QUESTION:
Can pricking the fingers, earlobes of a person save a person from having a stroke?
ANSWER:
No, experts say this practice is not recommended.
SOURCES:
Stroke Neurologist, George Washington University Associate Professor of Neurology, American Heart and Stroke Association
PROCESS:
We shouldn't have to tell you to be weary of medical advice you get online, but this next Facebook post is blowing up. It's been viewed 37 million times and has more than 900,000 shares.
This video claims if someone is having a stroke, prick the victim's fingers and earlobes with a needle, wait five minutes and they should "come back to life."
Miracle or malarkey? Our Verify team is here to check it out.
To get the truth, we got answers from two certified stroke neurologists and the American Heart and Stroke Association.
Dr. Osman Mir sums up what we heard from all of our experts: ”Absolutely not, there is no physiological basis that this would work."
Pretty cut and dry there. The American Heart and Stroke Association clarify waiting to get medical treatment during a stroke is also highly dangerous and every second is crucial.
Dr. Kathleen Burger, Associate Professor of Neurology at George Washington University explains, “Aside from unnecessary bleeding it will cause a delay in appropriate stroke treatment. Every minute of no treatment, millions of brain cells die and there is no getting those brain cells back”
If you think someone is having a strong, remember to look out for F-A-S-T. to Berger said. “F-A-S-T stands for the following: F is for facial droop or facial weakness on one side, A is for arm weakness on one side, S is for speech changes (a person can either not speak at all or they have severe slurring of speech), and T is time to act, call 9-1-1.”
Our researchers traced the alleged science in this video to a 2005 Journal of Tradition Chinese Medicine report which showed that pricking the fingers and earlobes of patients with a mild stroke did improve consciousness. But here's the problem: that wasn't a first aid solution as those patients had already been hospitalized for 3 days.
So, don't share this post about pricking a someone's fingers if they're having a stroke. It will NOT save their lives—this claim is FALSE.
