Stroke
<i>Remember the first three letters — S T R</i>
During a weekend afternoon gathering, Mr Jalil (not a real name) stumbled and took a little fall. After a while, he assured everyone that he was ok. The host offered calling an ambulance or a doctor. But he denied saying that it was of no need. They got him cleaned up and got him a new plate of food. While he appeared a bit shaken up, he went about enjoying himself the rest of the afternoon. Eventually he had been taken to the hospital and passed away that evening. He suffered from a stroke at the party. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps he would be managed properly. They end up in a vulnerable and discouraging condition instead. While saying about stroke identification, Prof Dr Md Abdul Hayee, a renowned Neurologist says that if he can get on to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can reverse the effects of a stroke. He also said that the trick was getting a stroke recognised, diagnosed and then managing the patient medically within 3 hours. Recognising a stroke Remember the "three" steps — STR. Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognise the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognise a stroke by asking three simple questions: S — Ask the individual to SMILE T — TALK. Ask the person to speak a simple meaningful sentence e.g. What about the traffic or weather jam today? R — Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call the ambulance and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. Well, another 'sign' of a stroke is, ask the person to 'stick out' his/her tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.
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