Stroke's facial symptoms and what they look like
During a stroke, the face can droop on one or both sides. The eyelids and corners of the mouth may appear pulled down, and a person may be unable to smile or speak clearly.A stroke happens when there is a disruption in blood flow to a part of the brain — either due to a clot or bleeding in the brain. The lack of oxygen-rich blood in a part of the brain causes cells in these areas to die, leading to impaired communication between nerve cells.A stroke may cause facial drooping, paralysis, numbness, and vision difficulties. These symptoms can also affect other parts of the body, such as the arms or legs.How does a stroke affect the face?Stroke can cause facial drooping and muscle weakness that affects the eyes, lips, and mouth on one or both sides of the face.Typically, stroke affects the lower part of one side of the face and not the forehead. However, if the stroke is in the brainstem, it may affect the forehead.Stroke may cause:pulling down of the eyelids, cheeks, or corners of the mouthdifficulty smiling voluntarilyinvoluntary appearance of smilingdroolingslurred speechOther signs of strokeStroke can also cause other symptoms, such as:numbness or weakness on one side of the bodysudden confusion or difficulty understanding speechsudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyessudden difficulty walking or loss of balance and coordinationa sudden, severe headacheSome symptoms are more subtle. These include:confusion, disorientation, or memory problemsgeneral weaknessnausea or vomitingThe acronym F.A.S.T. is a helpful way to remember stroke symptoms:F = face droopingA = arm weaknessS = speech difficultyT = time to call 911What to doIf a person has sudden facial drooping or any other potential stroke symptoms, call 911 immediately.The sooner a person gets medical attention, the sooner treatment can begin. This may save a person's life and reduce the long-term impact of the stroke.While waiting for the emergency services to arrive, a person can administer first aid by:ensuring that the area around the person is safelooking at a clock to see when symptoms begantalking to them and asking them to squeeze a hand if they cannot respondloosening tight clothingkeeping them warm if they are coldmaking sure they do not eat or drink anythingIf the person is conscious, lay them on their side with their head on a pillow. If they are unconscious, place them in the recovery position.It is important to monitor their breathing. A person can do this by listening to their breath, observing the rise and fall of the chest, or placing the back of a hand close to their mouth to try to feel their breath.If the person is unconscious and not breathing, administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). A 911 emergency responder can instruct someone with no CPR training on how to do this over the phone.For people without training in CPR, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends hands-only CPR, which involves pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest and avoiding mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.Will the facial symptoms get better?The facial symptoms of stroke often improve over time, although the recovery process may take months or even years. Physical therapy and rehabilitation programs can help people regain strength in the affected muscles and relearn movement patterns.Does facial drooping always happen with a stroke?Facial drooping and paralysis do not always happen during a stroke. So, their absence does not mean a person is not having a stroke. If other stroke symptoms are present, they may need emergency care.However, facial paralysis, or palsy, is a common stroke symptom, which is why it appears in the F.A.S.T. acronym.Other causes of face droopingStroke is not the only condition that causes facial drooping. Other potential causes include:Bell's palsy: Bell's palsy causes sudden and usually temporary one-sided facial weakness. It is responsible for 70% of cases of facial paralysis and typically improves over several weeks. Doctors may also call it 'acute peripheral facial palsy of unknown cause,' as they are not always sure why it happens. Sometimes, a viral infection triggers the symptoms.Injury: Roughly 10–23% of facial paralysis cases are due to fractures and wounds that damage the facial nerves.Infection: The chickenpox virus, herpes zoster, can live in the nerves for years after the initial infection. It can then reactivate and affect the facial nerves. This is Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can also cause facial palsy.Neurological conditions: Multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis may cause facial drooping.Tumors: Rarely, tumors on the face or in the brain compress or damage facial nerves, leading to paralysis.Frequently asked questionsWhat does a stroke face look like?A stroke face may include drooping on one side of the face, or an uneven lopsided face.A stroke face may include drooping on one side of the face, or an uneven lopsided face.What are the symptoms of a mini stroke face?A mini stroke may also have the same symptoms as a stroke, including facial paralysis. However, the symptoms or stroke do not last as long.A mini stroke may also have the same symptoms as a stroke, including facial paralysis. However, the symptoms or stroke do not last as long.Can your body warn you a month before a stroke?Symptoms such as numbness in the body may appear as warning signs of an impending stroke.Symptoms such as numbness in the body may appear as warning signs of an impending stroke.SummaryStroke's facial symptoms include drooping, muscle weakness, and paralysis. A person's eyelids, cheeks, or mouth may droop on one or both sides, and they may have an involuntary smile or be unable to smile intentionally. The drooping may also cause difficulty speaking.Facial palsy does not occur in all cases of stroke, so it is important to know all of the potential symptoms. An easy way to remember them is via the F.A.S.T. acronym. If a person is having a stroke, dial 911 immediately.Other causes of facial drooping include Bell's palsy, trauma, infections, neurological conditions, and tumors.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Crime Scene Cleaners review – Warning! This show is truly vomit-inducing
It has been a while since we had a good, honest point-and-boke documentary, is it not? 'Boke', for those of you unfamiliar with the term, means to be sick. I use it here because the onomatopoeia gives a better sense of the fight that precedes the act, especially if – say – a programme is unspooling in front of you that keeps the nausea building until you are past the point of no return. Viewer discretion – and a plastic bowl – is advised. So, then, to Crime Scene Cleaners, a 10-part documentary – yes, 10! – that does exactly what it says on the tin. It follows teams from British and American companies as they move in after bodies have been removed and evidence bagged and tagged by police to clean up anything left behind. 'Anything' can mean blood – spattered, accumulated in the bottom of a bath tub, trailed along a floor, soaked into a carpet, stained into grouting, arterially sprayed along skirting boards. Hepatitis B, we are informed via a dramatic voiceover, can survive for up to seven days in dried blood, hepatitis C for up to six weeks on hard surfaces. Clever pathogens. 'Anything' can also mean faeces. 'Anything' can mean body fluids – the worst phrase in the English language – that have leaked from 'every hole in your body' during 'natural decomposition' into a mattress, perhaps, or on to the floor, if your death has gone undiscovered for long enough. They may coalesce around the legs of a bedside table and leave marks when a team shifts the furniture to start returning the house to a saleable condition. 'Anything' will almost certainly mean maggots ('they can be quite voracious'), flies and an overwhelming stench. 'I can't describe it,' says Lauren Baker, the hands-on founder of LIT Biohazard & Trauma Cleaning Specialists. 'But, once you've smelled it, you're not going to want to smell it again.' Noted. So very noted. We watch Baker and her team deal with the consequences of an unattended death in a bungalow in Kent. They are not told anything about the scene, although viewers are invited to wonder about the possibility of foul play by the attention the programme pays to a smashed window. The information that this was how the police gained access to the home is withheld until the last minute, which adds the necessary touch of manipulation without which no essentially voyeuristic documentary is complete. Baker opens the window to let the departed's spirit out – an ancient touch in a room now full of modern equipment and chemical cleaning sprays – and they get to work. In the US, life is a little different. Victor Robles, the owner of Bioclean in Los Angeles, reminisces about the time his company had to clean up a mile-long blood trail by morning. It took 60 man-hours, but they got it done. We see them take a call from a landlord to a property in which most of the blood patterns described earlier can be found. We learn that blood cannot simply be sluiced down the plughole of a bath or shower – it must be soaked up, bagged and disposed of safely. They take up the carpets quickly: 'You want to avoid saturation below floor level.' We are told that all of this was the result of an accidental injury, which the tenant survived. Americans are either a lot tougher or they come with extra blood. Over in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Larry Douglas – a former detective and now the owner of Xtreme Cleaners– muses on what life has taught him. 'In 22 year,' he says, 'I've never found an intact eyeball, because they're so fragile.' One of his teams is given a car to decontaminate. They seem to be suiting and booting up to an excessive degree – until we learn that the car was used to transport fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is scything through the US and which is so potent that if you breathe in airborne particles of the stuff, you can overdose and die. A simple traffic stop can become fatal for an officer if they disturb the wrong goods in the boot. We see bodycam footage of them being overcome and saved by their colleagues. It is astonishing. But you live and learn, don't you? And then die, hopefully peacefully and not alone. Crime Scene Cleaners is available on Channel 4
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Watch shocking moment policeman collapses after accidentally inhaling lethal drug – as horrified colleagues rush to help
A POLICEMAN collapsed in a shocking moment after accidentally inhaling a lethal drug. These scenes were shown in the new series of Channel 4's Crime Scene Cleaners - which returned tonight. 4 4 The show follows hard-working crime scene cleaning companies in Britain and the USA that help people get their lives back to normal after the most traumatic events imaginable. In the latest episode, a tense moment saw a US policeman collapse after being exposed to airborne fentanyl from a car. According to the NHS, fentanyl is a strong opoid painkiller which is used to treat severe pain. A colleague held onto the affected officer, telling him: "I've got you, okay. I'm not going to let you die." As medical assistance arrived on the scene, they called for a medication known as Narcan. The show's voiceover explained: "Narcan - a life-saving drug - rapidly reverses fentanyl overdoses." Forensic scientist Dr. Amy Santoro, said on-screen: "Most police officers in the United States carry Narcan. "If you start to overdose on fentanyl, we'll deliver a dose of Narcan that will help to kick the fentanyl out of your receptors and allow you to start breathing again." This was followed by scenes of the officer being put inside an ambulance. The show was first announced late last year as a look into the aftermath of violent and hazardous crime. Shocking case of caring pensioner butchered by 'friend' explored in 24 Hours in Police Custody Homeowners and businesses turn to an elite group of highly accredited specialist experts to clean up the crime scene and hazardous mess left behind. The professionally accredited cleaners are the last to enter the crime scene and the first to hand the locations back to the public. Rita Daniels, Commissioning Editor for Documentaries and Factual Entertainment at Channel 4, said previously: "Crime Scene Cleaners pulls back the curtain on the vital work of these unsung heroes. "It's not just about cleaning up – it's about helping people rebuild after trauma. "We're excited to bring this unique and compelling series to Channel 4, showcasing the incredible dedication and expertise of these professionals." Elaine Hackett, CEO of Crackit TV, added: 'This series offers rare access into the extraordinary lives of professional crime scene cleaners, who encounter people's worst nightmares on a daily basis. "We're thrilled to be following these experts through dangerous and difficult situations and getting to know the incredible characters behind the hazmat suits.' 4 4
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Heart attack patients will get job advice in hospital
Heart attack patients will get job advice in hospital as part of measures to tackle the worklessness crisis. The NHS will also be set targets to reduce economic inactivity for the first time under radical reforms in the 10-year health plan. Work coaches will be integrated into rehabilitation services for patients, including those recovering from heart attacks or suffering from other heart conditions. It comes after a back-bench rebellion forced Labour to water down its welfare reforms, which aim to tackle rising disability claims and long-term sickness. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, will use the 10-year plan – due to be published this week – to demonstrate the Government remains serious about tackling the problem. A report produced for the NHS in June found that long-term sickness was shrinking the UK economy by 10 per cent a year. Mr Streeting will give greater power to local NHS services to run in a way that works for them, but in exchange he will demand results, including a new target to reduce long-term sickness in their respective areas by a yet to be determined percentage. He told the Telegraph the NHS could not 'just be a recipient of Treasury funds' and instead it would 'help drive growth and cut economic inactivity'. 'Our 10-year plan will help to get our country back to health and back to work,' he said. 'We have already taken almost 250,000 cases off the waiting list and recruited 6,700 more mental health workers. Now we will put rocket boosters under those efforts.' For the first time patients will also be able to refer themselves via the NHS app for help with back pain and arthritis, as well as mental health issues – the three leading causes of long-term sickness. The NHS will build on a series of pilots that tie work and health together with doctors, saying the two are inextricably linked.
