of vaccinations! I am not sure what happened to your daughter, but I am thinking that they probably should have kept her there for further observation! I know that very bad flu's can cause vertigo sometimes! If it happens again, I would go straight to the ER again and insist they keep you both there until they rule somethings out! Good luck! It could also be an inner ear infection, though they should have been able to catch that! If that is what it is go to a really good ENT!
E.

Hi J.,

Definitely ditto on the neurology consult, but before that, follow up with her pediatrician. It almost sounds like a transient ischaemic attack (although very rare, kids have strokes, too). I would also remain watchful for signs of meningitis or encephalitis (fever, malaise, severe head and/or neck ache, vomiting, tiny pinpoint rash at the base of her neck). Has she been immunized against HiB yet?

You might also want to check with an ENT for labyrinthitis. Although the docs checked her ears for infection (bacterial or viral), a low level infection or inflamation in the inner ear might be missed and would normally cause pain and low grade fever, but can also cause nausea, vomiting, and balance problems. The labyrinth in the inner ear houses the vestibular system which is our balance control point. Labyrinthitis is an inflamatory disorder, so my guess is anti-inflamatory medication such as ibuprofen (motrin, advil, etc.) might help. Get your doctor's advice on this though, not mine!

I hope she continues to improve and is OK!

R.

I would see if you could find some info online and then through some phone calls about seizures - there are SO many diferent kinds of seizures and different symptoms of them, I can't believe that wasn't even suggested to you by one of the doctors you saw. Try contacting a neurologist - what a very scary day for you! Wishing you and your little one the best!

Wow, that's frightening. I'm glad that she is better. But the mystery remains. I wonder if she had been sick with a fever the night before Or if she had been given meds the night before. Some meds don't sit well with certain children. It seems as though she was really tired from exertion of some sort, like a febrile seizure. If it ever happens again, the Dr. should do a C.A.T. Scan on her brain to be sure that there is no brain damage. If you don't sleep in the same room you would never know if she had a seizure. When a child is sick with a fever, that is often how they shake it off because at this age they can not sweat profusely enough to lower a fever like older children and adults. It happens in 1 out of 4 children and they grow out of it by the age of 5.
Luckily My Son slept in my room when he suffered his febrile seizure. I sure wish someone had told me about it before it happened to us. when he started convulsing, I freaked, I thought he was going to die. He was completely exhausted and disoriented afterward. He had been suffering the flu and fever just before it happended. It happened when he was 18 months old. I strongly urge you to get a C.A.T. Scan if that ever happens again, it's definitely something going on in the brain when she's not standing and seeing correctly. I wish your family the best of health and happiness.

Hi J...wow, what a scary situation to be in..I know I would have been panicking like a crazy woman had it happened to me. While reading it It all seemed so strange... the part about her not being able to grab things from you or not being able to balance seemed like a Neurological problem. If your doctors seem to have not found anything and your ok with it then so be it, but if you were to want real answers how about asking for a Neurological consult? It couldnt hurt but the brain controls all the nerves, eyes, focus, blance and such. Just an idea. I sure hope this doesnt happen to your little precious again and I do hope you'll get your answers. Good luck to you.

I read that someone mentioned a neuro consult, which I would agree would be a good idea. Ask them if it's possible that she had a seizure. My daughter has had seizures since 5mo of age & usually displayed a certain way & we were able to control it through meds. Then about 2 years into it we woke her to go to preschool & she acted the same way that you had described, unsteady, couldn't stand, focus or grab things easily, What they determined was that she had probably had a seizure soon before we went into get her & she was in "resolution" stage of it. Her brain was trying to get its bearing again. If your daughter did have a seizure, it could very well have been induced by the slight fever, but its better to make sure with a neurologist. If you live near Upland/Pomona area, I have the names of two great neurologists that are fabulous with kids if you are interested.

Um, WHY is your Pediatrician not referring you to a specialist or for further evaluation/testing?
That would be common sense to me...

The thing is, NO conclusive diagnosis has been arrived at. Thus, this is still not solved. What if it happens again? What then? Until something is solved about this, you will not have any answers to it, and it will only be guesswork.

My first thought was seizure.

Follow up on this. This is puzzling and not normal.

All the best,
Susan

Well, I am not an expert or even close to it, but the only thing I can think of is, dehydration maybe? I know whenever I get dehydrated I start to get real bad vertigo - all the things you described in your daughter. Especially if she had a slight fever, because then you need even more fluids than normal... I'm sure it could be a million other things, that's just my "uneducated guess"... Hope she's feeling better and it won't happen again! :)

I agree with everyone else, very scary. Thank God you seem to be proactive. I also have a very good pediatrician, His name is Dr. Lawrence Menzer, he works with Valley Presbyterian Hospital and his number is ###-###-####...good luck, you'll be in my thoughts.

J. M

Did the doctor tell you anything about ear infections, your daughter could have a major inner ear infection and still may have some of the effects. When the ear becomes infected even adults have vertigo problems. Does your daughter pull on her ears, or rub her ears in any way? If so find out if there is a problem with ear infections and how to keep her from getting these ear infections. When you take her out in the wind, keep her ears covered, this has always worked for me when my children or grandchildren get ear infections easily. Again, have the doctor check your daughter for ear infections and these can be inner ear and outer ear. If your doctor argues then I would find a new doctor. Good Luck!

I haven't read every one's responses on here, but I would have her see a neurologist. That was my first thought when I read your post. I am a RN and worked in neuro for a short time years ago when I was in nursing school. I'm no expert by any means, but I would try to get a consult for neuro. Good luck and stay proactive.

It happened to me and I had an inner-ear infection. There are no pain receptors in the inner ear just the middle ear. So I just had pressure and could not sit, stand, crawl. I went to the dr. and all was well quickly.

Please seek out a Pediatric Neurologist ASAP. Best wishes, L.

Good Afternoon J.,

J., it sounds like you may want to consider food allergies. Sometimes food allergies do manifest as vertigo. If you log onto, Amazon.com, you can purchase Say Goodbye To Illness by Dr. Devi Nambudripad. In the book, it will detail allergies and what physical problems occur from allergies.

Also, you may also want to purchase Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Balch.

I have had severe allergies my entire life. I am now 37 years old. I have had problems from not being able to focus, to dizziness and so many more physical problems. So when you mentioned your child's problems, allergies stood out to me immediately.

I strongly suggest that you log onto NAET.com. NAET.com is a group of allergists around the world who ELIMINATE allergies. As far as I know, they are the ONLY allergists who eliminate allergies. I have been seeing an NAET allergist since the fall and my elimination process is going well. I am one of those cases that you would consider to be severe so it may take me another year before all of my allergies are completely eliminated. But, they are being eliminated and my health is improving.

If you log onto NAET.com, type in your zip code, you will be able to find NAET allergists in your area. Depending on the NAET allergists, the initial allergy test is free or they do it for a nominal fee.
If you want to ask questions, I can answer them, my email is ____@____.com well.

N.

Sounds like an inner ear infection. That's where balance is located. Looking in her ears would only tell a middle ear infection because you can only see to the tympanic membrane (ear drum). If she didn't have a slight fever, I would wonder about something else but it sounds like an inner ear infection. Does she use a pacifier? Or fall asleep with a bottle? Does she sleep on her back? What happens is the saliva pools in the back of the mouth and throat where the eustation tubes are located and on a baby, they are horizontal instead of slanted so it's easier for babies to get ear infections. Trust your gut mom! It's usually right.

Hi J.. I'm guessing that it was probably an inner-ear infection, but I would very strongly recommend you take her for a C.A.T. scan and/or MRI....make sure they look at all four quadrants of the brain. My cousin's little boy had this happen when he was 6 and the doctors said he had a flu and sent him home. He couldn't walk in a straight line, tie his shoes, or do many of the things he'd done for a long time...I want to spare you too many details, and just say that you definitely want to rule out brain tumors. In my cousin's case if he had been diagnosed properly and early everything would have been just fine. Anyway, as I said, I'm sure it was an inner-ear thing, but I'd definitely pursue it until you feel satisfied. Doctors can be wonderful, but they are not infallible. Best wishes for good health to you and your family.

Hi there,

When my son was 3, he had something happen after a slight cold virus and 99-100 degree fever called Benign acute childhood myositis. Basically, something happens with the calve muscles after a virus causing them to be extremely painful and the child will not walk and will fall to the ground when you try to stand them up. For my son this lasted longer than what you describe with your daughter - about 2 1/2 days - but the duration of it is reported to be anywhere from 1-5 days. The child makes a full recovery. The only part of your story that makes me think this might not be the same thing was how your daughter tried to reach for things and couldn't grab them, but maybe it was b/c her legs were hurting and she could not balance properly. Either way, when I read your post I couldn't help but at least mention my experience because when this happened to my son I was FREAKING out. None of the doctors in this area could give me any answers, and they were trying to diagnose him with scarlett fever in the hospital despite the fact that he was missing ALL of the major signs of the illness just so they could try to give him some kind of a "diagnosis." I had to research his symptoms for hours myself after being sent home to "wait and see" and then finally contacted a specialist down in SD. So, it may or may not be what happened to your little one, but just in case I thought I would share my story. I hope everything ends up ok for you!! :)