There are common signs of special neglect as well as things that can help.
What is spacial neglect?
A stroke can make you lose awareness of things to one side of your body. Even if you have good eyesight, your brain does not process the information it’s getting from one side. This is called neglect or inattention.
These kinds of problems can be obvious to the people around you, but you may not notice anything is wrong. This is because your brain does not know that something is missing. So you will not know you’ve missed half of the food on your plate until someone else brings your attention to it. It often affects the same side of the body with muscle weakness (your affected side).
Signs of spacial neglect
If you have neglect, you may:
- Miss things that are placed on your affected side.
- Ignore people or bump into things without realising that they are there.
- Not dress one side of your body or shave one side of your face.
- Not eat food on one side of your plate.
- Not read one side of a book or page.
- Have problems finding your way around because you may not notice doors or landmarks on one side.
What can I do about spacial neglect?
Usually if you have problems with spacial neglect, they will be picked up by your doctors or therapists while you’re in hospital or by your community team when you’re back at home. If they have not been, and you start to notice you may be having problems, then contact your GP.
If these problems are making day-to-day life difficult, then you should be referred to an occupational therapist. They will work with you to find ways to help you cope. They can also suggest aids and equipment to help you.