Caring for a Family Member After a Stroke: A Practical Guide

When someone you love has a stroke, you often become a carer overnight, usually with little training. You help them move, encourage their exercises, manage appointments and deal with emotional changes, all while handling your own worry.

This guide covers the practical things that make the biggest difference.

Safe moving and handling

• Learn transfers from a physiotherapist. Getting from bed to chair, chair to toilet and in and out of a car can be done safely with the right technique. Ask to be shown.
• Protect your back. Bend your knees, keep them close to you, and avoid twisting. Don't lift a person bodily.
• Never pull on the affected arm. The shoulder on the weak side is vulnerable to injury and pain.
• Use aids recommended by the team: walking frames, grab rails, raised toilet seats, shower chairs.

Positioning

• Support the affected arm on a pillow or armrest when sitting
• When lying, use pillows to keep the weak arm and leg in a comfortable, supported position
• Change position regularly to prevent pressure sores in people who can't move much

Encourage practice, not dependence

It's natural to want to do everything for them. But recovery happens through practice.

• Let them do as much as they safely can, even if it takes longer
• Build exercises into daily routines: standing up during TV adverts, reaching for objects with the affected hand
• Praise effort and small progress

Make the home safer

• Remove loose rugs and clutter
• Good lighting, especially at night on the way to the bathroom
• Grab rails in the bathroom and toilet
• Keep frequently used items within easy reach

Emotional changes

After a stroke, people may experience low mood, anxiety, frustration, tearfulness or changes in personality. Depression after stroke is common and treatable. Speak to their doctor if you notice persistent low mood.

Look after yourself

• Accept help from family and friends
• Take regular breaks, even short ones
• Keep up your own health appointments
• Talk to someone about how you're feeling

A burnt-out carer can't help anyone. Caring for yourself is part of caring for them.

Know the warning signs

Call emergency services immediately if you notice new face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, sudden confusion, severe headache or loss of balance. These can be signs of another stroke.