A study of vertigo and dizziness in the premenstrual period

Twenty-five patients with nausea, vomiting and vertigo or dizziness in the premenstrual period were examined. In the week before menstruation, four of them had spontaneous nystagmus, six had positional nystagmus, and nine of them showed abnormal caloric responses. Most of them showed no abnormality during the week of menstruation. The caloric-induced responses were 'labyrinthine' in type in seven cases, and 'central' in type in two cases, thus denoting that cerebral oedema is not the only factor which may produce vertigo in the premenstrual period; as suggested by the present study, labyrinthine oedema may also play a considerable role in causing such troubles.