The First Symptoms Of A Stroke And 7 Emergency First Aid Measures

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

The first symptoms of a stroke and 7 emergency first aid measures

Often times, healthcare professionals are in the wrong place at the wrong time. And when they appear, they begin to notice how many people have smoked cigarettes or how many of them are in the ashtray, as well as the amount of alcohol drunk or randomly taken or scattered medicines. After such checks, as usual, morals or all kinds of advice are read. And we behave as usual in such situations. We nod our heads, agreeing with the doctors, but we do not give due attention to what has been said. And by the way, we are doing absolutely wrong.

And now in more detail. The most important and difficult problem occurs precisely in the absence of medical workers. And at this moment, at the moment of the onset of trouble, when the life of a person close to us or a relative is under threat, our knowledge and skills acquire simply invaluable value.

This article is relatively small and does not take much time to read, approximately 7 minutes. But these 7 minutes will make a huge contribution to your knowledge of emergency assistance. It will help you arm yourself with very affordable and effective means that will not let you get confused and will help you resist even such a vicious enemy as a stroke.

What is a so-called brainstroke or stroke?

A stroke (brain stroke) is an acute circulatory disorder that develops in the vessels of the brain. A stroke can occur under various circumstances, for example, with hemorrhage, thrombosis, spasm, and so on. The result of this is that some part of the brain remains without nutrition and can maintain its vitality for a fairly short amount of time. From this it is worth concluding that the pre-stroke state and the stroke itself require urgent and urgent care.

At such important moments, you simply have no right to be confused or afraid. You must be confident in your actions. They should be clear and well-coordinated. If you have competent and modern care skills, then the patient will have a better chance of life, and that after a stroke he will be able to rehabilitate and return to a normal full life.

Now about the first symptoms of a stroke

A very effective and easy test is available that allows you to quickly recognize the first symptoms of a stroke. As already mentioned about the simplicity of the test, it will be so easy to remember it. Each letter will tell you what to do.

SPD test to identify the first symptoms in stroke:

U - Ask the patient to smile. At the initial stage of a stroke, the patient's smile will be crooked or skewed. This is due to the fact that half of the face ceases to obey the patient, as a consequence of this, one of the corners of the mouth will be lowered down. As for the language, it will be located asymmetrically. It will fall on one of the sides and begin to acquire an irregular shape.

H - Ask the patient to speak to you. In a pre-stroke state, the patient's speech becomes slurred. It can be compared to the speech of a very drunk person.

P - Ask the patient to simultaneously raise both hands up. Of course, if the patient is able to do so. The result will be obvious. The arm on the affected side of the body will be raised significantly lower than the other. In any case, the level of location will not be the same.

The following manifestations can also be symptoms of a stroke:

- a sharp and severe headache after any activity or for no apparent reason at all;

- partial clouding or complete loss of consciousness in the patient;

- loss of the ability to speak, as well as loss of the ability to understand the meaning of someone else's speech;

- severe dizziness, acute disorder of coordination and a sense of balance;

If the patient shows any of these symptoms, call an ambulance immediately.

Read more: Complete list of stroke symptoms, consequences and best treatments

7 measures of emergency first aid

And now about what help you can provide to the patient before the ambulance arrives.

1. Call an ambulance immediately; when calling, try to describe what is happening as accurately as possible. A person who has suffered from a stroke needs the help of neurologists. Therefore, from your story, the dispatcher should understand you correctly and send you the team that will really help.
2. The patient must be placed so that his head is about 30 ° above the level of the surface on which he lies. For this, you can use a blanket, pillows, clothes.
3. Provide the patient with freedom of breathing, that is, remove from him, if any, a tight belt, narrow clothes, also provide an influx of fresh air into the room where the patient is located.
4. If the patient has nausea or vomiting, his head must be carefully turned to one side, this will protect the respiratory tract from vomit. You also need to carefully place a plastic bag or bowl near the patient. After the vomiting attack has stopped, you need to clean the patient's mouth as best as possible.
5. It is necessary to measure the patient's blood pressure and record the readings in order to inform the doctor. If the pressure is high, then you need to help the patient with appropriate medications. If they are absent, then you need to put a heating pad or a bottle of hot water on the patient's feet. To avoid burns, you need to control the temperature of the water.

6. In such a situation, you cannot fuss and show the patient your anxiety, we are not talking about showing the patient your fear. It is necessary to speak calmly and provide moral support to the patient in all possible ways.
7. Upon the arrival of an ambulance, you must give the doctors a complete picture of the event. Your speech should be quick but clear. The words should be short, but as informative as possible.

And now we need to summarize what has been said.

The first minutes of the pre-stroke state determine the further course of the disease. Therefore, your help plays a huge role for the patient. Rapid and timely recognition of stroke symptoms in alliance with high-quality first aid help will help save the patient's life and provide him with full further rehabilitation.

Author of the article: Sokov Andrey Vladimirovich | Neurologist

Education: In 2005 completed an internship at the IM Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and received a diploma in Neurology. In 2009, completed postgraduate studies in the specialty "Nervous diseases".