CEBU, Philippines - Are you dizzy most of the time? Are your frequent dizzy spells affecting your daily activities? It’s time to find out what is causing all this dizziness! The Balance, Equilibrium & Dizziness Center, Inc., located at Room 201, Cebu Long Se Temple may be able to help get to the bottom of your balance problems
The B.E.D Center is a collaboration of a group of Cebu-based doctors, who are mostly otolaryngologists, or those who deal regularly with patients suffering from vertigo and dizziness. The group, headed by its president, Dr. Arthur Dy, wanted to help patients understand the source of their dizziness.
Dr. Gina M. Seredrica, one of the partners, said that there are many things that cause dizziness. “In fact, with all the possible causes, the doctor will also become dizzy,” she said.
After numerous brainstorming sessions and after pooling their resources, the group of doctors opened the B.E.D Center last May, the first and only diagnostic center outside of Manila for balance problems. The center offers a state-of-the-art test called videonystagmography or VNG, a test used to evaluate patients who experience vertigo or dizziness. The test uses video goggles with infrared cameras for video-image processing of involuntary rapid eye movements called nystagmus. Involuntary rapid eye movement is elicited or induced to determine the source of dizziness. The VNG is used to detect disorders of the peripheral vestibular system - the parts of the inner ear that interpret balance and spatial orientation – or the nerves that connect the vestibular system to the brain and the muscles of the eye.
Dr. Camille S. A. Espina, a partner, said that although the VNG is not the answer to all the patient’s problems and that the patient will still have to undergo a battery of other tests, the video component of the VNG is an advantage to get better results and to narrow down the possible causes of a patient’s dizziness.
Dr. Espina and Dr. Seredrica said that the center is a big help for people who experience dizziness from the Visayas and Mindanao because this time, they no longer need to go to Manila for a diagnostic test. They said that patients before had to travel all the way to Manila despite their condition and stay there for at least a week to wait for the results.
After five months of operation, the center is slowly getting more and more patients and the doctors hope to get more referrals after the center’s grand opening yesterday.
“We have had 91 patients since we opened. While most of our patients are in the old age group, we now have an increasing number of patients who are younger who complain that dizziness has affected their work and that they find it hard to concentrate,” said Dr. Espina, who added that the center’s youngest patient is a 10 year old.
While the center would like to help as many patients as possible, the doctors said that they do not entertain walk-ins and those who want to be tested have to schedule an appointment.
“The test takes about 2 hours so we cannot just accept walk-in patients and besides there are also physical limitations that have to be considered for those who will undergo the test,” said Dr. Seredrica. She added that patients who have cataracts, ear drum perforations, ear infections and cervical spine problems cannot take the VNG. Patients should also not take tranquilizers, sedatives or vestibular suppressants for at least 48 hours before the test since these medications suppress the vestibular nystagmus and other eye movement abnormalities. Sodas and beverages that contain caffeine should also be avoided the night prior to the procedure. Alcohol is also prohibited two days before the test.
While the center’s services are purely diagnostic at present, the doctors said that the group has plans to go into vestibular rehabilitation in the future so that the center can also provide treatment.
“We are starting slow because we are still learning the business of operating the center. We are doctors and we do not really know the ins and outs of running a center,” Dr. Seredrica said.
The doctors behind the B.E.D Center are Arthur Dy, Marlon Oclarence, Gina Seredrica, James Ferraren, Camille Espina, Peter Paul Segura, Dennis Amparado, Ulysses Sarmiento, Dennis Villamor, Gary Rivera, Josephine Cubillan and Roberto Pangan.
For more information about the Balance, Equilibrium & Dizziness Center, Inc., please call 5130492.