I know this is a little bit of a departure from writing blogs about consignment RVs and RV parts and accessories, but I received an email recently that got me thinking. Would I know the signs of a stroke if someone I was camping with was having one? I know what I’ve heard, but at that moment I realized that I didn’t know all of the signs.
The fact is that the symptoms of a stroke can be variable. Meaning, they aren’t universally the same in every instance. You may have a variety of symptoms, or you may only have one. The biggest thing to remember is that time is essential. Check out the video below for a few things to look for when it comes to recognizing symptoms of a stroke.
There are a number of different ways to identify when a person is having a stroke. It doesn’t have to be that they just have a headache, or that they lose coordination, it could be a number of things. Remember this acronym: S. T. R.
S: *Ask the individual to SMILE.
T: *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. Chicken Soup)R: *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
If he, or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
The one symptom that I just found out and didn’t really know about was the tongue test. Ask the person to ‘stick’ out his tongue. If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke. That was something that I wasn’t aware of.
So, as you are traveling from park to park this year, always be prepared to recognize and react when it comes to emergency care. Lot’s of times I don’t think we really think about our health while on vacation. You never can tell when something as serious a stroke may occur. It doesn’t matter if you are at home, work or out RVing, a mini, or major stroke can happen without much warning.
Just another friendly reminder and lesson from RV Nana and PPL Motorhomes.