Why Nostr? What is Njump?
2024-01-27 10:05:44

Mikka on Nostr: Because the "story" is making the rounds again! "I smell burned toast" is NOT a sign ...

Because the "story" is making the rounds again! "I smell burned toast" is NOT a sign of stroke. Neither does smelling toast diagnose one, nor does not smelling one absolve you from one.

There are three things (and one important facet) in stroke: FAST!

F: Face - is one eye drooping, is the mouth drooping, is the face asymmetrical? In short: does it not look like it looked a bit ago. It would make sense to ask the person if they'd been to the dentist today, other than that, it's a good reason to call an ambulance.

A: Arms - have the person close their eyes and lift both of their arms at a 90° angle in front of their chest. Are they (at least mostly) evenly up? Have them queeze your hands, is one side squeezing less than the other? If so, call an ambulance.

S: Speech - is the speech slurred? Does it take longer for them to answer? Do they seem "drunk" to you? Do the answers not always make sense?

and, finally:

T: Time - you have minutes to get them to a hospital. Don't drive them yourself, call an ambulance. There's a mythical "golden hour" window, during which reversion is rumored to be possible, but that's bullshit. Do it as fast as you can, time is brain, every second matters.

None(!) of those purported "home remedies" work. Don't cool their neck, don't make them sing "Happy Birthday", don't make them recite old poems. Just be with them, document when you first noticed something, let the paramedics know.

Strokes are insidious in that the person affected by one often does not realize they do. To them, all is well, they answer quickly and coherently, they squeeze evenly. They might be or get agitated with you. Stay calm, stay helpful, and most importantly: stay human. Call your local responders and just "be there" for the person. There's little to nothing you, or the paramedics for that matter, can do. That's the job of a hospital team. Get them there as quick as you can, and you'll always have a fighting change.
Author Public Key
npub1m4qu2u4yxzzrhsph79tl39rz6kwzx59099awszj4v8t02ttsyjpqdv7fvc