Claim: Facebook user says strokes are usually more common in bathrooms because of a particular body shower sequence.
Verdict: FALSE! No evidence shows bathing in any sequence causes a stroke. Doctors have underlined the risk factors of stroke to be high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity.
Full Text
A stroke, sometimes called a brain attack, occurs when something blocks blood supply to part of the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts.
In either case, parts of the brain become damaged or die. A stroke can cause lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death.
Natural and nutrition medical remedies on Facebook wrote that strokes are usually high in bathrooms because when people enter the bathroom, they soak their heads and hair first, which is not supposed to be. He called it a wrong approach.
The page explained that different reports and studies support the claim and that the stroke rate is increasing daily because of the bathing approach. The conclusion part of the post stated that the right rule for bathing is to soak the feet first, then slowly soak up the shoulder upwards.
Sila Nana in the comment wrote: “Wow, well said, we have been doing it wrong.”
Another person, Daniel Minyo, not believing, said it was a lie.
Looking at the post, some statements caught our attention. The conflicting replies under the post made us at DUBAWA investigate the claim.
Verification
In the post, the writer referred to some sources and made some citations. We then decided to check if the Journal of Canada’s Medical Association cited the phrase “the risks that were previously predicted due to stroke or mini-stroke, in fact, the risk is longer lasting and even more dangerous” and could not find it in the report cited. We found this misleading.
According to The World Health Organization, the risk of further episodes is significantly increased for people who have experienced a previous stroke. The risk of death depends on the type of stroke.
Stroke is uncommon in people under 40 years; when it does occur, the main cause is high blood pressure. However, stroke also occurs in about 8% of children with sickle cell disease.
Strokes are caused by blocked blood flow to the brain (ischemic stroke) or sudden bleeding in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke). Some of the risk factors for stroke are elevated blood pressure, obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet, and smoking.
We saw an article by the American Stroke Association where the authors mentioned how stroke patients and survivors should have their baths, but they did not mention any sequence of how it should be done from one part of the body to the other. They only advised on safety measures.
Thanh Phan, Head of Neuroscience Research at Monash Health, told AFP in Oct. 2020 that most stroke is due to clot obstructing blood flow in the brain. These clots come from the heart or large blood vessels (such as the carotid artery). The less common cause is a burst blood vessel.
We reached out to Precious Newman, a general specialist doctor with the post, to read and spot any irregularities, and she responded that she did not totally agree with the write-up.
“Let’s use an example of when water is being poured while bathing. When you pour water from your legs, the way you breathe is different. However, when you pour from your head to your toe, you will realise that your body becomes normal, active and relaxed.
“Now the main cause of stroke is high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity etc., just to mention a few. When one is hypertensive or has high blood pressure, and it’s not been managed well, it can lead to stroke.
“The normal blood pressure is supposed to be 120/80mmhg – 125/85mmhg. Anything reading from 140/100mmhg – 160/120mmhg above is being admitted in some hospitals for the blood pressure to drop.
“But bathing with water from your head cannot bring stroke, unless the person is hypertensive as well or the person is having health issues based on the heart, especially smoking. It has not been scientifically proven that bathroom or bathing from head to toe can cause stroke,” she concluded.
Conclusion
Having your bath in any sequence does not cause a stroke; the risk factors for stroke include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity.
