What is Hemiplegia?

In Hemiplegia 'legia' means weakness so severe that it is nearly complete and 'Hemi' means one side of the body. Therefore hemiplegia means complete paralysis of one half of the body. Any disease or injury in the motor centers of the brain can cause hemiplegia.

What causes Hemiplegia?

• Stroke is the commonest cause of hemiplegia.
• Infections like meningitis, encephalitis
• Head injury
• Diabetes
• Brain tumor
• Migraine syndrome 
• Inflammation of the blood vessels 
• Diseases affecting the nerves 
• Conditions presenting from birth like cerebral palsy
• Hereditary diseases like leukodystrophies

Symptoms

The same can be said about the severity of individual symptoms.

• Difficulty in walking.
• Problems in balance, losses balance when trying to walk
• Difficulty in swallowing
• The trouble with vision. Blurred vision or weakness of the eyes.
• Speech becomes difficult.
• Numbness, tingling or loss of sensations in one half of the body.
• Loss of control over bladder and bowel movements leading to an inability to hold on to stool or urine.
• Unable to perform tasks like holding objects, tying laces, dressing oneself, buttoning etc.
• Feeling depressed
• Heightened emotional sensitivity with the inability to handle stressful situations.
• Memory seems poor. Unable to recall recent or past events concerning people, places, and activities.