Is it possible to get a stroke during a hair wash at a parlour? Well, yes that can happen. A woman in Hyderabad reportedly died of a stroke during hair wash session at a salon. Doctors refer to such conditions as ‘beauty parlour stroke syndrome’ or vertebrobasilar insufficiency. It happens while bending the neck over a hard sink and causing the tearing of arteries, or the formation of blood clots which result in a stroke.
The woman, 50, from Hyderabad went for a hair wash but suddenly started feeling dizzy, and nauseous, which was later diagnosed as a stroke by doctors. Senior Consultant Neurologist, Apollo Hospital, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, Dr Sudhir Kumar, reported the incident on his Twitter account and raised awareness about this rare condition.
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Doctors who treated her explained that the woman bent her neck to get her hair washed, but unfortunately, her vital blood vessel that was supplying the blood to the brain was compressed, which caused a stroke.
Dr Kumar, in his tweet, mentioned that she was first taken to a gastroenterologist who treated her symptoms. The expert elaborated that as the symptoms did not improve, “the next day she developed mild imbalance while walking.”
“She was then referred for my opinion. She had mild right cerebellar signs. MRI brain revealed an infarct in the right posterior inferior cerebellar territory, MR angiogram showed left vertebral hypoplasia. A diagnosis of beauty parlour stroke syndrome involving right PICA (Posterior inferior cerebellar artery) infarct territory was made. A possible mechanism is kinking of the vertebral artery during hyperextension and turning of the neck towards wash basin while washing hair with shampoo. She had well-controlled hypertension too,” the doctor added.
Beauty parlour stroke syndrome: What happened to the woman?
The woman had clots in the right cerebellum and in the key artery in the back of the neck, called PICA. The reason behind the stroke was hyperextension of the neck towards the complex basin during hair wash.
According to specialists, the vertebral artery of the woman was thinner than usual, which caused a slow supply of blood to the brain.
How to treat and prevent beauty parlour stroke syndrome?
In an interview with India Today, Dr Jyoti Bala Sharma, director of neurology at Fortis Hospital, Noida, shared that this type of stroke happens only when there is a pre-existing symptom.
She further explained, “Such stroke happens when there is a pre-existing disease in the artery, called atherosclerosis. It is caused by the deposit in artery walls when they are weak. In fact, normal arteries can also get injured if pressed hard.”
For treatment, she added that some people recover after experiencing a stroke, but others affected by comorbidities and age stay on medication for their whole life.
For prevention, you must ensure the neck does not twist hard or hyperextended during hair wash. And if a person experiences dizziness during a hair wash at a parlour, they must be taken to the hospital or consult a doctor immediately.
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