Brain and nerve care
Stroke, fits, bad headaches and nerve trouble. What to check, what to do, and where to go.
Think it is a stroke? Check BE-FAST.
A stroke is blood not reaching part of the brain. Cells die within minutes. One sign is enough to act on.
When were they last completely normal?
The clot-dissolving treatment works best within about four and a half hours of the first sign. The hospital will ask you this, so work it out now.
Someone is having a fit
Epilepsy is a medical condition. It is not a curse and you cannot catch it.
Keep them safe. Once the shaking stops, turn them gently onto their side so they can breathe.
Do
- Note the time it starts.
- Move hard or sharp things away.
- Put something soft under the head.
- Turn them on their side once the shaking stops.
- Stay until they are fully awake.
Do not
- Do not put anything in the mouth.
- Do not hold them down.
- Do not give food or water until they are fully awake.
Go to hospital if: it lasts more than five minutes, another follows without them waking, it is their first fit, they are injured, they are pregnant, or they do not wake up properly.
Signs that must not wait
If any of these is happening, treat it as an emergency and get to a hospital.
Go to hospital now 5 signs
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Stroke or mini-stroke (TIA)
Sudden weakness or numbness (often one side), face droop, slurred speech, sudden trouble seeing, or sudden loss of balance. A mini-stroke where signs come and go is still a warning, get checked the same day.
What to do: Note the time signs started and go to the nearest hospital now.
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A fit that will not stop (status epilepticus)
A seizure lasting more than 5 minutes, or one fit after another without waking up in between.
What to do: Protect the head, turn them on their side, do not put anything in the mouth, and go to hospital.
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Meningitis or brain infection
Bad headache with fever, a stiff neck, confusion, dislike of bright light, or a rash. In babies: high fever, a bulging soft spot, a weak or shrill cry.
What to do: Go quickly, hours matter.
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Sudden severe (thunderclap) headache
A headache that arrives like a thunderclap, the “worst ever,” reaching full force in seconds, or a new headache with weakness, confusion, or vomiting.
What to do: This needs urgent hospital assessment.
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Head injury with warning signs
After a knock to the head: fainting, repeated vomiting, confusion, one pupil larger than the other, or clear fluid from the nose or ears.
What to do: Go to hospital.
See a doctor, do not wait for it to pass 1 sign
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Weakness that climbs up the body
Numbness or weakness that starts in the feet and moves upward over hours or days can affect breathing.
What to do: Do not wait for it to pass, see a doctor.
A headache with any of these needs a doctor
With any of these signs, do not just take a painkiller. See a health worker or go to hospital.
Keep track between visits
Exercises, diaries and readings, kept on your phone. They work with no connection.
Ask about the brain and nerves
English, French or Pidgin. It runs on this device and guides you. It is not a doctor.
The conditions themselves
What each one is, when it is an emergency, and what helps.
Emergency
Blood stops reaching part of the brain. Brain cells die within minutes, so fast action saves life and ability.
Infection of the covering of the brain. It can become serious within hours, know the danger signs.
Common
A tendency to have seizures (fits). It is common, treatable, and not a curse or contagious. Many people live full lives on medicine.
Very common. Most are not dangerous, but some patterns are warning signs that need a doctor.
Seizures in children need proper assessment. A high fever can cause a fit in a small child, this still needs a check.
Long-term
Numbness, tingling, burning or weakness, often in the hands and feet. Diabetes and some infections are common causes.
Slowness, stiffness, shaking, and balance problems that build up over time. Treatable to improve daily life.
Getting more forgetful than normal ageing, with confusion that affects daily life, should be assessed.
Why we started with the brain
- About one neurologist per million peopleCameroon was estimated at 1.11 per million in 2015, nearly all in Douala and Yaoundé. Bamenda and the rural North-West have almost none.
- Stroke leads the wardIt is the most common reason people are admitted for a brain problem here, driven mostly by untreated high blood pressure.
- Epilepsy is common and badly treatedNot by medicine alone. Stigma keeps people away from care that works.
- A health worker plus a specialist closes the gapThe patient stays where they are. The case travels instead.
Neurologist density: Tembe-Fokunang and colleagues, Challenges in studying neuroanatomy in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Cameroon (2025). Stroke and epilepsy patterns: WHO guidance and Cameroonian hospital series from Yaoundé and Bafoussam. This page guides. It does not replace an examination.