What Is Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome? Hyderabad-Based Doctor Explains On Twitter

A doctor from Hyderabad shared his experience of treating a 50-year-old woman for something called 'beauty parlour stroke syndrome'. The doctor explained that this occurrence is quite common among people visiting salons and trying out massages and hair washing. The stroke can even put the person's life at risk if not treated properly.

Going to the parlour for self-care can turn into a nightmare as explained by Hyderabad-based doctor Sudhir Kumar. Many people go to salons and parlours to get the service of hair wash to feel relaxed and ease out. And being unaware of such a health risk puts many people in a blind spot while dealing with it. It is important that everyone knows about the symptoms of such happening and how to treat it by professionals.

What Is Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome?

Dr Sudhir Kumar explains that when a person goes through a procedure of hair wash or in cases of massages where they have to bend their neck while the person providing the service presses their head in various ways, it is possible to accidentally create pressure on the sensitive areas of the neck and blocking an artery. In this particular case, as Kumar explained, "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".

Kumar further spoke about the symptoms his patient was showing, "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." He added the diagnosis of the condition as, "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."

Finally, the doctor wrote a piece of advice for the people reading his tweets and making them aware of such occurrences, he said, "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".

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The regular visitors of beauty parlours should be aware and take precautions while the service providers should also be trained properly to avoid such circumstances.