Thursday, March 28, 2024

Stroke treatable, if patients get help early – Physiotherapist

Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark the World Stroke Day on October 29, amid reports that the condition was now on the increase in the country.

It is estimated that more than one-fifth of all strokes occur in developing countries. Those who suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and hypertension are more likely to suffer from a stroke attack.

Some of the symptoms commonly associated with stroke include shortness of breath, sudden nausea, pain in chest, palpitations, severe headache, dizziness, numbness in face or limbs, among others.

According to the World Stroke Organisation, Stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off.

“Without blood, brain cells can be damaged or die. Depending on which part of the brain is affected and how quickly the person is treated, the effects of stroke on survivors can be devastating to a person’s body, mobility and speech, as well as how they think and feel,” the organisation said.

The theme and objective of the World Stroke Day was to create awareness that stroke is preventable and treatable.

Speaking to our correspondent, a physiotherapist, Mr. Olusesan Awe, said the number of people with the trauma had become alarming, adding that that was why in the past three years, the theme for the day had been on awareness.

He disclosed that some people still believed that stroke was the handiwork of some evil doers, “because they will say when they woke up in the morning, some breeze just hit them and they fell down and were no longer able to make functional use of their right hands or legs and, sometimes, the left side of the body.”

Awe, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Physiosit Hospital, Lagos, noted that rather than the individual with the condition seeing stroke as an attack from someone else, he or she should seek access to best treatment.

He explained that stroke was a condition that involved team work, saying, “That is why I said if an individual with the trauma could have access to best practice, he or she will be treated because the treatment involves nurses, cardiologists, neurologists, psychologists, physiotherapists, and relatives of the person, among others.”

He, however, said treatment depended on the degree of the damage and how fast the person was able to get medical intervention within the shortest possible time.

He further explained that a person with Ischemic stroke could be treated within three and half to four hours, especially when the person got help on time.

“It is just for the doctor to give drugs that will dissolve the blockage so that there will be free flow of blood in the arteries,” he said.

On whether one side is more pronounced than the other during the trauma, the expert said, “The truth of the matter is that if the trauma or accident affects the left side of the brain, the clinical manifestation is going to be on the right, while if it is the right side of the brain, the manifestation will be on the left.

“Though there are different organs on each side. For example, if the trauma affects the speech centre, which is on the left side, the person may not be able to talk very well or may not be able to talk again.”

While urging everyone to take action and participate effectively in creating the awareness about stroke, Awe said its effect could be reduced through good life style and good diets.

He also urged the tiers of government to help in the awareness that the right care could make a difference because, “this is the only way people will desist from going to traditional doctors for cure.”

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