We love going to spas to relax, don’t we? A nice head and neck massage are all we need to destress sometimes! But imagine going to the spa to relax and coming out on a stretcher with a stroke! Yes, this horrible thing was experienced by a woman in Hyderabad. She had gone to get her hair cut but before it, the hairdresser took her for a hair wash. She experienced a stroke when the woman bent her neck back on the hair to wash her hair. This condition is called the beauty parlour stroke. The neurologist treating her brought her condition to light on Twitter.
The Hyderabad-based Neurologist D Sudhir Kumar took to the micro-blogging site to inform people about this case. He wrote that he recently had a 50-year-old woman referred to him who was showing symptoms of dizziness, nausea and vomiting. The symptoms showed up post her spa appointment where she had gone for the haircut. A gastroenterologist began the first line of treatment on her.
Beauty Parlor #Stroke Syndrome
1. I recently saw a 50-year old woman with symptoms of dizziness, nausea & vomiting, which started during her hair wash with shampoo in a beauty parlor. Initially, she was taken to a gastroenterologist, who treated her symptomatically.#Medtwitter
— Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) October 30, 2022
The doctor further informed that symptoms did not improve and she had developed a ‘mild imbalance’ while walking. An MRI was done and it revealed ‘infarct in right posterior inferior cerebellar territory’ and an ‘MR angiogram showed left vertebral hypoplasia’.
2. Symptoms did not improve, the next day she developed mild imbalance while walking. She was referred for my opinion. She had mild right cerebellar signs. MRI brain revealed infarct in right posterior inferior cerebellar territory, MR angiogram showed left vertebral hypoplasia
— Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) October 30, 2022
What is a beauty parlour stroke?
He also explained the possible cause of this could be the ‘kinking of the vertebral artery during hyperextension and the turning of the neck towards wash basin while washing hair with shampoo’. He labelled this term as ‘beauty parlour stroke’.
3. A diagnosis of #beauty #parlor stroke syndrome involving right PICA territory was made. Possible mechanism is kinking of vertebral artery during hyperextension & turning of neck towards wash-basin while washing hair with shampoo. She had well controlled #Hypertension too.
— Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) October 30, 2022
As a concluding note, the doctor spread awareness that stroke can affect the vertebrobasilar artery territory before washing hair in the parlour. He also informed that prompt recognition and treatment can prevent disability.
4. Take home message: Stroke affecting vertebro-basilar artery territory can occur during shampoo hair-wash in a beauty parlor, especially in women with other atherosclerotic risk factors and undetected vertebral hypoplasia. Prompt recognition and treatment can prevent disability
— Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) October 30, 2022
Also read: Deepika Talks About Her Battle With Depression and The Importance Of Mental Health On Meghan Markle’s Podcast
This news has scared me so much that I think I will wash my hair at home and only then go for a haircut. Uff, who would have thought a realizing session could turn into a health hazard?
