When the World Spins

Vertigo is surprisingly common. Here's how to handle it.

- Karen Robock

ONE MORNING LAST winter, Lynn Smith was doing a series of gentle stretches on a mat in her living room, trying to loosen up a stiff lower back. When the 56-year-old sat up, she felt a bit strange. "I started to feel dizzy in a way I had not felt before," she says. Then, when she got into bed that night, she felt as if the room was spinning around her. She went to her doctor, who put a name to her experiences: vertigo.

While it's often described as a sensation of motion, vertigo is more complex than a dizzy spell. People can experience ringing in the ears, loss of balance, double vision and trouble swallowing, depending on what's causing the vertigo. Episodes can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days.