Immediate stroke first aid, this is the way!

Strokes can strike suddenly and occur quickly. In an instant, a stroke can kill brain cells so that they no longer function. Stroke first aid is needed to minimize brain damage and complications, even if the symptoms of stroke have subsided. Hastening for emergency treatment can also increase the chances of survival for stroke sufferers. Check out the steps you must take in performing the following stroke first aid.

Stroke first aid steps

Stroke can occur at any time, both in children and adults and the elderly. This disease occurs due to reduced blood supply flowing to the brain.

People who have had a stroke will usually find it difficult to find help. Therefore, it is important for families and those closest to them to be more sensitive, alert, and act quickly in carrying out stroke first aid.

The reason is, the sooner the patient gets first aid, the sooner the patient will get the right and effective stroke treatment. The first aid steps that must be taken are:

1. Pay attention to the patient's condition

A stroke can cause a person to lose balance or consciousness and fall. Emergency treatment for people who have lost consciousness is of course different. Therefore, in stroke first aid, make sure beforehand whether the patient is in a conscious state or not.

In people who are unconscious, you need to check their heart rate and breathing. If there is no breath sound and you don't feel a heartbeat, you need to give CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and immediately call the emergency help number on 112 or an ambulance from the Emergency Unit at the nearest hospital. Make sure you do it in a calm state.

2. Ensure a stroke with FAST

When the sufferer is still conscious, how do you know someone has had a stroke? It can be difficult to detect a stroke when symptoms don't seem very specific, such as confusion, disorientation, or headaches.

Many of the signs of a stroke are similar to signs of other neurological emergencies. Some conditions that are often misinterpreted as strokes include seizures, brain tumors, drug use, drug side effects, heart attacks, irregular heartbeats, and very low blood pressure (hypotension).

However, this medical condition that can be mistaken for a stroke also requires emergency care. It is of no use for you to try to identify whether it is a stroke or other health emergency before you call medical personnel.

Therefore, it is important to immediately get first aid so that a doctor or medical professional can immediately diagnose a stroke and confirm the condition that is being experienced by the patient.

To determine whether someone has actually had a stroke or not, you must be able to perform four steps to detect a stroke using the F.A.S.T. method, which stands for:

• Face: Check if the face can move normally, experience a feeling of numbness, or if one side of the face is drooping.
• Arms: Try asking the person to raise both hands. Check if one hand is raised lower than the other.
• Speech: Get the person to communicate, ask questions and watch how they talk and how they react. People who have had a stroke have difficulty pronouncing words clearly and have difficulty understanding what other people are talking about.
• Time: When each step of the examination shows signs of a stroke, immediately seek emergency medical help.

2. Recognizing the symptoms of a stroke

However, stroke first aid cannot be done without first recognizing what the symptoms of a stroke are. Symptoms of a stroke, especially those that occur temporarily, such as a minor stroke, often go unnoticed by those around you.

Often people who experience dizziness, numbness, tingling, weakness, or changes in vision try to ignore or postpone it because they don't feel pain, even though pain is not the main characteristic of a stroke.

Symptoms of a stroke can include one or a combination of weakened movement of one side of the body, blurred vision, or difficulty speaking clearly. Some of the symptoms commonly experienced by stroke sufferers include:

• Loss of balance and coordination of limbs.
• One side of the body is weakened or paralyzed.
• Numbness on the face, hands, and feet is also a symptom of a stroke.
• Difficulty moving the face, hands and feet.
• Difficulty speaking so that speech becomes unclear.
• Excessive headaches.
• Confusion or difficulty understanding what others say.
• Vision problems such as nearsightedness, double vision, or blindness in one or both eyes.
• Difficulty swallowing food.

4. Call the emergency or ambulance number

When you have successfully identified a stroke that has occurred to yourself or someone else, you should immediately seek medical help by calling the emergency services number (112).

Bringing stroke patients directly to the hospital is highly recommended in stroke first aid. However, if done independently without the help of medical personnel, you can actually endanger the health of stroke patients.

The reason is, bringing stroke patients directly to the hospital without the help of medical personnel can increase the risk of disability and death in patients. The most appropriate stroke handling is precisely by calling an ambulance as soon as possible.

Ambulances certainly provide more complete facilities as first aid for stroke patients. As a first step, the ambulance team will monitor the patient's stroke symptoms while on the trip.

Furthermore, the team will monitor the patient's heart rate and blood pressure and ensure it remains normal. Together with stroke specialists, the ambulance team can even perform blood tests and CTscan in the patient in the ambulance (in some ambulances).

No less important, the ambulance team will continue to communicate with the hospital so that the medical team knows that stroke patients will arrive in the near future. This makes it easier for the hospital to prepare all the equipment and medicines needed by the patient.

5. Obtain care and medication

Generally, vital signs such as pulse and breath will be checked as soon as medical assistance arrives.

Many stroke patients cannot describe their symptoms. Therefore, someone who is aware of the change in symptoms can explain this information to medical personnel. Any medical information or reports regarding medical conditions and medications will also be of great help.

In addition, this information will be very useful for doctors in determining the stroke treatment when the patient arrives at the hospital. Damage to brain cells can occur quickly.

According to the American Heart Association, treatment in stroke first aid needs to be given in less than 4.5 hours after the stroke takes place. If the patient's condition is very severe, the doctor's actions may include surgical removal of the blood clot which is performed within 24 hours of the stroke symptoms.

First aid for stroke patients applies to all types of stroke, both ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and mild stroke.