Hair wash at salon almost turned fatal as woman suffers ‘beauty parlour stroke’

A hair wash at a salon almost turned fatal for a 50-year-old woman from Hyderabad as she suffered a stroke, which is often termed "beauty parlour stroke syndrome" by medical practitioners.

The woman suffered a stroke while getting her hair washed before a haircut. The doctors treating her said that a vital vessel supplying blood to the brain was pressed when she bent her neck back for the wash which led to the stroke,  media reported.

Worth mentioning here that the "beauty parlour stroke syndrome" was first reported in the US in 1993. The city doctors said that such health conditions have been reported here in the past too and are common among men visiting salons for a neck massage.

Speaking to media, Dr Praveen Kumar Yada, consultant neurologist at KIMS, Secunderabad, who has treated multiple such cases over the years, said this happens when the masseur presses down on the neck and head hard and when at times even twists the neck to produce a cracking sound. “This leads to tender vessels getting injured, leading to a stroke," added Yada.

The usual symptoms of beauty parlour stroke are dizziness, nausea, and vomiting, among several other health conditions. In the case of the 50-year-old woman from Hyderabad, she experienced these signs accompanied by imbalances in her body. She initially consulted a gastroenterologist and was later referred to a neurologist after the doctor found no gastric issues and deterioration in her condition.

Dr Sudhir



Kumar, senior consultant neurologist at Apollo Hospitals in Jubilee Hills said that when the patient (the woman) suffering from beauty parlour stroke syndrome reached the hospital, about 24 hours had passed since the original symptoms. “When we examined her, she had a slanted gait and was weak which made us suspect it was a stroke and we asked for an MRI. When the report came, clots were seen in her right cerebellum and in a key artery in the back of the neck called PICA, as we had expected," said Dr Sudhir Kumar.

After the detailed examination, Dr Sudhir said they concluded it was "beauty parlour stroke syndrome" as it occurred due to "hyperextension of the neck towards the basin while washing hair".

Meanwhile, the 50-year-old has been put on medication for life like all other patients of stroke.

“While these strokes often happen due to a pre-existing risk or anomaly - in the latest case the woman had a thinner than usual vertebral artery, leading to the slower blood supply to the brain - it can be caused by severe injury to the vessels too,” said Dr Subodh Raju, director, neuro and spine surgery, AIG Hospitals as quoted by media.

The doctor added that kids also suffer strokes which are due to the thinner vertebral artery.

"They suffered the stroke immediately after visiting the salon. However, they suffered milder strokes called 'transient ischemic attack'. Since they were younger, they required only three-five years of blood thinners,” Dr Sudhir added.