Prevention And Treatment Of Crystal Melanoma

Crystal disease , or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), is a common condition in people between 40 and 50 years of age. The cause is unknown in up to 50% of cases and it often goes away on its own.

One in three people experience crystal disease at some point in their lives. It is almost always temporary and has no major consequences. The condition was first described in 1921 by Barany, and so far there is no specific treatment for it.

Estimates suggest that 2.5% of the population will experience a severe crisis of crystal melanoma at least once in their lives. The incidence increases as people age and up to 9% of people over the age of 60 experience it and need medical help.

What is Crystal Disease?

This term defines an illusion of movement coming from within. There is a feeling of spinning, tilting back and forth, body shift or shaking. It usually does not last long, but it is a recurring experience.

Crystal disease appears when one gets the illusion of movement after moving the head. This type of dizziness is a feeling that varies from mild to intense. It is quite annoying, but rarely serious.

There are two classifications of crystal disease:

• Postural vertigo is of the peripheral type: it is the most common type and it does not indicate a health problem
• Central vertigo is severe and has to do with a brain disease: the episodes last longer and are usually more intense

Identify the problem

The basic symptom of crystal disease is the illusory feeling of movement, which causes a certain loss of balance that most people define as dizziness. It is sometimes accompanied by nausea or vomiting, as well as blocked ears and a feeling that you or your surroundings are moving.

Most often, these episodes happen suddenly and last no longer than one minute. They are usually triggered when you move your head and vary in intensity. Vertigo may be recurrent, but may disappear for a while and return later.

Usually a doctor can diagnose it through a clinical interview accompanied by physical evaluation. He can order tests such as electronymagmography or video nystagmus (VNG), and even an MRI examination if he is in doubt.

How to prevent it?

It is impossible to determine the cause of more than half of the cases of this type of vertigo. In general, there are no relevant risk factors, but it is more common in those with a family history of it or in those who have experienced ear infections or a blow to the head (even if it was not serious).

Most cases are caused by a problem in the inner ear. This is because there are tubes filled with fluid that move as you move. Sometimes small pieces of calcium (the ones we call crystals) float around in the fluid, which causes the brain to perceive the displacement even when you are calm.

This type of dizziness is directly associated with head movements, so the best way to prevent it is to avoid rapid or sudden head movements. You also need to avoid stress and ingestion of substances that excite your nervous system.

How is crystal disease treated?

There are medications that can help reduce the feeling of dizziness. A procedure called Epley’s maneuver can also effectively eliminate the symptoms. The goal here is to remove the crystals from the ear canals to prevent the feeling of movement.

Most doctors can perform this maneuver which consists of turning the head to the side where the vertigo occurs. Then the patient must quickly lie down, and then the symptoms will worsen. Afterwards, turn your head slowly in the opposite direction and your body in the same direction.

Finally, the doctor will ask the person to sit up and repeat the exercise. The repeated application of this procedure causes the vertigo to disappear. Note that it may come back a few weeks later and require you to use the technique again.

Your doctor can find out what you need and how often this procedure should be performed, but take a complete check if you suffer from recurrent dizziness. This is mainly to rule out other more serious causes.