With the recent spate of virus infections, a lot of people have suffered from dizziness and vertigo and often buzzing in the ears.

There are several causes of dizziness and vertigo. One of the common causes is infection of the inner ear by a virus called viral labyrinthitis.

Understanding the reason why you are feeling so dizzy reassures you. With colds and flus, comes the virus which affects the inner balance mechanism in the inner ear, known as the cochlea.

When infected with the virus, this apparatus gets inflamed and swollen. The nerves which sense our movement and take the messages to the brain sort of freeze so that when you move your head or body, the room around you seems to swim.

Mucus gets collected in the closed cavity in the middle ear and blocks the ears. The tube which usually drains mucus from the ear to the back of nose and throat gets blocked in colds and flus, giving you a feeling of blocked ears.

Syringing the ear in this situation does not help and can damage the ear drum. Antibiotics are not effective on virus infections, but are needed with septic infections.

In order to help this condition, a daily steam inhalation twice a day with eucalyptus, menthol or ginger is very useful as these are natural antiseptics and anti inflammatory. They also make you feel unblocked in the ears, refreshed and relieve any headaches.

Drinking hot drinks every two hours with lemon, honey and ginger or black pepper and a touch of salt is also a remedy for such dizziness.

Ayurvedic remedies include the powder called sitopaladi made from a mixture of bamboo mana (resin extracted from the nodes of mature bamboo stems), long pepper, ginger and cardamom taken with honey.

It is found to have natural anti inflammatory action.

Drinking soups to which herbs of ginger, black pepper, basil, caraway, sage and rosemary have been added helps to clear the upper channels.

Even a hot curry will relieve your blocked ears and dizziness as long as you are not feeling sick!

Avoid sudden movements of the head. Rub around the nose and behind the ears with eucalyptus oil and do a gentle head and neck massage. Use oils of ginger, rosemary, eucalyptus and pine.