The number of esteem-enhancing, or success, incidents on the list equaled the number of esteem depressors, or failure situations. If the child cannot keep his mouth open, use a mouth prop--for example, three or four tongue depressors taped together, a rolled-up moistened washcloth or a rubber doorstop.
Normally, stroke symptoms manifest as slurred speech and numbness. But a fifth of strokes cause dizziness, nausea and unsteadiness. These can often be misdiagnosed as an inner ear infection. The danger is that this can leave the patient vulnerable to more attacks.
Vertigo can be the first warning of a stroke. Usually vertigo is associated with other symptoms and signs that tip us off we are not dealing with an ear problem. There is loss of sensation or motor function or clumsiness and often a problem with speech, swallowing or double vision. One common stroke with a good prognosis is called a lateral medullary syndrome.