Childhood Stroke Awareness

Did you know that May is National Stroke Awareness Month?
Most of us know an older adult who has had a stroke, but we could never imagine it happening to a child. The fact is that children can have strokes too. It is always shocking when you find out a child you know or even your own child has had a stroke.

The National Stroke Association says that on average, it take 12 to 24 hours for adults to get to the hospital after recognizing the first symptom of stroke. That time shoots to 48 to 72 hours for children. This delay happens because people do not recognize stroke symptoms in children. If your father's or grandmother's arm suddenly stopped moving you would automatically think stroke and take them to the hospital. Yet stroke symptoms in children are often overlooked for quite some time because of the misconception that children do not have strokes.

Symptoms of Stroke in Children

Stroke is an injury to the brain. The brain controls all of our body's functions like speech, movement, breathing, smell, hearing, and more. So depending where the stroke has injured the brain it will affect the child in different ways. Childhood Stroke symptoms are similar to stroke symptoms in adults. If the part of the brain that controls speech is injured with a stroke a child could have trouble speaking or understanding words. If the part of the brain that controls movement is injured by a stroke part of the child's body may become weak or paralyzed. Being weak on one side of the body is called hemiparesies and being paralyzed on one side of the body is called hemiplegia.

The most common symptoms of stroke are:
Sudden weakness or numbness on the face or limbs, especially on one side of the body.
Sudden confusion or difficulty speaking or understanding speech.
Sudden vision problems.
Sudden trouble walking or loss of balance.
Sudden severe headache.

Think F.A.S.T.

In very rare cases a large stroke can cause a coma or even death. That is why identifying the signs of stroke in children and acting fast you can help the medical professionals lessen the extent of damage to the child's brain.
The most effective stroke treatments must be given within the first 3 hours after stroke symptoms start.

Use the following tool to help you think F.A.S.T.

Face: Ask the child to smile. Does one side of the child's face droop?

Arms: Ask the child to raise both arms into the air. Does one arm drift downwards?

Speech: Ask the child to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred? Can the child repeat the sentence correctly?

Time: If the child displays any of these symptoms time is important. Call 911 or get to the hospital fast. The child's brain cells are dying and time is of the essence.

There is hope.

Although strokes in children can be debilitating, children have a better ability to heal since a child's brain is still developing. The child's brain may have a greater ability to repair itself than a brain of an adult who has suffered a stroke. With the assistance of physical, occupational, and speech therapy many childhood stroke survivors recover the use of their arms, legs, and speech and go on to lead a fulfilling life.