Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome: Doctors explain the condition that affects women of all ages — Check causes, cure and prevention

It's very common for ladies to go salon and relax and get a soothing haircut, facial and hair wash. But this experience turned into a nightmare for a 50-year-old woman who recently visited a saloon in Hyderabad. Suddenly during her hair wash, she developed dizziness, nausea and vomiting. 

Initially, she was taken to a gastroenterologist, who treated her symptomatically but her symptoms did not improve, and the next day she developed a mild imbalance while walking. Later on, she was referred to Dr Sudhir Kumar, a Neurologist for his opinion. Sharing the condition Dr Kumar said, “She had mild right-cerebellar signs. MRI brain revealed an infarct in the right posterior inferior cerebellar territory, MR angiogram showed left vertebral hypoplasia." She was diagnosed with ‘Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome'.
 

Beauty Parlor #Stroke Syndrome

1. I recently saw a 50-year old woman with symptoms of dizziness, nausea & vomiting, which started during her hair wash with shampoo in a beauty parlor. Initially, she was taken to a gastroenterologist, who treated her symptomatically.#Medtwitter

— Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) October 30, 2022

What is Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome? How can it be prevented?

Dr Madhukar Bhardwaj senior neurologist at Aakash hospital said, “If the neck has to be extended for hair washing at the salon, it should not extend 20 degrees.”  According to doctors, to reduce elevation during the head wash, one can also keep a rolled towel at the nape of the neck.

Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome: Precautions

As per Dr Kumar’s observation, the take-home message is that stroke affecting vertebrobasilar artery territory can occur during “shampoo hair-wash in a beauty parlour, especially in women with other atherosclerotic risk factors and undetected vertebral hypoplasia. Prompt recognition and treatment can prevent disability”.

The neurologist further mentioned that “similar cases have earlier been reported since 1993”. “We need to raise awareness among the general public through media, including social media.”

According to ResearchGate, the key point to remember about beauty parlour syndrome “is it’s a rare cause of stroke caused by either cerebral artery dissection or vertebral artery compression due to neck positioning and manipulation at the hair salon sink bowl.”

Most of the cases have been in elderly or middle-aged female patients but young patients can also experience beauty parlour syndrome as well.