You Never Know…: What To Do When Someone Has A Stroke

If someone around you has a brain injury, you need to be ready to act quickly and reduce the damage that the injury may cause. These are some tips for what to do when someone has a stroke so that you can be prepared if it happens.

What to do when someone has a stroke

Tips for what to do when someone has a stroke

-Learn what the effects are of a stroke: The most important thing to know about what to do when someone has a stroke is to know how to identify it. The effects of an attack come on quickly, and some symptoms are facial paralyzation, confusion, difficulties speaking, dizziness, vision problems, loss of use of extremities and painful headache. It is also possible that they fall unconscious.

-Test them: If you’re not sure if someone is suffering from a stroke or not, try to get them to talk or pick something up. You’ll be able to see if they are able to talk and move well. You can also ask them to smile to see if they have paralysis on one side of their face.

-Act quickly: If you are able to act quickly and get the person the help they need, they have a better chance of recovery with minimal long-term effects. If you’re not sure if it is a stroke or not, it’s better to act than to wait.

-Get medical help: The person will need to be hospitalized as quickly as possible. It is better to call an ambulance than to bring the victim to the hospital because it will likely take longer and the paramedics will be able to attend to the person as soon as they arrive.

-Keep track of how long the person has shown symptoms: Sharing this information with the doctor may be helpful.

-Learn the person’s medical information: If you know what medications they usually take, their blood type, allergies, health problems…. You may be able to help the doctors.

-Keep the patient calm: Don’t panic. Try to keep them calm until the ambulance arrives and they are at the hospital. Keep calm and do anything you can to make the patient comfortable.

If you can remember and follow these tips when you’re faced with someone having a stroke, you may be able to help the doctors and change the patient’s outcome. If you want to learn more about recovery after a stroke, take a look at this TED talk.