Woman suffers 'beauty parlour stroke' after hair wash in salon, doctor reveals how

We visit the salon to groom ourselves and indulge in relaxing haircuts or pedicures, among other things. It is unimaginable to think that visiting a salon could become dangerous. A 50-year-old Hyderabad woman went to a salon for relaxing treatments, but her experience turned out to be a nightmare. The woman had a stroke while having her hair washed before having her hair cut. According to the medical staff attending to her, she bent her neck back to get her hair washed when she suffered a stroke. This put strain on a vital blood vessel that supplies the brain.

Dr. Sudhir Kumar, a neurologist in Hyderabad, shared this insight on Twitter and stated, "The woman initially experienced dizziness, nausea, and vomiting while having her "hair washed with shampoo in a beauty parlour."

The doctor added, "Initially, she was taken to a gastroenterologist, who treated her symptomatically. The symptoms did not improve, and the next day she developed a mild imbalance while walking. She was referred to me for an opinion. The symptoms did not improve, and the next day she developed a mild imbalance while walking. She was referred to me for an opinion. She had mild right-cerebellar signs. MRI brain revealed an infarct in the right posterior inferior cerebellar territory, MR angiogram showed left vertebral hypoplasia."

 October 30, 2022

"A diagnosis of #beauty #parlour stroke syndrome involving the right PICA territory was made. Possible mechanism is kinking of the vertebral artery during hyperextension and turning of neck towards wash-basin while washing hair with shampoo. She had well controlled #Hypertension too," he further added.

 October 30, 2022

"A 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," He wrote.

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Dr. Michael Weintraub first used the term "beauty parlour syndrome" in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1993 after observing five women who had experienced severe neurological symptoms after getting a shampoo at a hair salon. Severe dizziness, loss of balance, and facial numbness were among the complaints. According to a 2016 story by The Guardian, four out of every five people had a stroke.

The "beauty parlour stroke syndrome," also known as a hairdresser-related ischemic cerebrovascular event (HICE) or vertebral-basilar ischemia (VBI), is a rare condition caused by cerebral artery dissection or vertebral artery compression as a result of neck positioning and manipulation at the hair salon sink bowl.