Over the years I have authored several articles on vertigo, dizziness and imbalance, mostly pertaining to treatment, as treating these disorders is my specialty.  So how do you avoid getting them in the first place? Well, not so easily for some, quite easily for others.  Lets first talk about vertigo.  The most common causes of vertigo simply cannot be volitionally avoided outside of recommending that you do not bang your head.  Vertigo seems to attack everyone at some point or another, some being more predisposed to having repeat attacks.  The good news however is that the disorder is quickly remedied, at least in my office.  If you do get vertigo you do want to come in and get it treated quickly as it typically only gets worse, and more importantly it invariably leads to imbalance, which causes falls, which are much more difficult to recover from and often times you do not.  So the longer you wait to get vertigo treated the more a fall becomes imminent.  As some types of vertigo can be caused by swimming, particularly in lakes, cautions should be taken to avoid getting water in the ear canals. Dizziness, is actually different than vertigo, the latter having a rotary type feeling.  Causes of dizziness are vast.  It is the main side affect from any drug.  High or low blood pressure can cause dizziness as can variations high or low in blood sugar.  If you are taking drugs for high blood pressure, it is always a good idea to have a home unit so that you can monitor your pressure and maintain a log, which you can share with your doctor.  If you gain or lose weight and your daily recordings start to change, you need to inform your prescribing doctor immediately as the drug dosages may require titrating upward or downwards. Similarly, changes in blood sugar are associated with diabetes, which if not kept in check will cause dizziness. Alternatively, a pre-diabetic state where there is simply too much sugar in the diet, hypoglycemia, (low blood sugar), which many people are susceptible to from skipping meals too long or eating poor quality, (low nutritional value), foods can also cause dizziness.  If you do not have any of these conditions, it is a good idea to continue to do things in your best interest to keep it that way.  Eat healthy and exercise regularly.  See a doctor regularly to have your blood pressure checked and have blood work done annually.  It would be appropriate to mention eye exams as well as changes in vision as well as ocular diseases are a cause of dizziness. Imbalance, is usually a side effect of vertigo or dizziness.  However, it can occur without and typically does as we age although this needn’t be the case.  Imbalance is typically associated with aging primarily because the eyes and spine work differently together as the spine becomes arthritic, which is inevitable as we age.  If this is not corrected imbalance is the result.  My office offers free screening exams for imbalance and the test only takes twenty seconds, and it is the standard in the industry for fall risk analysis currently.  As with blood pressure and blood tests, fall risk analysis should be performed routinely every few months.  There is no downside as there is no prep required for the test and results are immediately available.  And if it means averting a fall the service is invaluable.