“With vertigo, your body stops but your head continues to spin, making you feel dizzy and off-balance,” says Harris H. McIlwain, MD, a rheumatologist in Tampa, Florida, and the author of 15 books on arthritis, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain. (Note: The author of this article has coauthored books with Dr. McIlwain.) Dizziness is one of the most common reasons adults visit their doctors, according to the Mayo Clinic. “And half of all people who have dizziness have vertigo,” says McIlwain. “It’s a very common diagnosis. Most of the time we don’t know much more about it, and it usually goes away without treatment.” He adds, “But if you have vertigo with psoriatic arthritis, it’s a big deal.” Doctors commonly prescribe Antivert (meclizine). “It’s very well tolerated,” says McIlwain. Over-the-counter forms of meclizine include Dramamine (dimenhydrinate) and Bonine. RELATED: Expert Tips on Diagnosing and Treating Psoriatic Arthritis The study authors say that psoriatic arthritis causes inner-ear damage that may affect hearing and balance. These findings support those in a study published in the same journal in 2014, which found that 60 percent of subjects with psoriatic arthritis had balance issues caused by inner-ear damage, compared with only 5 percent of subjects in the control group. Researchers continue to investigate vertigo and psoriatic arthritis in order to better understand links between the two conditions. “While psoriatic arthritis is often difficult to differentiate from rheumatoid arthritis,” says McIlwain, “symptoms such as loss of hearing loss and dizziness may help distinguish the two.” RELATED: 5 Things Your Doctor May Not Be Telling You About Your Psoriasis
Understanding the Autoimmune Response
McIlwain points out that in autoimmune diseases like psoriatic arthritis, the body makes antibodies that attack its own tissues. When those antibodies affect the middle and inner ear, the result can be hearing loss and balance issues. Researchers are just beginning to investigate how to thwart this autoimmune response. “Assuming that the dizziness and hearing loss is part of the autoimmune problem, controlling the autoimmune process in psoriatic arthritis may help alleviate the problem,” says McIlwain. RELATED: 4 Ways to Manage Stress With Psoriatic Arthritis
