Sudden onset vertigo, DS can’t walk - is this really a virus?

[HJBeans]

Apologies, I am double-posting for traffic. I am very concerned but have anxiety related to my kids health and would like perspectives on whether to push for a second look at my son.

YABU = he’s been seen, leave it for now
YANBU = I’d be worried enough to take him back in to A&E

Son was enjoying football practice last night, standing waiting for a throw in, when the ground became unsteady for him. His dad was there and brought him home. He has rocking vertigo when standing / walking, where the ground seems to move like a boat. Called 111, took him to OOO doc and then to A&E. They did an ECG and standard neurological testing. They can see no sign of infection outside of one raised lymph node, but think it’s probably viral infection of the inner ear and will pass. We’ve been told to take him back if he blacks out, throws up or has severe head pain.

He’s worse today, and his gait is now oddly wide and jerky as if steadying himself on a rocking boat. He can’t stand or walk without holding on to something. The vertigo also isn’t made worse by shaking his head which seems odd to me if it’s inner ear related. I’m worrying something has been missed and need calming down. This time last night he was getting ready for practice after a day at school and now he can’t walk unaided. I’m scared. Thanks in advance for any info or hand-holding.

@HJBeans I’m so relieved your son is improving and that the MRI and bloods were normal.

The investigations didn’t need to be done straight away. The parent was given clear instructions on what to watch out for as there were no red flags when DS was first seen and examined. It was perfectly reasonable to wait and see what happened. Time can be a useful diagnostic test. He developed further symptoms, was reviewed and then scanned as the overall picture had changed.

Vertigo across a population is often seasonal, with peaks in spring and autumn.

There are opportunity costs to scanning every person in A&E with eg vertigo or a headache without worrying features. It can mean that a scan is delayed in someone for whom a very prompt scan can be life saving.

If he's had an MRI it's obviously all been checked out. I'm speaking as someone who works in healthcare and has seen children present with those symptoms and good and bad outcomes. Better to worry and get checked and it be nothing than give false reassurance and miss a window to help a sick child

A child walking with an unusual gait out of the blue does warrant proper investigation

It was the gait that had changed from our first to second visit. As soon as they saw his gait they said ‘we need to do some imaging’ and the only question was how urgently - whether the added radiation from CT was warranted to get it done that day. We’re very lucky that a gap in the MRI diary was there within an hour, so that choice didn’t need making.

DD has also had this at age 29. It lasted months on and off. It’s not common in children though.

Ugh - my DS was complete well, did football games yesterday, etc. Went to football practice tonight and just like last week came down dizzy just at the end. It’s still the rocking vertigo not the spinning kind. Much less worried given the clear MRI but still worried this can strike again without warning.

For those who have had this, is it common to come and go so rapidly? Any tips for how to deal with this in a 9 year old’s life? Like I don’t think he should be doing swimming lessons if he can lose vestibular system function at the drop of a hat. Can I get him into school like this?

Gah. I feel I’ve jinxed it as was telling everyone about his miraculous recovery….

Interested you’ve said the peaks are seasonal. Is there an allergy component to it? Occurs to me he was back at the same big grassy field surrounded by woods as last week. But then he played his games there yesterday as well, so …

Could it be FND? My friend’s sister was diagnosed recently, blood tests/scans all clear but it started with a twitch and then difficulties walking/balancing/jerky movements

I get this, it comes on fairly randomly but usually linked to rapidly moving my head. I know what triggered mine initially which helped the doctors, and apparently it’s to do with little bones in my ear and/or fluid in inner ear. Bottom line is that it goes away fairly quickly and I’ve never had it come on whilst sat down

This has occurred to me. His older brother and I have both had functional symptoms in the past. It was sudden onset vertigo before any gait differences, though, and it seems consistently related to head going up and down making the rocking side-to-side sensation worse. Why it hits him just after football practice stops, though, I don’t know.

I had this once. GP said it was inner ear and gave me a nasal spray. It was scary.

I had that once, woke up feeling on a rocking boat and when tried standing up it got pretty scary. The doctor suggested a virus which I must say, I am not buying. But...it didn't get worse and gradually improved.
I'd be back at A&E if I were in your shoes.

As someone with chronic inner ear dizziness, I'd say don't panic. You're within the week timescale that you were given for it to clear up and he has been improving. It might just be that he overdid it slightly tonight or football training really challenged him (eg running, turning sharply, turning his head, looking down, focusing on the ball etc). Improvement can be a bit up and down, a bit like when you do too much when you start to feel better after a cold and then feel a bit worse again. See how he is tomorrow, keep letting him do whatever he feels like doing (it's important he keeps moving around and doesn't become scared of it) and if he gets worse or doesn't improve or has any new symptoms then get medical advice. Loosing your ability to balance is really scary, it's something everyone takes for granted until it goes wrong. But inner ear related dizziness is common and most people recover and carry on with their lives with no long-term effects.

Happened to me, it was labyrinthitis. Was horrible and scary. But it did resolve itself.

@VivaForever81@ThisCanFuckOffToo
I had the exact same about 3 months ago. Woke up from a nap on the sofa to an intense dizziness like my head was in an underwater vacuum and my body wouldn’t move. I tried to drag myself,
to the loo but ended up lying on the floor being sick. Think it’s lasted about an hour. Hospital did scans for a TIA but decided it was a severe vertigo possibly due to ear crystals.

I get severe attacks - as in I have to lie on the ground when it happens and then I vomit for three or four hours . Then it stops and I am shaky but ok .

Please don't worry too much, OP . Vertigo is almost always caused by the ears as opposed to neurological reasons . It just looks so alarming as we lose our sense of balance .

While you son's vertigo is different to mine you can be HUGELY reassured by the clear test results . Just have him rest for the next week or two .

No sports or anything too active. I may have missed if you were given meds but you can get Serc from a GP and also Stemetil if he is feeling nauseous .

I think mine is related to my hayfever as my attacks are always late summer/ early autumn .

Yes it is terrifying but almost always benign . And it will pass !!

Yes I was going to also say labyrinthitis OP — that can be prompted by a viral infection.

I suspect the recurrence with football is because the vertigo hadn’t properly gone. It’s only a few days since his MRI when he was more unwell.

He probably needs to stay off the football for a couple of weeks, as hard as that may be. He might even need to only do half a practice when he goes back. He will be moving his head around a lot in a short space of time during practice, unlike the rest of the time. He will get there but you need to be patient.

My husband developed severe vertigo during a Body Combat class, on a very hot August day. It was very scary.

I’m surprised he’s been able to go back to football this quickly. I’d definitely give it a bit longer.

I remember the first time I got Virtigo. I was driving and almost passes out. Luckily I was on a quiet road with no one around. Over the course of the next few days I couldn't see, my head was constantly spinning. I had to crawl to the bathroom. I was throwing up and found it hard to sleep. At one point I was really scared but turns out it was an inner ear infection. Antibiotics eventually cleared it up. Luckily I've only had it twice since then which was about 15 years ago.

If hes fit and healthy I would believe its his inner ear but I don't doubt how scary it is the first time it happens.

Also, he needs proper rest. If he doesn't it will keep reoccurring. Keep him off the football until it's completely gone as football won't help even if he feels ok I'd be waiting a week or preferably 2

@SillySeal My GP didn’t even look at me when I had it first and said it’s a virus. I’ve had ear infections but antibiotics don’t touch vertigo so I’ve never been given any. I definitely didn’t have an ear infection, I believe, on any occasion. My DD gets vertigo and she’s never had an ear infection either. We just wake up with it. Hers recurred over months. My last attack lasted 3 hours. No infection. It’s so hard to predict what is going to happen!

This chimed with me. My DS lost the ability to walk when he was about 9, tests were done and nothing concluded (vertigo was never mentioned). We were referred to CAMHS on the basis that it was stress related, happening soon after breaking up with his dad and the start of COVID.

There are often eye signs (nystagmus, where the eye rapidly flicks from side to side) if someone has vertigo.

I had vertigo, one minute was sitting on the sofa chatting and the next minute lying on the floor holding my head. At first, I could only lie on my back with my eyes shut. The room spun and I was sick every time I opened my eyes. When I did try to get up, I staggered from one side of the room to the other like I was on a tipping boat. I found it got gradually better, but the day was split into 2 definite halves where it would be better for a bit and then would hit again and I’d need to go back to lying down. Gradually the time where it was better increased until it eventually went altogether. It did take a couple of weeks though.