Stroke

When a loved one suffers from a CVA or stroke, it can be difficult for families of that person to recover. Sudden strokes are scary and they require emergency medical help. Patients may suffer from brain damage and or physical impairments that are sometimes permanent. To know how to handle stroke situations and proper care, you must first know the causes and symptoms of CVAs and strokes.

CVA

A CVA is also known as a cerebrovascular accident. This happens when oxygen suddenly isn’t sent to the brain due to some sort of block. An ischemic stroke is the most common form of stroke prevalent in today’s society. A common treatment of a stroke and CVA is medication such as aspirin that thins the blood. Other treatments include antiplatelet medicine and even thrombolysis. Thrombolysis is a treatment that dissolves blood clots in the body. A hemorrhagic stroke is one that has to do with bleeding in the brain. All efforts of treatment try to control and stop the bleeding as soon as possible. Surgery is sometimes the best option if medication will not work fast enough.

Signs and symptoms of a CVA or stroke are:

• Sudden numbness.
• Unexplained weakness.
• Paralysis on one side of the body.
• Trouble talking.
• Difficulty comprehending.
• Blurred or double vision.
• Headache.
• Confusion.
• Passing out.

Around 25% of all stroke victims will have another stroke within five years. There are many things that one may do to prevent another stroke. Preventative measures to take include:

• Reducing high blood pressure.
• Managing diabetes properly.
• Taking aspirin or another antiplatelet medication as directed by a physician.
• Eating healthy.
• Exercising regularly.
• Quitting smoking.
• Monitoring alcohol intake.
• Decrease stress.
• Monitoring cholesterol levels.

Signs of Abuse

Many factors will determine how your loved one should be cared for in a nursing home. Will your loved one be able to bathe themselves after suffering from a stroke? Will a certain diet need to be followed in order for them to be healthy? Can they speak or write properly? Will they suffer from any long-term disabilities because of the CVA or stroke? Caring for each resident will be different based on the severity of their condition. Some types of neglect and abuse that stroke victims may experience in nursing homes are:

• The staff not following the proper diet needed to keep the resident healthy. This can happen because of laziness or neglect.
• Not taking the proper care and precautions when dressing, grooming, and cleaning stroke victims. This can result in bruises and other avoidable injuries.
• Failing to help feed a resident who cannot move his or her arms enough to feed themselves anymore.
• Neglecting to keep up the personal hygiene of a resident.
• Failure by the staff to perform rehab exercises with the resident as requested by a doctor.
• Neglecting to remove and clean any bandages for wounds on the resident because of surgery.
• Failure by the staff to administer proper medication and proper dosage.

If you notice one or more of these things happening to your loved one, alert someone immediately. A stroke can happen to anyone for any number of reasons. It is not fair for those people to be subjected to neglect and abuse by people that should be caretakers. Upon seeing neglect and abuse in a home, remove your loved one immediately.