Beauty Parlor Syndrome

Vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI) or vertebral basilar ischemia refers to a temporary set of symptoms due to decreased blood flow in the posterior circulation of the brain. And usually nick named as “Beauty parlor syndrome”

Beauty parlor stroke syndrome is caused when there is an injury, tear, or blood clot in one of the four major arteries that go to the brain.

The main problem is hyper-extension of the neck, which can occur while having your hair shampooed, and staying in that position for a period of time. When neck is in hyper extension, there can be a little bit of compression on the artery from simply just changing the position or the bones slide a little bit one over the other that can cause a tear in the blood vessel, resulting in a blood clot, which can travel to the brain and cause a stroke.
This kind of thing can also happen to people when they’re at the dentist, playing tennis, undergoing chiropractic neck manipulation, and even doing yoga.

While this can really happen to anyone, it’s not extremely common. 

The initial warning signs of beauty parlor stroke syndrome are a little different from those of typical stroke.

They include dizziness and unsteadiness in hands and can also include migraine-type headaches, some loss of vision or blurred vision, neck swelling and change of taste.
But don’t let that scare you off as it is preventable and the BPS cases are quite rare and tends to target those with atherosclerosis.

 If salon doesn’t have a shampoo chair with good neck support, use a rolled-up towel to prop yourself up (your neck should be in a straight line with your spine, not bent backward).

Avoid activities where the neck is mal-positioned for a longer period of time.

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